#i also think it was really obvious that james gunn did all 3 films (in a good way)

[bloodymarymorstan]

I just watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and I felt like it really solidified one of the reasons why Endgame just did not work in my opinion which was that none of the characters whose stories were ending in that movie actually got a proper send-off that was focused on them. This is because, in Endgame, everything was taking place in the midst of a much larger story where a major goal was still to set up future storylines and ultimately to try to give partial or equal focus to a really unreasonable number of characters. I always hate on Steve’s ending in particular and while I do definitely think it was a majorly poor choice for his character in general it was also just really rushed and didn’t make sense given the pretty minimal amount of time that was allocated to his character in that movie, whereas if Steve had gotten to go out on a final Captain America movie I’m sure it would have been much more likely for him to get an ending that actually aligned with his arc as a whole and within that film. Plus, characters that are so well established deserve to get a real conclusion that is focused on them! And it worked so well in GOTG3 to actually have that but I couldn’t believe it when I realized that this is the first time in the MCU that a series has gotten to end in that way. I feel like it really goes to show how much this type of franchise storytelling wrecks character arcs more often than not because the priority is always the bigger picture rather than the individual story, and I’m happy Guardians got to end in this way but the other characters should have gotten that too :(

[roniarose]

Guardians 3 thought dump

Aaaah i actually liked an MCU movie for once

The Guardians were kind of the perfect team to go up against that type of villain, a team thats taken two movies to learn and are still in some ways learning that their differences and flaws are what makes them a family, up against someone who sees those flaws as a failure to be discarded. All of the Guardians spend a lot of time across all three films trying to escape how others view them, so this antagonist really feels like the perfect choice to culminate the trilogy

Also man the russos took a fat wet shit all over gamoras arc and james gunn still managed to salvage it and make it work, I was fucking terrified the whole movie that they were gonna end up together when thats literally impossible with this gamora, But gamora calls out quill immediately in this, and tells him thats shes not that person he so desperately wants. Peter still at least has the arc that he was meant to have regardless of gamoras fridging, where he needed to realize that hes projecting what he needs from other people onto those people, especially gamora. The movie still hints that they COULD end up being together, they just both need to spend time becoming more actualized versions of themselves. And peter needs to resolve more of his emotional baggage and sexism.

Its funny because from the way 2 ended its really obvious that gunn had planned for them to be together in 3 but that basically got ruined when she got tossed into the infinity stone pit. :/ i’m glad gunn was smart enough to realize that trying to redo 2 movies worth of relationship buildup across one movie was a bad idea

Lets see what else

Oh, hey Nathan fillion, long time no see! I’m glad you finally got to be in a story about a ragtag found family in space that didn’t end up getting canned, and i think the fight you did in the building that looked like a middle school science textbook illustration rocked, 10/10 keep rocking the Michelin man fit

I like that Adam Warlock is a big dumb idiot man that carries a pet around and listens to king crimson because its super obvious gunn had no clue what to do with him but had to have him there because the mcu continues to be an ever expanding nightmare mess. 10/10 no notes

Obviously the i am groot reveal was cute, and also a kind of cycle break that didn’t feel forced or like it had extra gravitas added to it, the reveal that the audience is part of the family now just gets to be a simple little moment

I love that nebula gets to be relatively more relaxed in this movie on the whole, she honestly deserves it, let her sip her lil sodie pop.

I loved Draxs lil dad moment in the third act as well, and how it ends up forcing nebula to learn that emotional intelligence is just as vital to have a practical intelligence. Up until that point she really underestimated him and a lot of the rest of the team because she had been taught by thanos a lot of the same things our villain believed, that theres only one kind of way to be, and that only perfection and results matter. She ends up learning through the guardians and drax that we each of our own individual strengths and perceived flaws, and that real perfection is in the culmination of those forces in our lives. I thought it was nice :)

The last thing i can think of is that I liked how a series defined musically by track from the 70’s and 80’s ends off with a track from the 2000’s. A way of communicating subtly our characters aren’t trapped in their past anymore. Great stuff

Anyways thats what i got atm, if you stumbled on this and are wanting more mcu stuff, sorry to disappoint, this is prolly the last mcu thing i’m checking in for unless something reveals itself to be more interesting in the future. I wanna try and talk more about other things tho, so maybe you will like those posts!

Testing this out

[notagamersdey]

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 movie review

Spoilers ahead!

You guys. So back in 2014, we were introduced to these band of misfits that almost the entire world didn’t care about. No one knew who they were or what they were about but many went to theaters to quell that curiosity.

flashforward a pandemic later and this movie just saved the MCU. It was full of heart and soul. Every character had a chance to shine and James did a real good job of paying off set ups that were established way back before the events of endgame.

