#<- movie i didn't watch because i was done with the MCU at this point but i know of it.

[meirimerens]

Meiri would it please the new LoZ fan (you) ((I know you are technically not a new fan but for the purposes of this you are)) to know that I have had a Breath of the Wild but Princess Zelda is the protagonist longfic in the works for like. Looks at my discord/google docs history. 2 years now? Does this spark joy?

i will keep it 100 the fact that i have literally not interacted with any BOTW stuff (i Know the two games are related & totk was announced as a direct sequel Before Getting Into The Timeline(s) Splitting Lore) makes it so i have 0 attachment to the game and you could be telling me you're writing something about like. the Minish Cap. and it'd do the same. however and frankly i #respect anyone who gives (or try to give) zelda the actual protagonism she DESERVEEEEES. it's been Literally almost 40 years. i've seen with my eyes they're Allegedly making her the protag of the next one and while i find the style very cutes i'm somewhat grumpy that she wasn't given the opportunity that Link has had of being #dark... and #mysterious... but equally #silly... it kinda feels to fit in the media constance of giving female characters the short end of the stick when it's time to tell their stories and decades of their male counterparts having been explored en long en large et en travers but... we shall see and maybe more will come... in my mind's eye it could be so easy to make her playable in a BOTW or TOTK DLC so... respect!!!!! to our brave writing troops and our longfic soldiers. onwards!!!!!! o7

[soliloquent-stark]

i just watched thunderbolts and here are some rambly thoughts (don't read if you expect incredibly nuanced takes. also, obviously, spoilers coming up):

i am saddened that for the first time in a while, i left the cinema feeling pretty negative after watching a mcu movie. i was so hyped to see this; people made it seem like it'll be so amazing, the promo was so over the top, the trailers were great, some people even said it was their favourite mcu movie in a long time (or ever) and that it rivaled catws (spoiler: it doesn't). and it's wild to me that captain america brave new world had way worse ratings, less hype, less promo (doesn't surprise me...) when to me it was a way more enjoyable movie. i am kinda baffled and confused.

yes, thunderbolts has good moments. yelena was quite wonderful, as expected, and there was a few funny moments, some emotional beats, a pretty decent attempt at exploring loneliness and mental health issues (not perfectly so, but what can we expect). the visual effects were cool, and i really liked the eeriness of the void (both the black shadows, and the void itself, the way going from room to room was depicted and going back into their memories, and especially seeing more of the red room. that was nice). that's... about it, i think?

i am a big bucky fan, that's true. so maybe i am biased in feeling disappointed with how he was written, but i am. i am not saying he should've been the main character, but i expected way more. really hot take here: his role could've been played by another character and the results would've been pretty much the same. ava brought specific skills to the table, so did yelena (and she brought her dad along), even john with his stupid military knowledge and the shield etc saved their ass in a way maybe someone else wouldn't have. at the very least, scenes were written with that in mind, to highlight their skills. it felt like they really had to work together to get out of that bunker, and they were pretty well defined. but after that? unless i am mistaken and don't remember, bucky hasn't done anything that only his specific set of skills or knowledge could've done. i am not saying that to shade him, i am saying it because they had bucky, sebastian stan at their disposal, and he was kinda bland and completely overshadowed by everyone else. i mean yeah the motorcycle scene was cool... but?? i am glad they at least didn't include him in the whole speech about people who need to redeem themselves, they probably anticipated the backlash on that, but otherwise it felt like they really disrespected his character and journey once more. and goofy bits aside (for example, them all, one by one, saving people, then together holding a rock up... like okay, sweet idea i guess, and clearly showing why the marketing was effective afterwards, but like... c'mon now. the same way they kept having val say her plans to her assistant as a way for us to understand what's going on. such lazy writing omg) all that aside, the plot was kinda flat and predictable, one hour in and all the events had already been showed in the trailer, and at no point did we really feel any mystery or had to wonder what the bad guy is up to or where the movie is headed. it's just wild to me that this movie has better ratings than brave new world like whattt (and i will get to sam in a second). also another bit of lazy writing was how quickly mel turned on val (just to then, of course, unturn when it was convenient for the plot) and just called bucky up to spill everything like c'monnn ok yeah he's charming but?? yet another moment where there wasn't any cool old school spying or hacking happening, they were just... fed information and they just showed up. this movie could've been an email ngl, with the way they fucked the pacing and spent so long on some bits and then completely rushed the ending. but yeah you have ava and bucky there and you give us nothingggg about their lives, just one dimensional all around; we found out more about what's happening in walker's life and his emotional state than bucky's — but of course they were gonna glaze over the woman of colour but also somehow the fan favourite popular character who's been in the franchise for over a decade and somehow keeps getting disrespected every project. ugh. and sebastian was kinda acting like he didn't wanna be there, maybe that's what happens when you're not acting alongside anthony, but he seemed bored and flat and i know he's an amazing actor and a great bucky but i don't know, it truly felt off. maybe it's the divorce, maybe in the half a year or whatever how long it's been since cabnw there's been an actual breakup between them because what the hell was with that energy...

i am sure there's more i am forgetting but now regarding the ending: what the fuck. okay yeah i expected them to form a team under a different name because of the stupid asterisk, but more in the direction of like, dark avengers or something. 'new avengers' is just a slap in the face to sam and the avengers' legacy (especially after bucky made a whole deal about how that shield is steve's legacy and how sam threw it away and all that stuff i don't wanna rehash but sam was in the right and now look who's not worried about messing up the legacy?) and THEY WENT WITH IT? WHY DID THEY GO WITH IT? why would a team of badass people who hate taking orders just... go with it. to have leverage over her? ok cool you're professional assassins you could make her disappear in a second. you could put her in jail in no time. how was she legally able to stand there and tell everyone she brought a way to protect america and suddenly it's all okay? they could've easily told everyone the danger was due to bob which was hear creation and that she really needs to be locked up?? yes i understand they're protecting him but like what the fuck how is she not at the very least impeached. or maybe she was but then WHY are they still a team fourteen months later? AND GOING AGAINST SAM. that is the biggest disrespect i could've imagined and i was shocked by that last scene. i love bucky so much. i love sam so much. i love sambucky so much. so my brain melted at the idea that they're still doing it without sam, calling themselves the new avengers, and then actually saying his name out loud and disrespecting him so badly. the ONLY TIME they acknowledge that there is a captain america, a non enhanced captain america who just protected everyone from the red hulk, in a movie full of supersoldiers, is when they complain about him. and bucky lets it happen?? and moreover, they make it seem like they fought (which i understand, i would also fight with him over this if i were sam??) and it just makes no sense. why would you do that? after tfatws, after framed photo in the office, after i love you buddy, we get no mention of him in the movie, no respect showed to him, and then bucky not defending him?? this is HELL this is the bad timeline and i know i should expect this from marvel but with the other movie being only from a few months ago i thought we established they're on good terms so i am just confused and betrayed and SAM DESERVES BETTER. (and surely deserves better than having people now call him names and completely dragging him for taking legal action against this bs. not to mention his legal action was merely a trademark... get tf out of here) bucky deserves better too in the way that what the fuck is he doing why is not retired or fighting by sam's side WHY IS HE IN CONGRESS that was still not fully discussed like?? what, to bring val down because she was experimenting on humans and he is against that? well um now you work for her like what?? also who voted him in how did any of that make sense and also the way pretty much none of his plot had anything to do with him being in congress. he could've been watching the hearing on tv. he could've snuck into the gala and talked to the assistant as a civilian. what was the purpose of him being in congress? or you're telling me he will continue to be, after all this mess, and there will be a point later on?? why is he putting up with any of it. besides the fact his hair looked amazing in that last scene and he looked like prince charming i have zero good things to say about that and i wish it never happened. god the more i think about it the more angry i get. also where are all the other avengers guysssss stand UP. sam pick up the phone network around and you'll have them rounded up within the week how are y'all letting this happen !!! ok rant over

edit to add: civil war and all THAT didn't happen just for the 'avengers' to led by a member of the government. not even the UN, or an ethical body of sorts, no, just ONE corrupted and awful CIA director. how the FUCK would bucky stand for that and how is that not a slap in the face to steve, sam, nat, and everyone else affected by the accords (and this is coming from a tony stan)