Rockets backstory was the backbone of this film. It brought out the absolute best of these characters and brought out the emotions of the audience. We had seen who rocket was in the last movie, and how he struggled with himself but here we see how the team struggles with the mere idea of losing him. Even the most stoic of characters (nebula) showed how much they cared.

did I cry yes. I think a total of three times. And it was all due to the actors. When the characters reacted to rocket either about to die or dying, it felt so real and believable that it brought me to tears. I feel like one of there had to be alternate scripts where rocket really did die because the actors reacting to it were so in touch with that immediate loss that it was hard not to believe the worst. I say this because when quill was about to die, the reactions from the other actors were not as impactful. So that makes me believe that they knew he was going to be okay anyways.

Fucking claps all around for Bradley cooper. From what I’ve seen, he is not usually on set for rocket, it’s usually Brother Gunn (who also plays kraglen) but when Lyla dies and Rocket gives this gut wrenching scream, It was fucking terrible (in a good way). You can feel the loss and sadness and UGHHH! I can’t! It was so fucking good.

fucking props to the writers. I’m so hyped that I’d have to rewatch the film again to point more stuff out but for now I want to point out two things. 1. nebulas reaction: throughout the film nebula had been a complete hard Ass being annoyed at everyone. We don’t see her break this facade until rocket wakes up from a coma. She cracks. It’s so obvious yet subtle. It was in character. But also, when you remember what her character has been through since infinity war, all she had was rocket. For OVER FIVE YEARS. Rocket is most likely whom she’d consider her best friend if she were to admit such a thing. 2. rocket raccoon: they’ve made rockets species a gag since the very beginning but the entire scene where he finally sees for himself what he is, and then accepts that as such is such a fucking good pay off! It felt like he finally knew himself. Almost a decade of “I’m not a raccoon.” To “rocket raccoon” just hit different. And it wasn’t uncalled for. It fit. It didn’t feel cringey or over the top. It fit perfectly. Honestly it’s almost akin to “I am iron man” that’s how natural it felt. anyways, 10/10 recommend. I have more to say but it’s 3AM and I’m tired!

[caatws]

Your comment about Gamora's death in comparison to Natasha has been on my mind lately too. I wasn't in love with how they initially handled it with Natasha, but I think eventually she got more closure than Gamora received in vol 3.

I don't know what direction they were going for but how do you have a prominent character in a team film die and only two other characters speak about it, worry over it and have any grief displayed. That's ludicrous to me. Even if you set the film a couple years later you can still have one or two emotional team conversations about it. You could have at least one more person struggling in a different way. The guardians being depicted as a family only makes the problem more obvious. Either everyone but Peter and Nebula are the worst family members ever or the writing sucks. When Gamora shows back up you would think there would be emotional fallout even years later. Only Peter seems to be aware or have any response besides Nebula who has been interacting with Gamora and maintaining their relationship. You would think this was a common every day occurrence for most of them.

The same issue effects Gamora's characterization and arc. Endgame showed her to be exactly like the Gamora from the first guardians movie if memory serves me right. We see she can be tough and harsh at times. But she can also show empathy, vulnerability and the will to do the right thing. Vol 3 acts as if none of this is part of her character anymore at first just because of living with the ravagers. I would buy that if not for the fact that there's no way everything that's made her who she is from years before would suddenly be gone and we already know from Kraglin and Yondu that ravagers don't lack the ability to care. You're telling me Gamora went from emotional and in tears about Thanos winning in the future during Endgame and wanting to stop him, to not wanting to even remotely help with the High Evolutionary at first in vol 3. That's so inconsistent it's like they forgot her characterization. Also Nebula was getting on Gamora for some of her actions as if she has room to talk. She wanted to blow up all of Zandar in the first movie and she was ready to leave people behind in vol 2. Did they forgot how Nebula behaved in previous films because pot meet kettle.

I haven't seen any of James Gunn's other films so I don't want to judge him too harshly but either he doesn't know how to write women in complex traumatic situations or he thought what he did was enough which is sad. He showed an afterlife in the film so couldn't he show Gamora at peace or have the Gamora who came to the future explore her feelings around it and bring closure that way.

i totally feel you anon. i've been a hater of natasha's ending this whole time as well, but now seeing how gamora's ending has been depicted (or rly a lack thereof lol) it's weirdly making me feel almost at peace with nat's death. bc it's like oh wow it could've been handled so much worse lol.

with nat my biggest problems were the fridging, her arc ending before she got to do more/have her own story, and her not getting a funeral with tony...truly just minor inconveniences now in comparison to what's happening over in gamora land lmfao

and yeah, i was honestly pretty surprised how much rougher around the edges this gamora seemed. like yeah the ravagers are pretty rough and tumble themselves but it caught me off-guard how much colder it seemed to make gamora, for lack of a better word i guess?? i don't doubt her being really harsh and terrifying in the past under thanos like nebula was saying, but yeah 2014!gamora is still the gamora who was like on the brink of betraying thanos. like even if this gamora hadn't gone through most of vol 1, she's still the gamora who already had one foot out the door so she could stop thanos bc she cared abt innocent lives, so it was a tad surprising to see her act so coldly toward the rest of the gotg or even rocket who was actively dying and would clearly be sorely missed by the others. like not super surprising or even super ooc to me, but just kinda surprising considering her appearance in endgame

like her cold shoulder toward peter i can get, bc it's clear that his baggage with original gamora is hurtful to her and i think that's more than fair. but since the narrative also establishes that peter is seemingly the only gotg character to even have this baggage at all, since the others don't even so much as mention missing or grieving original gamora, idk if she'd need to be such a hater toward them too lol.