[akajustmerry]

first of all I boycotted and continue to boycott captain america brave new world so pls don't tell me to watch it. second of all, what I'm about to say is obviously not the mcu's biggest crime in the grand scheme of things, but I have big thoughts so here it is anyway: there is actually no excuse or explanation for making Walker "Captain America" in Thunderbolts that doesn't boil down to anti-Black racism. And I mean that on both a narrative and production level. On a narrative level, Sam is also a "rogue agent" which was established in tfatws, and a veteran (literally first thing we learn about him). There's no plot point or character arch written for Walker that couldn't also fit Sam and even be more compelling with Sam there. One of the weakest points of thunderbolts is a lack of any significant established relationships or commonality (except for Yelena and her dad) between the characters, having Sam there balances this more and gives Bucky a more compelling reason to join the team at all. On a production level, it's nuts. Especially when the studio knew how much audience racism there was towards Sam: to further undermine him with the racist villain from his series (Walker) getting a whole movie where he "redemptively" becomes the "official" Captain America only encourages more racism directed at Sam, ESPECIALLY when you have even Bucky siding with the racist guy, going against everything established in tfatws. I know this is a tale as old as time at this point wrt Disney and Black characters. but Disney shouldn't cast Black people in these roles if they aren't going to a) protect them b) take them seriously or c) actually write culturally considerate and inclusive stories. Even if it's intended to be a commentary on anti-Blackness (which to be clear thunderbolts doesn't make that textually obvious enough for anyone to make that argument) it's done badly. You can't say "they're doing racism to critique racism" when there's no actual critique or pushback within the narrative against the racism. On a production level, it's truly crazy how the MCU has undermined Sam as Cap at every turn. He had to share his series with everyone's favourite white dude, he didn't get a movie for years, and when he did it was an ethical shitshow set up to fail. Not to mention, the incident at Comic con where Anthony Mackie was told ca;bnw would be Marvel's main event only for the trailer drop to be entirely overshadowed by the RDJ doctor doom announcement. And they announced Chris Evans return to the role before Sam had ever got his own film. I'm not asking anyone to feel sorry for millionaire actors or billion dollar companies funded by the military. However, it is very much worth considering how virulently and consistently anti-Black that studio is to this legacy character, and how these are for better and worse the biggest most watched films on Earth. That matters. Unfortunately, how the MCU portrays marginalised people matters because the reach of their impression in pop culture is unbearably massive. It is racist in every possible way how Sam's tenure as Captain America has been handled.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Thunderbolts* Review

May is almost over, but I finally was able to go out and see Thunderbolts* and I think it honestly might be one of favorite MCU movies ever. It's no surprise that the MCU has been struggling since Endgame, with only a few movies being major successes. The shows similarly saw a rise and fall of success and failure. While I love No Way Home, Wakanda Forever, and several shows such as Loki, the poor mash of quality and quantity pulled me away from a franchise that I fell very quickly in love with almost 10 years ago.

Thunderbolts*, however, was an incredible breath of fresh air with great action, writing, characters, acting, score, and much more. I love Yelena so much and Florence Pugh injects so much charisma and life into her performance. Bob aside, Yelena my favorite character in the whole movie and her journey really resonated with me. She's searching for purpose and not really finding it with her current profession or spot in life. She masks her vulnerabilities and pain under a quippy demeanor. But at the same time, Yelena carries a deep capacity for love and compassion. That is why I love her so much; through everything life has thrown at her, she has such a big heart and she extends to others in her life such as Bob, Alexei, Natasha, and her friends.

Speaking of the others, I really enjoyed their banter and story arcs, especially John Walker. After what he did in TFATWS, he was character we all loved to hate. Yet, the writers did an amazing job balancing his overall bad attitude with his insecurities. Throughout the movie, Yelena, Walker, and Ava all find companionship with each other because even though they've done bad things, the humanity inside of them still burns brightly and fiercely. It's not been fully snuffed out. Even Alexei gets to grow his bond with Yelena in some really beautiful scenes.

It was also pretty enjoyable to watch Bucky as a congressman. Not what I expected for the character ngl. However, seeing him as a hero while knowing where he started out in The Winter Soldier is amazing. He has come so far and grown so much over the course of this franchise and is one of the best characters imo.

And then there's Bob. Oh Bob, I have so many thoughts about you. If you couldn't tell already, I absolutely ADORED Bob. First off, his story did not go the way I expected (which adds to why I loved his character). Going into the movie, I knew Bob and Sentry were the same person, but other than that, I didn't know anything else. So, based off marketing and stills from the movie, I was waiting for something very different than what we got. I assumed that Bob was fully aware he was Sentry, already did the spooky shadow stuff, and was merely playing along with the Thunderbolts in order to stop them. Maybe he realizes the error of his ways along the way, maybe he doesn't. How wrong I was. Instead, Bob not only had no clue how his abilities worked, but he really was just a genuine, sweet man caught up in something waaaaay bigger than he expected.

This movie's core themes and messages are told so beautifully through the Thunderbolts themselves, but it is Bob that truly drives the narrative home perfectly. Sentry and Void, as pointed out by many other people, are more than just superheros/villains; they are the physical representations of Bob's struggles with mental illness. Sentry is powerful and is designed like a big beacon of light with his golden suit and flashy abilities. Void is complete darkness, sucking up every bit of light he touches. Bob's profile includes "delusions of grandeur," something we see with Sentry. Meanwhile, Void preys on Bob's fears and drags him into a lonely, isolative place from which he can't escape from.

Throughout the movie, we the audience are shown the struggles and insecurities of our heroes and the pain they feel. They may brush it off with quips, jokes, and other remarks, but it doesn't make that pain go away. Then there's Bob, whose struggles take a physical form that he can't just "brush off." When Void emerges from Sentry's defeat, nothing can stop him. It is only through Yelena (and then the others) going into the void and getting Bob back that light returns to the world. And therein lies the movie's true themes of acceptance, support, love, and friendship.

Yelena, Alexei, Ava, Bucky, and Walker all have troubled pasts and all have tried to brush it away or shove it down. Bob's depression overpowers him and makes him feel so alone. But it is through their friendship and acceptance of each other that saves the day, not a big, fancy fight scene. The message is beautiful and resonates with me on so many levels.

Anyways, I need to rewatch this movie.

(rip Taskmaster, I didn't realize you'd only last one scene 😭)

[avelera]

I know it's been a while since it came out but when thing I really appreciated about Deadpool & Wolverine is that it and the rest of the Deadpool franchise really understood what fans want in a way that MCU movies have otherwise failed to grasp for a rather bafflingly long period of time which is this:

Happy Endings.

That might sound silly or childish (I can hear Deadpool's snort at the rude definition of happy endings in my ear even as I write this) but seriously, when was the last time a Marvel movie or show just gave us an unequivocal happy ending without any ambiguity?

For so long, Marvel has been feeling the need to provide some sort of hook, to set up that "not all is well" in order to keep people coming back for the next film.

But the thing is, I watched Deadpool 1, and Deadpool 2, and I came back for Deadpool & Wolverine even though technically all three ended with a happy ending. All three ended with the hero getting what they wanted, and the age-old reassertion of domesticity that is considered so cliche in so many happy endings (ie, everyone went home with their heterosexual partner and lived happily ever after in their white picket fence after the adventure was over).

What I actually loved, nay, even adored about Deadpool 2 was that it took the time to (spoilers) bring Vanessa back to life. It was in the credits, sure. But Wade/Vanessa is hands down my favorite het ship in the entire extended Marvel universe because they actually feel like they're in love, not just that they're falling in love or might have the chance to be in love someday (like Steve/Peggy) but that they actually have been in a long term relationship and they don't just love but actually like each other too, and they have what it takes to go the distance or, continue to be friends if they part ways as lovers. Like. MCU is so bad at het romance you guys, it's insane, but Wade/Vanessa actually feel like a real loving couple so even if I ship him with Logan too, I love how Wade/Vanessa was handled. I still get choked up about the whole Calendar Girl sequence and I was devastated in the second movie when she died.

And that's why it's so important to me that they brought her back. They didn't just leave it on "the girlfriend got fridged and while the hero still mourns her, he has grown stronger through the trials he suffered in the aftermath, etc etc." No, they understood she's a beloved character too, and it's a fantasy movie, and part of the fantasy is, yes, in the credits using the awesome magical powers at our disposal, we took an extra 10 seconds to make sure you know, as a fan, that everyone was ok in the end. Everyone got to live happily ever after, we brought back people who died, everything got to be ok.