and honestly i think her characterization would've made a lot more sense if the narrative had actually included the rest of the gotg's grief for original gamora and sorrow that this gamora isn't her. like, if not being the gamora this world expects her to be has been weighing down on gamora for years, i could see her rly becoming like this, cuz that's a whole lotta pressure she's never gonna live up to! that would be a great character conflict for her. but by erasing original gamora from the narrative outside of peter's grief, we can't even rly justify this gamora's behavior through this issue either

the only other gunn project i've watched is the suicide squad and i don't remember much of my thoughts on it besides generally enjoying it. but i think callie @starmora put it best yesterday when they said that gunn's always had favorites and gamora's never rly been one of them, especially compared to rocket, who gunn has been outspoken about seeing himself in most and being the hidden protagonist of sorts throughout the gotg franchise (to the point that even in the movie, lylla straight up tells rocket, "this story has been yours all along"), so it's unfortunately not surprising that gamora's arc has been...whatever this is. and like, idc that gunn's favorite is rocket bc that's fine and rocket's had a pretty solid story/arc (though i feel like there's something missing between iw when he lied abt being captain of the ship to impress thor to vol 3 where peter decides to make him captain, especially after rocket spent the entire film incapacitated), but it just sucks that it meant there wasn't much wiggle room to deal with the gamora situation

and also i 1000% agree - WE SHOULD'VE GOTTEN AN ORIGINAL GAMORA POST-END CREDIT SCENE!!!! i would've loved to see her like watching everyone dance to dog days are over or something from the afterlife and just kinda feeling satisfied with everything, despite the way things ended for her

[enigma731]

I'm going to sound repetitive to what others have said much better but I think a lot of people are scaring themselves needlessly when it comes to Gamora being a guardian again and rebuilding a relationship with Peter as well as the other guardians. Perhaps I'm reading too much into the first two films or putting too much of my trust in James Gunn, but to me it's been obvious that at its core guardians of the galaxy is a love story. A love story between Gunn and the audience and a love story between all of the guardians representing love in all its forms. Parent/child dynamics, sibling dynamics and of course romantic dynamics with Peter and Gamora. During vol 1 when the guardians team up with the ravagers the song Cherry Bomb plays and when the words hello dad, hello mom are sung the camera focuses in on first Peter and then Gamora. I think this was deliberately symbolic of not only what was tentatively beginning to form between them but also what they were ultimately going to come to represent within the guardians family. During vol 2 Ego kept emphasizing the need for Peter to be alone in order to fulfill a higher purpose. This was symbolized with the use of the song Brandy. But what the movie goes on to make clear is that for Peter unlike Ego and the man in the song his love isn't the sea, it's all of the people he's come to love. That's why the film flashes to all the important people in his life right before his big fight with Ego starts and The Chain starts playing. This moment symbolizes Peter's journey isn't to be alone, he's going to sail along with the guardians because they're on this journey together. While Endgame isn't a gotg movie we still see this type of symbolism. Thanos keeps going on about destiny being fulfilled and being inevitable but what the films comes to demonstrate is that he was always destined to lose mightily and Gamora was always destined to find her way back to the guardians. It means something that despite everything that happened she reconnected with Nebula and then in the middle of a huge potentially universe ending battle she reconnects in some way with Peter. I know that moment didn't lead to some huge love confession or something but it's still meaningful. Gamora could have blasted or kicked Peter before he got in her personal space but she didn't. There was a spark of connection there and it wasn't until she noticed he was touching her and things were getting emotional that she reacted the same way she did in vol 1 when they first met and again when things were getting emotionally and physically intimate on Knowhere. This isn't some coincidence. Especially given Gunn was a producer for the movie. All of these things mean something and so far I've found Gunn to be an excellent storyteller who doesn't tend to set things up without a meaningful payoff at the end. When he first completed the script for vol 3 I ran across a post from him on Twitter where he shared the front cover and wrote "all of my heart". Obviously things got delayed but when I ran across comments from him at sdcc this past summer he ended one statement by saying "the guardians have saved the galaxy a couple of times, but what they really do is save eachother". Guardians of the galaxy is a love story between people who've been traumatized, abused, had their homes taken from them and their destiny isn't to be alone and unfulfilled. It's to find fulfillment, love in all its forms and a home together.

Anon, thank you for your TED talk, it's brilliant. I 1000% agree with all of this and I'm so glad you took the time to articulate it so clearly in one place for others to see.