The MCU hasn't done that in ages! WandaVision ends with Wanda losing everything, it's beautiful and devastating but it's also gut-wrenching and unsatisfying, especially after Multiverse of Madness. Winter Soldier ends with saving the world, sure, but the hero doesn't get everything back because we need to hook into the next movie, so Bucky needs to still be on the run and not reunited with Steve. Even Endgame, the end of the whole damn arc, ends with beloved characters (at least at the point of writing this) being dead and staying dead even though we have literal universe altering time magic at our disposal to, theoretically, bring them back and let everyone end on a happy note where they got everything they wanted.

Look, I get it, an all-around happy ending where everything is nicely tied up and everyone is alive and got their loved ones back can feel a bit childish. But throughout the MCU it has felt just so relentlessly withholding that no one gets this unequivocal, unambiguous happy ending in ages. It's like in their rush to hook you to the next movie, they completely forgot that part of the reward for the audience in watching these heroes go on these adventures is the hero getting what they want in the end, and not just getting strung along to the next adventure.

Deadpool understands that. Heck, it understands that you can give the all-around happy ending and still have problems that emerge down the line. Deadpool 2 ends happily but Wade still has problems that emerge in Deadpool & Wolverine, part of them are the outcomes of getting what he wanted that had unexpected consequences but don't diminish getting what he wanted after Deadpool 2. He wanted the white picket fence happy ending, sure, but as a result his life got dissatisfying and his relationship fell apart in a completely normal, human way. That doesn't actually diminish Deadpool 2 and saving Vanessa, btw, because bringing her back to life means life will go on and sometimes life just happens that way. Bringing her back means she has the chance to go on living and sometimes that means making decisions that aren't all about Wade. That's a good thing.

And likewise, Deadpool & Wolverine might get another sequel. I'm actually fine if it does! I'm fine if another villain just pops out of nowhere to interrupt their peace and quiet.

But here's the thing it will be interrupting their hard-won happy ending. They got the happy ending. We got to see Deadpool save his world of 9 people and add Worst Universe Logan to it. We got to see Logan from the Worst Universe find a loving family, even if he didn't get the original one back. We got to see everyone in peace and at rest having got what they wanted and what they needed. We got to see characters we love be happy.

Deadpool as a franchise understands that. It understands that we love these characters and, at some point, we want to see them happy after their trials and tribulations are over. I wish the MCU would remember that more often in its other stories, that not everything needs to end on a hook. Sometimes it can end with happily ever after and that still doesn't mean the story is over forever. Maybe it's just for now, but whether or not the story continues, Deadpool understood we on some level want to see our beloved characters left behind in a good place.

[milehighmegs]

On the Subject of Fandoms: A Love Letter

So, I'm old. Well, oldER. I haven't entered the twilight of my years by any stretch, but once I entered that midlife wistful state of nostalgia, I knew that I had very likely reached the point at which it would be more past than future. And ya know, that's ok. I made peace with my mortality long ago. I don't fear death, I fear not living before I die.

So what's that got to do with fandoms? you may be asking. Fair enough. Here's what it's got to do with fandoms:

Before it was even a term, before I could do multiplication or write my name in cursive (I told you I'm old), I was part of a fandom and didn't even know it. My parents watched 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' when it was still on primetime; we even recorded the final episode on VHS and had it for years. (I told you, I'M OLD.) It was so incredibly formative for me that it's become part of my identity, part of my moral & ethical code, part of my personality. Is that ridiculous? Dramatic? Maybe even a bit of hubris? Perhaps. But it's true, nonetheless.

I've since joined other fandoms, of movie franchises (namely the MCU), TV shows (like Good Omens), and musicians (I'm a die-hard metalhead) over the course of my life, each of them creating/inhabiting a different part of what makes me ME. Though I've always remained the same basic person at my core (a decent one at least if not a good one, I hope), being a part of these fandoms has shaped the foundations of how I live my life, and how I've LIVED my life.

Being on the proverbial back nine of my earthly existence, looking back at what's come before, at how far I've come and all the things I've fucked up or gotten right, questioned, accepted, regretted, cherished... so much of that is filled with moments like, 'what would Captain Picard do? How would the Avengers handle this? Which Slipknot song would be most comforting right now?' With the explosion of semi-social media sites (like tumblr here, and its gateway drug, Pinterest), I've been able to dive even deeper into the fandom. The fic, the art, the theories & analyses... it turns my appreciation for all these things I love to 11. But it wouldn't be possible without the most critical element: the fans.

Because people have such a love for, and identify so strongly with the stories & characters of their respective fandoms, they go deep into hidden meanings, major themes, & what they imagine these stories would be like if they were able to direct the action. More than anything, what I love about fanfic/fanart is that while yes, we're creating what we want for the characters, it's more a reflection of what we want for ourselves, both in the same situation as the characters and in life in general. For example, I see SO MUCH art/fic of Crowley & Aziraphale being open & free in showing their love for each other. I see so many stories of them making up and living happily ever after. The art ranges from sweet & adorable to... ah... adult-themed, but the vast majority of the latter is passionate, tender, & clearly loving; rarely is it straight-up raunchy. Smutty? Totally. Raunchy? Not so much. And why? Because we know these two are IN LURVE, not just in lust. And we want what they (clearly) have, even if they can't admit it to one another. We, the fans, can live vicariously through these characters and these worlds, and there we can find what we're looking for.

I've had a rollercoaster of a life, emotionally speaking, especially in matters of romantic love, and much of that hasn't been pleasant. I've done so much soul-searching, shadow work, self-care and all that whathaveyou, but none of it- NONE of it- has come anywhere near to being as insightful as the fan-based art & analyses of the relationship between Crowley & Zira. I have spent the vast majority of the last week thinking about it, writing about it, going over & over how it applies to my life & experiences, and I gotta say... none of it would be possible without the remarkable Good Omens fandom. So seriously, thank you. THANK YOU. You've helped to make me a better person. You've helped to make me look back on my life, smile, and turn around... to look forward to what comes next.

Keep up the incredible work, creators. You never know whose life you could be saving.

[thecollectivefixation]

Deadpool and Wolverine thoughts

OH MY GOD.

This movie was so good that it brought me back from the dead. HELLO?

As always this post will contain spoilers.

plot - themes of purpose and belonging and finding their place in the universe

Let's start with how Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy tackled the whole phase 3 multiverse MCU and adding Deadpool into it. They did it so well omg. In Loki and current Marvel there's a focus on "the scared timeline" (also known as Earth-616) and how important it is. However, Deadpool is no longer in Earth-616 he's in Earth-10005. And when Deadpool is faced with his whole reality dying because the anchor (Earth-10005 Logan) has died he fights for his timeline to live. I really like this idea because it brings light towards the these timelines are just as important as the scared timeline even if their importance (the anchor) dies off. So he grabs a Wolverine who is hated by his own timeline and is assumed to not be his reality's anchor because he wasn't the hero he was meant to be. (I'm also assuming that each reality has a different anchor such as Iron Man being Earth 616's anchor because since he's died everything has gone to shit). And since it was stated by Paradox that bringing a another Wolverine won't replace the anchor i believe that Earth 10005's new anchor is the friendship and bond between Deadpool and Wolverine. How their character's developed and learned, together they are now intertwined.

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In his universe he failed his team. He convinced everyone that he was meant to be alone, that he didn't want to apart of a team. He closed himself off from friendships and trust in a team and that caused the death of the X-men team, he couldn't save them. Then he want on a killing spree thus sullying the X-man and Wolverine name. He questioned his self-worth and struggled with survivor's guilt.

When we meet him he was at his lowest low. Deadpool teams up with him and you could see the flabbagasted look on that man's face when he gets told that Deadpool's Logan is the most important being of his reality. He teams up with Deadpool on the "educated wish" of him being able to get sent back in time before his reality's events because its clear he struggled with a lot of guilt and regret and he is not proud of who he is. He ran away and his decision to run away haunts him.

Throughout the movie you can see him grow and start trusting Deadpool. Another turning point was when the outcast group and Deadpool plans to take down cassanova and get her to send them home. He think they are stupid for going onto that mission because they are going to get themselves killed. However, after a talk with X-23 he realised that in each reality Wolverine has impacted people and people put their faith in him. He realises that he has a second chance of helping and saving the people who trust him and wants to team up with him. He's determined to help Deadpool save his 9 most important people of his life.

At the end when Deadpool locks in out and Deadpool plans on scarificng himself, he doesn't run. He doesn't run because he wants to make this right. He won't waste this second chance and if he's going down he's going down trying to save Deadpool's whole world (nine people) because he trusts Wade and he couldn't save his whole world (the x-men). He actively puts all his strength into breaking down that door. After when the TVA says that they won't send him back into his past to fix his mistakes he understands that without those experiences he wouldn't have done what he did. He's proud of who he's growing to be.

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Now before this movie I never was a big fan of the fantastic four or the X-men. In fact this movie has caused me to start watching the X-men movies and ofc I' loving it. So watching the movie I was a bit confused about who all these characters are and started to research after watching the movie. It's really great how Ryan and Shawn brought these characters back that have either been forgotten or recasted. Chris Evan says that he loved playing Johnny Storm again. Bringing Gambit into the movie when his character originally got cancelled was also amazing. Because in the MCU theres this big focus on the main characters that we don't see a lot of the hidden heros of the MCU. Even references towards characters like Moon Knight with the Cup Cake truck made me very happy because I love Moon Knight.

Anyway overall I loved this movie and have many more thoughts on it.

I'll make a post talking about Deadpool character arc if you want lol

(also if i got anything wrong because I'm very new to the X-men universe and haven't really edited this post well. Please comment lol. And please also comment your thoughts because I want to know.)

-Bookworm

[dayscapism]

My Thoughts on the Percy Jackson TV Show (was not a fan):

Months have passed but, I guess I like to throw wood to embers to make fires again. Honestly, I would have abandoned it after episode 3 if it weren't one of my favourite book series ever and I wanted so bad to be hopeful and pleasantly surprised.

I don't think it's a terrible adaptation, but I think it's boring, badly edited, with character inconsistencies, has first-draft-level writing and just missed potential. I'm happy it's been working for so many others, but I've also seen a lot of people being so reluctant to negatively criticise anything about it. Which is weird, it makes me feel like we're watching two different shows and I'm the problem (am I the drama? perhaps. I don't care.)

It's not been an easy time to watch for me; it's a sustained, painful, physical effort to pay attention to this show, especially during dialogue scenes. Like how do you make a show about a bunch of ADHD kids and make it so NOT ADHD-friendly to watch?? (The writers and editors should watch EEAAO, that's how an ADHD brain approaches visual media). The pacing, the terrible exposition, it's the static and uninteresting camera work, the lack of a campy hyping music/soundtrack, the lack of stylization, the lazy editing, the actors stopping to chat in a static shot every other minute, no running during urgent situations, etc. Nothing is engaging! It's such a boring show! There's always exactly 1 thing happening on screen and nothing else around it, no hidden meanings, no mystery, nothing that could be layered storytelling, which is such an important thing in a TV show where you only have 8 episodes to tell your story! Spekaing of, ADHD and dyslexia don't seem to be shown or discussed again after it's mentioned that Percy has it in episodes 1-2. I was hoping for bolder representation with that. (Why didn't they include the little dialogue where neither Percy of Annabeth can figure out the sign at the emporium because of dyslexia, and Grover has to tell them? These little moments count so much for representation of this kind!)

The dialogue paired with the pacing/humour is not landing. It truly feels unpolished, like a first draft. Like technically it serves its purpose, but it's an ineffective, unengaging manner to write a tv script. They should have done more flashbacks too, to give context and exposition. But instead, everything is given to us like you would in a book. (And this is coming from someone who read the books years ago so I NEED this exposition because I don't remember a lot of details, but the exposition isn't even helpful and the writing doesn't keep me engaged enough for me to even pay attention to the exposition!) The actors are doing the best with the material they have, they're all really precious, but this writing and directing is hurting their acting so bad. The dialogue and scenes are so awkward, which hurts the chemistry between the characters too (I expand on my issues with the characters later).

A lot of the tone and pacing issues could just be a book-to-tv adaptation thing because we're no longer in Percy's head with his funny sarcastic remarks and long paragraphs that can give us context. But then why didn't they include narration? Why didn't they keep it up after the intro in episode 1?? Why did they even include that bit if they weren't going to keep it up?? We have 4th-wall narration in lots of things these days (from the top of my head, Fleabag and Deadpool), usually done for comedic and style effect. This would help so much with the pacing and tone! the lost potential is so frustrating. Many movies/shows don't need narration; this one could have benefitted so much from it.

The show is not funny whatsoever when the books are hilarious. At no point did I laugh out loud here. Such a crime. I hate to be one of THOSE but the movies at least got the unserious and funny beats right. Like why is the music in this show just an epic forgettable MCU-like soundtrack but with a serious tone? Why didn't they include modern or campy songs? They should have taken clues from the Umbrella Academy's first seasons. And they could have included Greek music in it too! How cool would that have been? It's not a bad soundtrack by any means, but if nothing else is used in a very strange manner in some scenes because it sometimes cuts the action or doesn't match the energy or vibe of the scenes. The visuals and settings are pretty good, I admit, but these are underserviced by the entire production's lack of style and music and tone are a big part of that.

Some people have said the action scenes are bad, but I feel the problem is there's no sense of urgency, of danger (no layered storytelling here either). The fights with the monsters are okay, great even, the problem is this lack of excitement. The problem is the setups to the action: the lack of tension and then rushed resolutions. For example, they dragged the scenes with Medusa and Equidna talking that it lost all suspense. Equidna literally says instead of just jumping to it, showing what she would do to them kids. (Ok the chimera is cool tho, looks really cool. I want it as a pet 😊 And the editing when Percy falls from the arch is pretty cool too, rare exception.)

But most feels so underwhelming. These kids should also be running everywhere, not calmy walking (bad directing!) This makes the monsters not feel as menacing, because they always have time for a calm exposition break long conversations in the middle of what are supposed to be life-or-death encounters with ancient Greek monsters. And mind you, these pauses for conversation aren't even layered, they're often shot with a static camera, with dull dialogue no 12 yo would speak. They could be having these conversations while running, while hiding, while doing something else! Mix dialogue and action! Layered storytelling, it's about themes and characters but also about how you present the scenes themselves.

An adjacent problem is also that the actualization of the myths for a modern audience is a bit surface-level (like with Medusa). They could have done so much more here.

Now, issues with characterization:

Characters can really make or break a story. Here we have a lot of character inconsistencies, or rather, a lack of definition of the characters. It's not about the show being exactly accurate to the book here, it's the show wasting perfectly good character and plot moments from the show, while not being true to tone and to the core of the characters. Change in adaptations can be good, to consolidate or make things clearer and work for the new medium, but they character work here was very ineffective and inefficient.

Percy is supposed to be cunning, smart but not knowledgeable about the Greek world. The show has this being reversed many times.

Grover is perceptive and has more life experience but he is reduced to nothing here. Like I'm wondering why is he even here?

And Annabeth... Oh. Annabeth is a hard character to portray and write, tbh, it's easy to make her unlikable and straightforward, can very easily come off as annoying, pedantic perhaps, though I am all for unlikeable female heroines. But this is such a baffling iteration of her character. She comes off as a stalker in the first episodes, then she's mean and bossy yet she doesn't seem to actually plan or have good strategies (all is deferred to Percy really), then she sort of uses "the power of friendship" to resolve things but never her growing wisdom. Yes, she could be weird and caring and smart but they didn't nail any of those traits either. They striped her of any complexity. But my biggest gripe is that they didn't make Annabeth nerdy enough! Annabeth sure recalls a lot of facts during the show to look smart I suppose, but she rarely gets to problem solve or truly nerd out neurodivergent kid style, which I think is a huge missed opportunity.

An example, which might be very niche but it shows my issue with her characterization and I have to talk about it cause I'm a physics nerd (literally, it's my major), the part in the ST Louis Arch in episode 4 where she tells Percy and Grover stuff about the construction is so... basic. Like she just read it out of a tourist pamphlet or something. She just says how tall and wide the arch is and that it's symmetrical. That's it. Right...

Why didn't she mention what type of arch it is?? (A catenary arch, more specifically one that follows a weighted catenary curve. It isn't just held by "symmetry" it's tension! It's cool math!) Maybe she even mentions that it's a hyperbolic function and Percy and Grover can be like omg what are you even talking about, and she keeps going on and on about calculus and architecture, like a neurodivergent kid would about their interests. I mean, sure she's like 12, but she's supposed to be like a gifted kid, daughter of Athena, right? She probably knows some of the science and engineering behind the arch. Missed opportunity. Or maybe it's just that I see so much of myself in Annabeth and it hits too close when they can't make her justice. Idk. Like having a true nerdy, brilliant, neurodivergent, bossy but caring, black Annabeth would have been amazing. I guess the world wasn't ready for that.