All I have to add is this: The music in the GotG movies represents Peter’s mom talking to him (and later Yondu talking to him, from what Gunn has said) , but it’s definitely also Gunn talking to us, the audience.

And do you know what In the Meantime is? A love song:

And in the end, we shall achieve in time

The thing they called divine

When all the stars will smile for me

When all is well and well is all for all

And forever after

Well, maybe in the meantime, wait and see

We love the all, the all of you

Where lands are green and skies are blue

When all in all, we're just like you

We love the all of you

Like. It's so clear.

[thelostnymphaeum]

I'm with you 'til the end of the line.

Entry: 004

// Cinema //

Marvel Cinematic Universe

MARVEL MANIA

Superhero movies were not my thing. The only superhero movie I have watched as a kid was Spiderman. I am not into sci-fi or superhero movies albeit being a huge fan of cinema. But during this quarantine, I decided to experiment with my taste and try to indulge in a new set of genre – the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These movies were a far cry from films that are to my liking, such as “Brooklyn” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”. I used to find superhero movies corny or cheesy, because they were not based on real people and I fancy movies that tackle the inner spectrum of humanity. Additionally, I used to think that actors who choose to be in these movies are not “real actors” because portraying a superhero does not really seem to me as a role where you have to internalize the character. I was probably the only person in my class who did not cry when someone said “I love you, 3000” after the Endgame came out, and the only one who did not get the “Wakanda forever” reference. That changed because yester night, I finally finished the entire MCU. I came in with a viewing guide from my friends and I came out feeling like I just had a whole cultural experience.

THE AVENGERS

I like all of them. Except maybe the Captains. I don’t like Captain America. I understand that he’s supposed to be the poster boy of “superheroes” where he’s all righteous, courageous, virtuous and kind to everyone – but that does not seem realistic at all. His character just seemed predictable and bland for me. Maybe that’s why I prefer Tony Stark, he is more dimensional. He is someone who is unapologetic, makes mistakes, smart, arrogant; but his heart will always come from a good place. During battles, it’s always Tony Stark who is thinking of ways to end them (like how to diffuse Ultron at Sokovia) so I feel as if it’s him that should be leading them. Captain America only lead them because he was born in 1918 (just kidding, don’t eat me Steve Rogers stans).  He also looks way too good. It’s unreal. What a knucklehead (Loki will agree with me on this). Jk. Anyways, he earned plus points from me when he returned the infinity stones successfully. As for Captain Marvel, I don’t think I need to explain why I find her insufferable. 

A little piece about Spiderman. I like this reboot of Spiderman, and Tom Holland deserves all the hype he got because he worked so hard for his movies. No one can beat Tobey Maguire of course, but we are all just glad that Tom did not ruin Spiderman for us. The only thing I did not like about his reboot was that he relied too much on Mr. Stark. Tobey’s Spiderman never relied on anyone, he was just his own superhero. But for the sake of integrating him into the MCU, I guess that they have make this fun and fresh Peter Parker juvenile in order to be able to develop his character more. So I think I’ll give it a pass.

I personally like the Thor films the best. Because it was based on Norse mythology. Because of Loki. Because Anthony Hopkins is in it. I dislike the Captain Marvel movie the most.

ENDGAME THOUGHTS. We did not need Captain Marvel. Thor did not deserve to become a drunkard and a greasehead – he’s a freaking Norse God! Why was Pepper Potts at the final battle against Thanos? Thank you, Doctor Strange. Tony was genuinely and undeniably- the heart of the Avengers.

SCORSESE, COPPOLA & PEWDIEPIE

Along with its colossal popularity, the MCU movies have also acquired prominent detractors. Prior to watching the entire MCU, I would have probably agreed with Scorsese, Coppola and Felix (here is his “controversial” video on “I don’t like Marvel movies”).

“Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.” – Martin Scorsese

"Martin was kind when he said it's not cinema. He didn't say it's despicable, which I just say it is." – Francis Ford Coppola

Parts of it are true, on the basis where the entire plot lines are predictable and it’s not the kind of cinema I learned to love as well. Marvel movies usually follow the same backbone. This is a huge reason why some cinephiles don’t like them, because the mystery is gone and it’s all obvious. After watching all of them in a 3-week streak, I could pretty much sum up the Marvel movie plot line into this:

The protagonist is in a helpless or vulnerable position.

The protagonist meets someone who can help them.

The protagonist works hard to get to his pre-final form and along with it, learns to fight in the name of eradicating the bad guys. 

The protagonist finds out that her/his master is not all-good.

Chaos but then they forgive and understand the master.

2-3 battle fights, the last one is usually the peak battle where we see the protagonist in final form.