This was episode 4 and the episodes are NOT getting better...

Also, Annabeth and Percy get sincere with each other really quickly after like 1 day of knowing each other, no layered storytelling or emotional reactions to them baring their deepest fears and darkest backstories either. (Poor kids are doing their best with mediocre adaptation, though Walker is carrying the show at this point, tbh.)

Annabeth and Luke's relationship also suffers a lot from telling and no showing. Why don't we have flashbacks?? Such a missed opportunity for a show. As a rule, showing isn't superior to telling, but these two techniques need to be balanced in the writing, they can be combined too to serve the story during a specific scene or passage. In this case, telling was the wrong way.

For Luke, if they want his arc to have the emotional hit it has in the book, they really needed to build his character more and give him more screen time! Which could have been done with flashbacks. Because with Annabeth's stoic acting, too, we don't really get the emotional reactions appropriate to the events she recounts. So how are we going to feel with the betrayal since the relationship hasn't been built strongly so far? Nothing. We'll feel nothing.

Annabeth's actress is doing her best with what she's given, idk why the production settled on this portrayal like she's in a Disney Channel kids sitcom from the 90s, deadpan but snarky. It's not a flavour of acting that helps this adaptation either. This might be a larger directing issue, though, because Percy barely reacts when he sees his mother "die" in front of him.

Disney watered down Sally too. They really did. Her makeup is nice though.

Anyway, Flashbacks and narration could have saved this series alone, tbh. We don't even know how Thalia looks like or how was she like! So why should we care about the exposition Annabeth says about her?

Also a bit of a nitpick but why isn't it explained why are Percy and Sally are stuck with Gabe in the first place? About his scent? Why is the abuse so... sanitized too? Like yeah, we could have a more psychological and verbal form of abuse situation, of course, but we also didn't get that? Gabe was just unpleasant and a bit of a jerk, pathetic, but that was basically all. Also, no explanation for the blue food?? When it's such insight into Percy's relationship with his mom?? So much EXPOSITION in this series yet they missed many of the important parts!

So... yeah, they could be doing so much more with all the characters.

Concluding thoughts:

I don't hate the show (the visuals are great and Walker Scobell's acting is amazing, such a young talent!), but every time I finish watching an episode, I'm just bored and underwhelmed and wished I had done something else with my time.

Ok, disclaimer, I didn't finish the show. I got distracted and bored and couldn't be bothered. I think I stopped after the Underworld episode (episode 7 I think.) I couldn't be bothered to watch the finale even with Toby Stephens in it. That's how enthusiastic I am about it.

I know it's frustrating that in previous decades usually had 20+ episodes, plus season 1 and 2 being shot side by side so we didn't even have to wait and fear of cancellation after so little; shows really don't have to be perfect from season 1, they need room to grow, but they have to have SOMETHING to pull the viewer in from the beginning, to make them stay. Anything! This show is giving me nothing to work with. I do hope the show gets better in season 2, and I understand that the 8-episode-season model is a constraint for writers, but I still think it could have done much better with the resources it did have.

For example, Black Sails had an infamous first season, but then it grew to be what imo is the best show ever put to TV. And yes, it took a while for it to find its perfect footing, but it was like a delicious cake that maybe has some bad frosting but the foundation is there, it just needs polishing and a few changes. But this PJO show doesn't live up to its potential and it's just so frustrating because I wanted to love this show so much but I'm finding it difficult to think of anything that I truly loved about it other than Walker Scobell's acting and course Toby Stephens (but I already love him from his previous work so it hardly counts).

Honestly, I'm a little bit tired of discourse going around saying that critiquing a show from season 1 is not acceptable because the show hasn't finished growing and we want a second season, we don't want the criticism to affect a season 2. But this is irrelevant and that's not how media criticism works. People can get very on board with good shoes from 1 season alone. That's no excuse. There are genuinely good book adaptations out there that make changes for the better and get a good foothold from the get-go! Look at Lockwood & Co, OPLA or Anne with an E. It can totally be done. The criticisms we have are precisely because we love the books, because we wanted this adaptation to succeed, because we wanted to love it, but it disappointed us. And we are allowed to voice that, as long as is done in good faith.

I'm happy this show got renewed because of the fans who enjoyed it, love the Percy Jackson series, it is truly dear to my heart, but would I be sad if the show was cancelled? Honestly, no. I couldn't care less what happens to this show at this point. Why should I? I was given no reason to care, aside from my already existing love for the books. I'm not intrigued about how they're going to adapt book 2, I didn't connect with the characters, I wasn't having fun. Nothing. And sure, I want young kids to be introduced to Percy Jackson, great if it's through this show, I want younger generations to love this series too, but I don't know any gen alpha who would enjoy such a show. (Hell, I really wanted my audience-age-appropriate niece to love it, but she couldn't care less about it and jeez, I wonder why...) Kids deserve better shows than this.

Will I watch season 2? Idk. Maybe? I can put it in the background while doing something else perhaps. I do hope they improve stuff but I don't have my hopes up. Will I watch episode 8? No. Life's too short. I already read the books so why bother (hehe)

[ro994art]

Finally watched Brave New World today

I thought I'd share my thoughts about it! Disclaimer, this isn't a proper review or much less an analysis, these are literally just some scattered personal thoughts and opinions. Yapping, if you will. 😬 Think of it as my Bluey Minireviews, but longer. 😅 You may disagree with me and that's fine, but please be civil in your interactions, thank you.

Oh, and just in case, spoilers ahead.

BNW movie wasn't perfect, but it was FAR better than the fanboys online led me to believe.

I don't care what anyone says, Sam is an amazing main character. A friend of mine pointed out how awesome it is that his first move is always to de-escalate conflict. His people skills and getting others to aid him and be on their side are honestly so underrated, and are actually a great skill to have when you're Captain America.

Also worth mentioning that his compassion and empathy are by far the best aspect about him, and I love that we have a hero that displays those qualities. But that doesn't stop him form being an incredibly cool hero and fighter all the same. Sam is just such a great role model and I love having him as Cap.

I've also really liked Joaquin ever since TFATWS, and this movie made me love him even more. He's just so funny and sweet and a great friend to Sam. I loved getting more of him. 🥰

Isaiah and his story also continues to break my heart and how he gets continuously used by others and treated so unfairly, but it also makes me very happy that he has Sam now and that he was able to once again bring some justice to Isaiah's name. Glad he ended the movie on a good note.

Almost every review and plot summary I read online about this movie made me think the plot was going to be hard to follow, too clogged, or convoluted. But in my opinion, it really wasn't, and I thought all plot lines actually came together quite nicely. I honestly could've done without all the Incredible Hulk elements, and yeah, it honestly does kind of suck that they gave Sam leftovers from not one but two of the MCU's worst-ever received movies (although in full transparency, I actually liked Eternals more than most people), but for what they did with it, it felt really well handled.

I'll also be honest about not being a fan of how this film tried to make us sympathize with Ross far more than I would've liked to, but to their credit, the film doesn't overly-victimize him or make an effort to make us think "Oh he's always been A Great Dude™ actually" or anything like that. It leaves clear that Sam still doesn't like him and that Ross is still an irascible jerk, but apart from him taking a very smart approach to working with Ross, it's very in-character of Sam to still give him opportunities to be a better person, because he sees that Ross wants to become a better person (even if he falls short more often than not), and him wanting to do so for his daughter was a believable motivation. And that line about Sam still seeing him as a soldier who needed support? Amazing. 10/10. Peak Sam Wilson.