I like movies that tackle more about realism. I like seeing actors play roles that depict humanity as humans. I’m not a huge fan of special effects or super powers either. When Scorsese said that they are “not cinema”,  I understood it because there are no intricacies or space for a different form of expression when you’re doing mega franchise films that are meant to sell to the general public. Which brings me to another point, that MCU is largely a business profit. These movies are made by mega corporations in the film industry, and it might also hinder other smaller filmmakers from showing their films if a titanic franchise is showing on the same week as theirs. Comic book fans are enormous in numbers which is why there is such a huge following for these movies even if they use the same plot lines all throughout. Humans are slaves for nostalgia, and people like to see the characters they have read and admired during their childhood come to life. Because of that, these corporations will try to capitalize on that and make more movies for as long as they can, and in a sense, you can see that they might be doing it only for the sake of money and not of art any longer. This is what the disparagers would say; that there is very little artistic values to these films because they are made to be sold, not appreciated for its artistry. 

“Many of our grandfathers thought all gangster movies were the same, often calling them “despicable”. Some of our great grandfathers thought the same of westerns, and believed the films of John Ford, Sam Peckinpah, and Sergio Leone were all exactly the same. I remember a great uncle to whom I was raving about Star Wars. He responded by saying, “I saw that when it was called 2001, and, boy, was it boring!” Superheroes are simply today’s gangsters/cowboys/outer space adventurers. Some superhero films are awful, some are beautiful. Like westerns and gangster movies (and before that, just MOVIES), not everyone will be able to appreciate them, even some geniuses. And that’s okay.” – James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Director

Here’s my two cents on this whole hullabaloo. Art is expressed in different ways. Just because something is popular does not mean that you should hate it or feel as if it lacks creative value. For one, I think that if the Norsemen would see the Thor films, their jaws would drop. Art in these movies is seen through the elaborate special effects and costumes. A lot of people work behind the scenes to make this kind of art form. They are not any less of an artist. The effects are wonderful, amazing and beautiful. Sure, they don’t have meandering plot lines or mysteries that are meant to make you think. But they are able to show art in a way that is along with the times, showing the capabilities of what computer generated imagery could be. It gives us the fantasy that otherwise would not be achievable in real life (for all I care, my favorite scenes are seeing Spiderman glide across the buildings of New York).

These movies are intended for children and teenagers (adults are there for the sake of nostalgia or lighthearted entertainment, I guess?). For kids, it inspires them that they can be anything they want to be. For teenagers, it might be a good footing for their moral compasses. For me, it just inspired me to get fit (hehe). My point is, these movies are made to cater to a particular type of audience, and the others are there just for the spectacle. If all the movies were Scorsese or Coppola, what would the kids watch in the theaters? Kids would not understand “Taxi Driver” nor would be a good foundation for their morals. It was a classic and it deserves the reputation it has, but after only a certain age will you be able to appreciate it, and only if you had a particular knack for appreciating films. MCU movies are made for people who just want to have a good time; you don’t have to like high-brow or art-house movies to understand it, and that’s all there is to it. It’s made for entertainment, what’s so wrong with that?

And the actors – a lot of them played the characters so well which made me realize that taking on a superhero role does not lessen your credibility as an actor. My particular favorites are Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. (bonus points for Anthony Hopkins, his range, man, his range). They were able to bring their roles to life in such a distinct way that it would be hard to never associate them as superheroes, which of course, is a double-edged sword. As a starting actor, that could be a bubble that is hard to get out of. For example, Tom Holland as Spiderman; people will always associate him as that, and how many of you has actually seen the movies he has done aside from MCU? It might be hard for him to bridge his career from being a huge franchise film protagonist into doing films to his own preference. MCU movies make the popularity and the money; indie films – not as much. 

I don’t think that the existence of MCU is throwing away the spotlight from smaller filmmakers. Because back then, I simply chose not to see MCU movies because I was not interested. People will find ways to support art that they like, and just because MCU existed, it did not hinder me from looking for movies that I like. The cinema is made by individuals who like to create movies. There are different ways to express them. There are different subscribers to different genres. To each their own. But then again, I am not working in the film industry, so I can’t speak for them, I can only say what it’s like for a movie buff like me.

These are the movies that make up people’s childhood. These are characters that gives reason for people to bond together. When Tony died, the entire world felt like they lost a father. If it’s able to touch lives as much as any other film, why should we discriminate against it? Love is love, after all.

[sharksfood]

who wants to hear about a recent hyperfixation of mine?

too late im talking about it anyway

SO ive been more depressed than usual in the past few months and its not going well, but the one good thing is that it in combination with my anxiety-induced need to keep busy and my ADHD meds making my brain never shut up, i will hyperfixate onto anything unrelated to what’s making me depressed (my college and schoolwork whoops)

but anyways, i’ve watching both GotG movies like 4 times in these few months, and an alien that caught my eye is this Ravager with a ....beak?

you can never really see them up close, but i dig their face, and I’ve always been interested in the alien Ravagers, so i did some digging.

I found through the Marvel wikia on the Ravagers that this guy is a Xeronian! and there’s more! There was one in the crowd during GotG when Rocket and Groot capture Gamora, but she’s in the background, too. More prominent is a Xeronian in the Collector’s Museum during Thor: The Dark World (which i’m gonna watch later bcs this is super interesting to me lmao)

and SO this is where the hyperfocus gets real. 

From the info on Xeronians in the wikia, based on which movies they’re in an the communities they’re part of, like the Ravagers and one civilian of Xandar, we know that they’re similar to the invidiual aliens of different races who’re there, too. BUT there has to be a reason for one Xeronian to be in the Collector’s possession.

Its like they’re rare enough of a species to be interesting to Taneleer Tivan, but common enough to live on Xandar and be a member of the Ravagers. This is similar to me with the dark elves from Thor: The Dark World, because Tanaleer also has one of them in his Museum, but they’re in abundance for Malekith to lead, though they’re different in that they’re a super old race and some other reasons, idk, i need to watch the movie again.

But I do know that the Xeronians are not super common, since we never see them in pairs or we have yet to see their own planet, unlike the moment in GotG 2 where Ego’s blob stuff was going to overtake the planet of the Easik (aliens with reptilian eyes and dotted scaley skin). So if they’re not rare, just less common, why does Taneleer have one?

That brings me to why I like them so much in the first place: they look super cool!

They don’t have beaks, its more of an insect-like carapace that covers their mouth and nose (at least for the actor, maybe their species doesn’t have them!). On their wikia its described as “large tusks that obscure most of their oral features” but they don’t look like tusks to me at all. I also love the intricate design on their forehead, which reminds me of cybernetics or ancient alien runes. It’s also interesting that they have eyebrows! I mean, obviously eyebrows help to read facial features and keep sweat out of your eyes, plus they also have head hair and eyelashes, so it makes sense physically, it just seems like an odd choice to me.

The makeup and SFX departmen obviously went less detailed with their prosthetics after GotG 1 (the bottom two pictures are from then, and the Ravager close up and imprisoned Xeronian are from the later films), which make sense as they’re not focal characters. Their faces are more like turtles than insects with the less-detailed makeup, to me anyways. I do love however the color scheme, super pale almost white with bright blue inner edges on their skin, large blue to black eyes, and black hair!

What’s also interesting is that if they actually have mouths, they seem to not be able to open them, so how do they eat? Or talk? You’d think that the Ravager being exploded by Rocket’s traps would be screaming there, but his “mouth” is closed. Maybe they don’t have mouths? I imagine if they did, even if they have a “tusk” or “carapace” covering them, the makeup would be sculpted to give their mouths an opening. I mean, obviously the prosthetics have small slits for the actor to breath through their mouth and nose (which is more obvious on the Ravager than they other characters), but no major opening.

I think that for Taneleer Tivan to be interested in Xeronians enough to actually have one alive in his Museum, he probably just digs their looks, too. Or maybe he thinks they’re super rare? I wish there was more info on them, but I haven’t found anything outside the wikia and James Gunn’s instagram.

HOWEVER it was news to me that Xeronians were not created just for the movies! They were featured in other Marvel comics, though they looked really....stupid. Way different, to the point I wouldn’t consider them the same species. The comics versions of Xeronians thrived on solar radiation, but I don’t think that carried over to the movie Xeronians. I mean, there’s no proof of that, but most creatures with super pale skin don’t go out in the sun (but aliens can do whatever they want, so idk).

I really hope we see more of them in GotG Vol. 3! Or even Avengers: Endgame or other space-related MCU films. i really REALLY like all the aliens in the Guardians and later Thor movies, so i’m glad there’s at least some info about them. And I’m glad there was pictures of their makeup up close!

I’m considering making a Xeronian character, but I need to find out more of their physicality before I’m certain. What does the rest of their bodies look like? Do they actually have mouths? Can they speak? Any special abilities? Why exactly does the Collector have one??? (that’s going to bother me forever I know it)

UPDATE: I checked the wikia again while writing this and went to James Gunn’s instagram, and in his posts about the Xeronians for the first movie, he mentions there were more than one actor, so awesome! Obviously there’s more of them than I could see in the movie, as well as what the wikia has in their gallery. He also mentions that the actors had a hard time talking while wearing the prosthetics, which I think means the mouthpiece doesn’t separate or move according to their mouth movements. So Xeronians don’t have the typical mouths, but maybe something more alien?

[katelynrushe26]

Avengers 4: They’re Not Quite Dead.

It's been almost four months since The Avengers: Infinity War hit theaters and turned the whole Marvel fan community upside-down. Practically everyone who's ever seen a film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is itching for next summer's release of Avengers 4, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo are doing everything in their power to keep the details about it under wraps until then. They don't even want to announce the film's title yet because they say it might spoil the plot. If the Infinity Gauntlet was powered by Avengers 4 details instead of the six Infinity Stones, the universe would still be safe from Thanos.

Because of this, countless fan theories have been popping up all over the internet in the past two months. Most of them center around characters who died in Infinity War and ways that they could come back to life, and while a lot of those deaths occurred when Thanos snapped his fingers with the Infinity Gauntlet to wipe out half the universe, some deaths occurred before that. These are the trickier ones to theorize about since they don't seem as easily reversible as the ones caused by the Snap. However, more and more fans are starting to look at some of these deaths from a new angle: that those characters aren't actually dead.