Sterns as the main villain was another element I didn't like from the get-go, mainly because 1) I personally hate know-it-all villains, 2) his role in The Incredible Hulk was forgettable in my opinion, and 3) him having zero connection with Sam made me fear that he wasn't going to feel very impactful as a villiain. And unfortunately, I was proven right. 😬 Don't get me wrong, he was threatening, his plan was solid, and he played his part in the plot just fine. But that's about it. I honestly don't feel anything towards him other than annoyance, especially in that post-credit scene. Like, yeah, thanks for the reminder that the multiverse is still coming. Still doesn't make me look forward to it. 😑 (If the multiverse storyline does hype you, I'm glad, and please don't let me take that away, I just personally don't like it)

Also, I'd hate to become one of those people who only talk about this part of the film, because this film was about SAM and he's the one who should be getting the spotlight and be talked about. However, you all know me and my bias, and I'm sure you'll want to know what I thought of the Bucky scene, so here it is: It was beautiful. It was a gorgeous scene and really a prime, peak example of what the friendship between Sam and Bucky should be. Proof that Bucky isn't, in fact, emotionally unavailable, at least not with Sam. THIS is the Bucky I know and love, a Bucky who is nothing but supportive of Sam Wilson and is there for him when he needs him, even if he can't be there all the time. Funny how the writers of this film understood his character and made him more justice in 3 minutes than the Thunderbolts* writers did in 2 hours. You can tell clearly who watched TFATWS and who didn't. As far as I'm concerned, this is the last canon Bucky scene. "I love you, buddy." 🥹

So, to wrap it up, I enjoyed BNW more than I thought I would, not only because of the trolls and haters online, but also because I'm usually not a fan of political thrillers. Was this the best movie ever? No, it wasn't. But I think Sam and Joaquin carried it REALLY well and I was invested in their storyline and their interactions the entire time. I love those two and I hope their future MCU entries will get a better treatment by the franchise, because those two deserve the world. The Ross storyline was not my favorite but worked well for what it was. The emotion was hard-hitting and made the characters feel very human and relatable, and the action was also super engaging and proved unequivocably that Sam is a really cool and very capable Captain America.

Sam is my Cap.

This movie was a really good time. If you're on the fence about it, please go give it a chance, and hopefully, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[harleycao]

So, uh.. This happened

And so... Here's the rest? Also, while I'm of a fan of both Batman and Green Arrow, I an in no way an expert and am almost definitely going to get stuff wrong!

Side note: I'm coming from after having written more of this post and just want y'all know that I'm kinda jumping all over the place with what I'm saying. So... Be ready for my chaotic adhd rambling, lmao.

But my overall message, is right. Or, well... You know what I mean.

Before I start the main rabt, though, i want to go into some background about my... Viewing history,i guess you'd call it.

Arrow was actually my introduction to the wider world of DC, because prior to watching Flash (i started watching Flash first and then found out about the otheers and started Arrow so I could watch the arrow-verse properly. Prior to that, the only dc stuff I cared about was Harley Quinn. I'd started with marvel after a friend at the time introduced me to the mcu. In 2015/2016, that same friend introduced me to Harley Quinn when the original Suicide Squad was coming out. (they were a little older than me, BTW and looking back, I'm pretty sure they read comics).

But I didn't even care much about Batman then. The arrowverse got me interested in the rest of dc and later, when Titans came out, i loved Jason Todd and found that there was only 2 other movies (and 0 shows) that had him and one of them is the one where he dies and isn't really in the movie much.... And that's why I started really reading comics. I still only dabble, but I do read them. Also, i want to note that prior to the titabs thing, I'd watched Constantine and upon finding out (after finishing it) that it had been cancelled and the cliff hanger was never going to be resolved, i read some hellblazer. But no other comics, at the time.

And eventually, I started reading some green Arrow and... That leads me to the next bit.

The Oliver Queen in the comocs (and everything else, except arrow) would literally hate the Oliver in arrow.

Please understand, I'm not hating people for liking arrow.

I just hate that people think that is what green arrow is always like. My problem is a lack of information and a lack of more accurate portrayals.

Because there is no Thea Queen in the comics and her whole dying/resurrection thing?

THAT'S JUST JASON TODD!!

Roy is... Honestly, he's not the same personality-wise and in the comics, he's a red head. Beyond that, I can't think of much to say, though I know there probably is stuff.

Ph, yeah! That brings me to something else.

Black Canary..... Oof. They really did her wrong.

Also detective lance? Jim Gordon.

Oliver in the comics is pretty hardcore left-wing, though whether he's socialist, communist, etc is kinda up for debate.

Oliver and Bruce! They.. They don't hate each other or anything.. But Oliver is FAMOUS for fighting with the other Leaguers over politics

Bruce Wayne is a literal billionaire.

They don't hate each other but they don't really like each other.

Anyway, i just remembered Felicity ends up in a wheelchair because she's apparently Barbara Gordon.

(Note the heavy sarcasm there).

Alright, I'm done with this post.

Hopefully, I can come up with a better, understandable, and more concise post tomorrow when I'm not tired. (It's almost 11:30 pm right now).

For now, I'm going to just post this.

( @ladyphlogiston - totally forgot to tag you last night i plan to rewrite this at some point).

[dervampireprince]

hi!! I was thinking about getting into marvel because of your Loki audios. not solely because of them, but I think Tom Hiddleston is a great actor, and, from what I've seen of Loki, he seems right up my alley! do you have any recommendations on how I should watch the movies? Should I watch the spin-off series for him or any other series? thanks!!

oh... i can only apologise.

TWs mentions of fatphobia, transphobia, and a movie scene of borderline-(if not)sexual harassment in the MCU.

firstly the mcu is incredibly daunting to get into because theres so many movies and tv shows and they're all canon and you have to watch them all or you wont understand any of the next movies and that's... a lot.

okay so. i did like the marvel movies, i was really into them... and yeah it started feeling like the quality was going down and the creators cared less but i kept watching them.. and then endgame happened. with it's constant fatphobic jokes at thor, constantly making fun of his mental health and depression, the weird 'gay representation' that was nothing. and i haven't watched an mcu movie since. i couldn't stomach it. and then they started making mcu tv shows. and i watched wandavision and thought it was okay.

and then the loki series happened. and while it's an alternate universe version of loki and not the same loki character that's in the movies, it's still loki. and in all these interviews the actors and writers and director were talking about how loki was finally canonically genderfluid in this show.. and then i watched it.. and i thought oh no this isn't trans rep.. maybe it's coming later?.. it didn't come later, as the show get going it went from 'hey wheres the trans rep' to being actively transphobic. i felt sick. i was harassed online for being trans in the marvel fandom, for being trans and liking loki and wanting better representation. i spent months putting all my thoughts and research into a video essay which you can watch on my emptymasks youtube channel called 'the failure of the genderfluid representation in loki'. i, and others, really wanted people to think critically about how transphobic the show is but no one listened. one of the shows writers ignored questions about the trans rep and picked out the few mean questions to answer on twitter. the director ignored the questions about the trans rep and instead painted all the people complaining about the show as evil by pointing out how one bad actor had threatened her dog, making loki series defenders think everyone complaining about the show was making threats. they gave interviews about fans saying crazy things, but never once addressed the fans asking about the transphobia. the show got a season 2. i didn't watch it. i get upset thinking about the show and don't ever want to be asked about it.

and then moon knight came out and i gave marvel one last chance. and it was good. and i liked it. and while it's DID rep isn't fully accurate, it also isn't harmful. and then.. nothing. crickets. for years. until one day they announced they had cancelled moon knight and it wasn't getting another season despite the cliffhanger it was left on.

and they made thor 3 which people love, but thor does sort of character regress and go from this dad-friend that i love to an idiot. and then they made thor 4.. which has thor forcibly stripped naked and borderline sexually harassed and it's played for laughs. if that was a female character i doubt they would have done that scene.

so can i recommend getting into the mcu? personally? i find nostalgia in the old films pre-endgame. i love loki. i love bucky. i really liked tony and thor. i liked clint and nat. i liked steve. (apart from age of ultron which is decides that women who cant have children are 'monsters' and is real sexist in what it does with natasha, surprise it was that directors last marvel movie he got to work on).

so if you really want too. if you want to see loki. firstly, know that the loki series is about a different version of loki, an AU, an alt-universe, not the loki who goes through the events of the films and all that character development. and in my opinion, not one should watch that offensive transphobic fucking show.

but if you really want to see loki. the actually loki, the original, the one i voice in my audios. this is his appearances in order:

Thor (film)

Avengers / Avengers Assemble (film) (however you won't understand who the other avengers are without watching all the films that come before this one, not just thor)

Thor: The Dark World (film)