I could spend days researching and constructing my own theories about every "dead" character, but for the sake of brevity, I'll just talk about three of the more likely ones to turn up alive in Avengers 4.

1. The Collector

There isn't too much to say about this character, mainly because there isn't too much to say about his role in Infinity War. All we see is a brief scene of Thanos threatening him for the location of the Reality Stone, then a reveal that it was all just an illusion cast by the Mad Titan to draw the heroes out of their hiding places. The obvious assumption is that Thanos killed the Collector offscreen shortly before this scene occurred, but there are reasons to think that he didn't.

For starters, the MCU doesn't make a habit of killing notable characters offscreen. The only one that comes to mind is Sif from the Thor film series, who's been absent since The Dark World and was said in interviews to have died from the Snap. This lack of closure was mainly due to Jaime Alexander not being available to reprise her role though, and that clearly wasn't the issue with Beniccio Del Toro. The MCU is one of the biggest film franchises in history; if the screenwriters don't have enough time in one film to properly kill off a character and the actor is still under contract, they can probably afford to save that death for another film rather than just having it happen offscreen.

Second, let's consider the illusion that Thanos cast of himself threatening the Collector. He didn't kill the Collector at the end of the illusion, and their conversation throughout it was very detailed and true to the Collector's character. It's possible that Thanos was reenacting what actually happened when he confronted the Collector earlier, rather than fabricating a conversation off the top of his head. It stands to reason then that just like in his illusion, he didn't kill the Collector in real life. Thanos is a surprisingly merciful supervillain, so if the Collector gave him the Reality Stone without too much resistance, Thanos probably spared him.

The strongest piece of evidence though comes from this piece of artwork, which shows the Collector playing a board game with his brother the Grandmaster:

This is an official piece of artwork created by Marvel Studios for a Guardians of the Galaxy attraction in Disneyland, and it's prompted Studio President Kevin Feige to express interest in featuring the two characters together in a future film. Granted, such a scene could end up being a flashback that takes place prior to Infinity War, but it still leaves the door wide open for the Collector to be alive. Bottom line, his character still has a chance of turning up alive since we never actually saw him die.

2. Gamora

Okay, physically she is quite dead, but I think she's getting better.

Unlike the other pre-Snap deaths in Infinity War, Gamora's had a very spiritual element to it. Thanos killed her as part of a ritual to obtain the Soul Stone, an Infinity Stone with the power to control life and death. Her demise is directly tied to the Soul Stone, and the Soul Stone was the stone responsible for killing half the universe when Thanos snapped his fingers.

That was why he had a vision of Gamora in an orange-tinted realm right after he caused the Snap. Her appearance wasn't presented as a hallucination brought on by his guilt over killing her. It was presented as the real Gamora communicating with him in spirit. She didn't know what had happened until Thanos admitted it to her, and the scenery being orange (the same color same the Soul Stone) implied that her spirit was trapped inside of the stone. Thanos using the Soul Stone to huge a large capacity was probably what triggered Gamora's sudden appearance in the first place.

The Soul Stone is the only Infinity Stone shown in the movies to have any kind of rule set attached to it. You can't just snatch it up and use it like you can with the other five; certain actions have to be taken to prove that you're worthy to use it. You have to follow the rules in order for it to function properly. Because of this, it's entirely possible that an improper use or even a forfeiture of the Soul Stone could cause it to reverse the sacrifice that was made to obtain it and then render the stone unusable once more. This could mean a resurrection for Gamora in the near future.

As for behind-the-scenes evidence, the waters are a little muddier now than they were two months ago. Zoe Saldana is still active on the MCU publicity scene even though Infinity War's theatrical run is over, and Guardians of the Galaxy Director James Gunn has said that Gamora will have a "significant role" in the next film of that series. However, Gunn's recent firing from the project could undo a lot of his story ideas. This might not affect the Guardians characters too much though. Marvel Studios plans their films pretty far in advance, and the timeline of the MCU is so intricate and interwoven now that it would be very difficult to scrap story ideas. If the studio did that, it could cause a butterfly effect that would drastically alter their plans for a lot of future films.

Overall, I still think it's safe to assume that Gamora will come back to life. It's just what she'll do afterwards that's foggy.

3. Loki

I know, I wrote that huge two-part eulogy for him when Infinity War first came out and now I don't even think he's really dead. I still stand by most of what I said in my "Looking Back On Loki" essay, and to be perfectly frank, a part of me still likes to think that the God of Mischief really did meet his poetically poignant end in the first scene of Infinity War. That doesn't change the fact though that the events leading up to his death look EXTREMELY suspicious now.