Thor: Ragnarok (film) (references the events of age of ultron and civil war so again you might not understand everything)

and i do still have love for those movies. loki will probably always be my number one comfort character, he was the first character i feel so in love with, and i found him at a time my life where i didn't have anyone irl to turn too and i turned to a fictional character and as sad as that sounds it was better than nothing and he'll always have such a special place in my heart. and when people tell me the way i portray him does a better job than the mcu, in terms of his genderfluidity, it means so much to me. i only started questions my gender because of loki and him being trans.

he is also in avengers infinity war, which is a part 1 or 2, the second part being endgame. i can't stop you from watching them but i also personally can't recommend endgame. also you will not understand anything that's happening in avengers infinity war and endgame without watching all the previous captain america, iron man, doctor strange, spiderman (the mcu ones, not amazing spidermans, not the sam rami spidermans), captain marvel, black panther, the antmans, the guardians of the galaxy films and any others that got released before it. to watch infinity war you need to have watched 20 films before it. which is a lot of films. not including that 'agents of shield' and 'agent carter' the tv shows are canon. not including all the short films. people recommend you either watch the movies in the order they were released, or the chronological order of the years the films are set in.

a lot of people have said marvel movies dropped off after endgame, that they're struggling to get audiences invested after getting rid of so many main characters, that the only reasons rdj is coming back as a new character is because they feel lost without him. idk. i do think the people making them... it feels like don't care. that it's just for the money.

if you really want to understand everything and get into the avengers and see all of loki's films then you could watch every film from iron man 1 up until thor ragnarok. and then you can decide if you want to keep going.

i'm sorry if this was depressing answer. but i can't stand the current mcu. i can't think about the mcu without getting upset and angry and frustrated. and i don't want anyone to tell me it's good now, or that thunderbolts was good or anything. i don't want to be recommended the mcu.

i hear thunderbolts was good. people are excited for the new fantastic four movie. but the mcu has burnt me too many times for me to every trust it again. they'll never be the films i want them to be. so i'll be over here living in my 2012 avengers au fics where everyone lives in stark tower together, including loki, clint's hiding in the vents and thor's eating poptarts.

you asked. this is my honest answer. and i've shared these thoughts on the mcu before.

however.

if you like loki. if you like what loki could be when allowed to be great and have character arcs and redemptions and be genderfluid. and if you like or are okay with reading comics. then feel free to ask me for loki comic recommendations. they do him a lot more justice than the films. if the loki series had adapted 'agent of asgard'... imagine what we could have had.

[the-masked-reviewer]

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) Review

potential spoilers ahead...

This movie was very fun and continues Deadpool's humor extremely well. The story fits both the other Deadpool movies and where the main MCU (616) is headed (at least I think, let's be honest that direction is a bit obscured, if it even exists). The movie is chalk full of references and cameos, all of which are super fun and well done. I'm sure that and the amazing soundtrack is all most people are going to be talking about for a while. So all I'm saying is its all great. It was really awesome to see Jackman back as Logan and seeming like he was having fun being back. As for the CGI all I really have to say about it is that the whole time Jackman has the Wolverine mask on he looks like a computer model.For a casual superhero fan, there's probably more homework watching for this movie than would be preferred (none of which I actually did going in, but I'm anything but casual about superheroes), however, in comparison to the mainline Marvel products, this is practically nothing, which definitely works in its favor.I went into the movie knowing it would be good and still left both surprised and impressed at how good it was. I want to be able to point at this movie and say it's a positive sign for upcoming Marvel things. But I wouldn't be able to say it confidently because, despite the TVA being here and being such a huge part of the story, Deadpool (and the X-Men) and still their own separate universes, apart and away from mainline Marvel. It is definitely a positive for Deadpool and hopeful even the X-Men (as long as Disney leaves them where they are and stops trying to insert them where they don't belong to boost interest). I have even less confidence in mainline Marvel given the latest announcement of RDJ coming back as doctor doom. I'm not saying I think he can't play Doom, I actually think he'd be a brilliant Doom IF he didn't play essentially the main character to the entire series for 12 years. Bringing RDJ back is just Disney trying to go back to the era of marvel that was actually good (which can't happen, it's gone, that's just unfortunately how time works) and trying to get people to come to the movie just to see Downey. I've been trying to figure out how I really feel about the announcement, and I'm still not really sure but I do know the decision was motivated by Disney's greed and not by a love for the stories they are telling.

[alexanderwales]

Movie Review: Venom: The Last Dance

Just got done watching Venom: The Last Dance, and I don't remember the previous two movies being that bad. I mean they weren't good movies, but they had their own charm, and were, in my opinion, worth watching. They had fun with it.

This one just sucked. There were a few laughs, Venom is good for a gag, but ...

Alright, screenwriting 101, you've gotta save that cat, right? So they start the movie off with just undoing all the stuff that was supposed to put him in the MCU, and he's right back where he was at the end of the last movie. They want to give you something to root for, I guess, so Eddie goes to a dog-fighting operation and kills some guys there.

This is bad. It has no relation to the rest of the plot. It does nothing to characterize our protagonist in an interesting way. It sets up no stakes. It tells us nothing new. You could cut this entire scene from the movie and it wouldn't make virtually any difference. This is what people hate about save the cat, it's a misapplication of principles.

The movie is full of stuff like this. It's bafflingly bad. They set up so much stuff that is just never paid off. They set up Knull and then don't use him in the slightest, just his goons. Where's the big final battle? There is this whole thing with Juno Temple's character that takes up a considerable amount of screentime, amounts to absolutely nothing. What's the point?

This movie made me want to do a CinemaSins breakdown of everything that was awful about it, and I hate CinemaSins.

But Eddie steals a tuxedo from a guy for a single scene because they wanted him in a tuxedo, then he bumps into a woman from the first movie who is visiting Las Vegas from San Francisco, then there's a dance number where he transforms in spite of telling us they can be tracked, which leads the monsters right to him, and this is all like five minutes of nonstop bad writing.

Normally I would say that this is the Hollywood system just shitting things up, but Kelly Marcel has the sole writing credit, and was also the director, so that's where the buck stops. I really want to watch Changeling, which she's the showrunner on, to see whether it's as shit as this (though that's an adaptation). She was a screenwriter on the other two movies, but this was her first solo writing credit, so maybe that was it. Maybe some stuff happened during filming, maybe wearing that many hats didn't go well, maybe she was phoning it in. I don't know, it's just such godawful writing that it makes me angry.

I'm really struggling to think of a worse movie. I think I genuinely liked Madame Webb better than this.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

I actually came to tumblr to post this for a project I am doing, but I thought whilst I am here I might as well discuss 'Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'.

I am judging purely off the trailer so who knows maybe the show will be decent, but then a trailer is supposed to entice you into watching. Regardless, I highly doubt I am going to give it a chance if for no other reason than Disney has already done a bad job with Spider-Man at least twice before since 2012.*

Like, I honestly do not think the fandom fully appreciates how MUCH of a travesty Ultimate Spider-man (2012) was. I remember speaking a lot about it when it was on air so I won't go into full details. The gist of it is that it utterly sold out fundamentally on everything that defined Spider-Man as a character. For the show to do that on Spider-Man's 50th anniversary and act as a promotional vehicle for the MCU basically was salt in the wound; other than Spectacular Spider-Man (2008) dying so that piece of shit could exist.

Spider-Man (2017) was comparatively less bad but still VERY bad, marinated in Slott slop as it was with ugly character designs and awful animation to boot. Say what you want about the animation of the 1994 cartoon, but there were times they really pulled it off and unlike the 2017 cartoon, they didn't have Daddy Disney funding them.

And now this, which is essentially warmed up left overs from Spider-Man: Homecoming, which may have been a good movie, but was absolutely a horrific adaptation of Spider-Man as a character. Once more selling out the principles of the character Lee and Ditko imbibed him with. Which isn't a surprise. Marvel as an institution haven't understood Spider-Man for maybe 25-30 years now, even if sporadic individual writers have.

The costume looks ugly, and now even in a way that is maybe fun, like you could see how it might yet evolve into the classic Spider-Man outfit the way you could with the Raimi wrestling outfit or even the Homecoming outfit.

We have Norman Osborn making Spider-Man's suit for him because God forbid we do a modern Spider-Man origin where he does that himself.

We got the Future Foundation suit, which granted, looks cool but is divorced from the FF storyline where it had any meaning.

We have Peter maybe being a streamer, which if that happens it is a pathetic Boomer approach to modernising him being a photographer.

We got ugly looking animation that is honestly worse looking than the 2003 MTV cartoon by Mainframe Entertainment.

We got cringe modern dialogue.

We have Peter calling his aunt 'May', rather than Aunt May. Which is disrespectful and gross to me, but also plain weird. Miles Morales is out here saying 'Uncle Aaron' but Peter Parker isn't saying 'Aunt May' anymore? It isn't a modernisation thing, it is again a biproduct of this being leftovers from Homecoming, where they intentionally (and grossly) framed Aunt May more as a big sister.

And we have, honestly the biggest problem for me, which is the voice of Peter Parker. Four. Disney legit miscast Peter Parker's voice four times in a row! I will give them a pass for Spidey and his Amazing Friends, but even them we have still done a trilogy. There are no end of examples in cartoons and video games of people doing a good Peter Parker vocal performance. If you didn't want to just hire any of them then at least use them as a starting point for the type of voice you are looking for. This guy at best sounds generic.

And as for the race swapping, it is eye-rolling because of who specifically they chose to swap out and the obvious hair-related reasons as to why. On a slight tangent, in some early reprints of the Ditko comic books Norman, back when he was an unnamed background character, was recoloured to be black by mistake. So technically this has comic book precedence.

*I haven't seen Spidey and his Amazing Friends.

[gildatheplant]

Review Time!!! Thor the Dark World

OK so I finally caved and got Disney + because I was feeling nostalgic for the MCU, and especially two of my all time superhero faves Loki and Thor.

Despite my love for these two characters I've felt pretty burned out of the superhero genre the last couple years. Combined with not having access to Disney + when the Loki series first came out and hearing mixed reviews for both it and Thor: Love and Thunder, I didn't really feel inspired to check them out.

A month or so ago something (probably a post floating onto my tumblr feed) inspired me to finally check out Loki and figure out how to get Disney +. While I have things I love about the show, and things I thought could've been done much better, it made me feel seriously nostalgic for the Thor films....which led me to a rewatch of Thor the Dark World aka the only Thor film I had watched only once.

And after rewatching it...I gotta say it gets a bad wrap. Does it have issues? Yes, yes it definitely does. But overall, it's not nearly as bad as a lot of fans make it out to be. Not one of Marvel's top films by any stretch, but also nowhere near as bad as some of Marvel's later films.

The Bad: Honestly, I only have two major beefs with this film- its shifts in tone and its villain. Marvel is pretty famous for blending action, drama, and comedy in its superhero films with varying results. The first Iron Man and The Avengers balanced these elements almost perfectly. The Dark World...does not. Much of the comedy feels forced, and it's made even worse by moments of severe mood whiplash. The most glaring example is the shift from Frigga's heartbreaking and beautiful funeral to Dr. Selvig running around with no pants on. Such a sharp change in tone can leave audiences feeling frustrated and annoyed at the sudden emotional shift. The sharp tone changes are also tied strongly to the Asgardian storylines vs. the Earth storylines- with the Asgardian tone feeling more serious and heartfelt, while the Earth tone mostly feels too silly.

As for the villains I actually really liked the overall design of the dark Elves. Their wide eyed, blank white masks were effectively creepy and gave them a completely different vibe than the type of elves moviegoers are used to seeing. Malekith and Kursed were done dirty though. I remember reading at the time that the actors themselves were angry about how much of their portrayals were left on the cutting room floor, which is a real shame because Christopher Eccleston can play great villains. It's a shame we're never going to get a director's cut because I'd be curious to see how much that could improve the film's villain issue. We spend so little time with them that it's hard to feel anything really for them.

The Good: As I said, I actually think this film gets a bad wrap. While it has its lows, it also has its highs. My favourite aspect, of course, were the character arcs for Thor and Loki. This movie is the first to really show Thor as the strategist and leader he needs to be to be a king. It also shows how much he's grown since his first film- prioritizing the safety of his people over battle and glory. Chris Hemsworth gives a great performance that highlights Thor's growing maturity, compassion, and charm.

Despite Loki not having a lot of screentime, every time he is onscreen, it adds something to his character AND the characters around him. We see Loki argue with his father about the value of mortal lives, where it seems like Odin has far more respect for them...until we're later shown through Odin's dismissive and almost cruel treatment of Jane that Loki likely learned his viewpoint on them from his father. Loki also mirrors Odin's words to Thor about Jane, with both of them pointing out he should give up on her because of her short lifespan. Interestingly, it is Loki, not Odin, that shows Jane the most compassion in the end- he shields her from harm with his own body then pushes her to safety when she is shot at. As much as Loki's words may resemble his father's, his actions demonstrate his closeness to his mother.

As good as Thor and Loki are, they are best when they are onscreen together, and this film really highlights that. As vicious as their arguments get, from Thor declaring he has lost all hope for Loki and will not hesitate to kill him to Loki brutally pointing out how Jane is going to die long before Thor, there's still a strong brotherly bond between them. The way that no matter how angry they get with each other, they can't help teasing, joking and, ultimately, having each other's backs. It's telling that the kindest words Odin says to Thor in this film were actually said by Loki in disguise.

Pretty much everything to do with Queen Frigga is fantastic. Her heartbreaking conversation with Loki in the prison, her fierce protectiveness of Jane, her use of magic that so resembles Loki's, the way she was totally kicking Malekith's ass, the beauty and tragedy of her funeral.

Heimdall, the Warriors Three, and Sif have relatively small roles, but they make the most of them. Heimdall's taking down of the elves' ship is great, but what I love most is that he acts as both loyal subject and mentor to Thor. Sif is given an element of tragedy in the film as it becomes clear that she is in love with Thor but he only loves her as a friend. It makes her continued loyalty and friendship to him seem all the more noble.

Lastly, this film has one of my favourite cameos in any MCU movie with Chris Evans playing Loki playing Captain America. Honestly, I like it more than Hugh Jackman's cameo in X-Men First Class, and that one was tough to beat.

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

What are your favourite moments of Steve Rogers in the MCU?

Oh, so many! I'm going to only mention a few because if I mention them all.... you'd get the longest ask in Tumblr history 😜

This is the moment he became my favourite Avenger:

I joined the MCU with AoU in 2015 so I watched the previous movies out of order. When I saw this scene I remember thinking "Yep, I'm sorry Thor but you're 2nd now, this guy is my #1 Avenger from now on!" 😂

In TFA, most people will point out the "I don't like bullies, I don't care where they're from" and don't get me wrong, I love that line. But I would choose the dialogue that happens right before that one:

Steve: "Where are you from?" Erskine: "Queens. 73rd Street and Utopia Parkway. Before that, Germany. This troubles you?" Steve: "No."

It's a small thing but I can't imagine many people being so accepting of German citizens at the time, and the fact that Steve didn't mind at all proved he was a smart man, way before he got that serum.

Another is in AoU:

Dunno, it's a kind of self-awareness that I really like about him.

Do deleted scenes count?

I love this one because he doesn't get mad even though he's the exact opposite of a fascist. He takes off the helmet and focuses on helping people who probably hate him or (what they think) he represents. He doesn't do it for himself nor does he try to get any recognition or anything, hell if he could have taken off his suit right then and there he would have done it. He just went to Sokovia to help, that's all that mattered to him. And if the people he was saving hated him... so what?

This glorious moment...

How can anyone not love this man? What is not to love?!! No, really.

I love this part in AoU because he knows he can lift it but he's pretending not to and that means 1) he's the sweetest thing alive, 2) he wants to prove himself to himself, he doesn't need other people's approval, 3) he doesn't want to rule Asgard just in case that whole thing was real and he got in a lot of trouble for lifting a freaking magic hammer.

(Also, I love him in that blue shirt. That blue shirt gives me life.)

These two brutes (affectionately for Thor, not so much for Stark) going at it like kids until Steve shows up and stops it. This is fresh-from-the-ice Steve who has found out recently that aliens are on Earth, but he's acting like a mature man who can manage to use his brain instead of turning to violence for no reason (and some people claim all he does is punch his way out of things... my my).

And yes, I left CW for last. You know why, I'm sure. But still, he's got great scenes in that one too:

God, I love that line.

This dialogue should have been longer but he's being a big bro to Wanda, he cares for his teammates and he's talking about how he sees his work. If only CW was a Cap movie...

And this. Not only do I like that he's reading the Accords, but this panel proves he's not against accountability.

Anyway, there are many more but this got long enough! Now I miss Steve even more. More blue shirt? Hell, yeah.

I love him.