Here's a rundown of what happens: Thor and Loki are cornered by Thanos, Loki stalls for time--promising Thor that "The sun will shine on us again"--and then he tackles Thor out of the way as the Hulk comes crashing into Thanos. The Hulk has a fistfight with Thanos for several minutes, and not once does the scene ever cut away to Thor and Loki to show us what they're doing. This is odd enough, but what's even more odd is that Thor eventually shows up in the middle of that fistfight by himself. What happened to Loki?

There's still no sign of the God of Mischief even when Thanos apprehends Thor and kills Heimdall. It  isn't until after Thanos is about to make his exit that Loki shows up again, and he almost appears to step right out of nowhere. He tries to kill Thanos, seeming to use the bare minimum of his powers, and then his trick backfires and Thanos appears to kill him. This scene raises so many questions that it gets harder and harder to take at face value every time I watch it.

First of all, Loki's faked his death before in the MCU, and we haven't always gotten a clear explanation of how he did it. We still don't know exactly how he survived his fight with Kurse in The Dark World, so he could very well have survived against Thanos. For all we know, the person that Thanos appeared to kill could have just been a random dead Asgardian that Loki possessed and then projected his appearance onto from a safe distance away. We've seen him do both of those things to some extent before, even without the use of his scepter.

Second of all, photos have leaked of Tom Hiddleston as Loki on the set of Avengers 4. The scene being filmed seems to involve time travel since he has his clothing and hairstyle from the first Avengers film, but it still appears that Loki is supposed to be in the next film. What's more, Tony Stark appears in that same scene wearing what looks to be a disguise, suggesting that the Avengers might go back in time to alter the past or tamper with the timeline in other ways. Maybe the Loki who appeared to step out of nowhere at the beginning of Infinity War was a different Loki than the one we saw tackle Thor out of the Hulk's way a few minutes earlier.

Some might say that these theories are all moot, since Tom Hiddleston has done multiple interviews saying that his time playing Loki is over and that Loki isn't coming back to life in Avengers 4. However, Marvel Studios has a history of releasing bogus interviews to subvert fan expectations. Just look at Ben Kingsley's interviews about playing the Mandarin in Iron Man 3. Those were absolutely meant to be misleading, at least at the time when they first came out. Heck, the Russo Brothers themselves have insisted that Spider-Man and Black Panther's deaths in Infinity War are permanent, and yet both of those characters already have sequels to their own standalone films in the works.

Also, the interviews of Tom Hiddleston saying that his time playing Loki is over are only half deceptive; Avengers 4 is the last film on his contract, not Infinity War, but it just so happens that he was done shooting his scenes for Avengers 4 by the time that Infinity War opened in theaters. Technically there's nothing inaccurate about anything he said in those interviews, but having them come out right after we saw Loki die in a new movie does seem like we're being set up to have the wrong idea.

This is all a prime example of where things stand with the MCU these days. The franchise is so huge, the stakes are so high, and the studio has grown so clever with both its writing and its marketing that we have almost no way of predicting what's going to happen in their films anymore. Some fans may find all of this secrecy and uncertainty maddening, some may find it exhilarating, and some probably take it as even more of a challenge to try and figure out what will happen next. Whatever the case, we'll all probably be more and more eager to see these movies with each passing phase. Not many franchises can stay this engaging after ten years and twenty movies.

And if Marvel Studios has been throwing us more of these curve balls than they've needed to, then mischief managed, I suppose.

[natsubeatsrock]

10 Marvel Heroes Who I’d Like to See Get a Movie in the MCU

NOT Fairy Tail Month - Post #4 (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

I’ve had a lot of fun getting into the MCU with my siblings. In the process, I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of the Marvel universe and am learning about its weird inner workings: the good, the bad, and the ugly. While there are two movies left in Phase 3, (I haven’t seen Ant-Man and the Wasp yet) I figured that it’s about time that I talk about some of the characters I’d like to see Marvel Studios tackle next.

There’s no particular order to this list, except for a definite #1. The only qualifier is that my picks can’t already be in the MCU either in film or TV. You’d be shocked how much of a blow that was to this list. Between confirmed easter eggs in films, cameos on the Netflix-verse, and appearances on other television shows, both airing or planned, there are a lot of heroes already in the MCU. Still, here are some I’m hoping will get their chance in the next few phases.

#10. Miss Marvel

Before someone mentions how Kevin Feige has already confirmed that Kamala Khan is coming to the MCU, consider two things. First, that her arrival is dependent on the establishment of Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel, a character whom we haven’t actually seen on screen as of yet, as a part of the universe. If you know anything about Kamala, that’s kind of a big deal. Though, with apparent plans to make Captain Marvel the new center of the MCU, that might not be much of an issue.

Second, and most importantly, he never actually said that she was getting her own movie. She may only end up sharing the screen with another major hero. Who knows, she might even only be on TV as many of my other hopefuls have. Here’s hoping things all work out.

#9. Spider-Woman

I want to see if Marvel will be able to work their magic with Sony and get at least one character to have their own live-action movie in the MCU. The obvious issue with this is that their contract to “share” Spiderman runs out after next year’s films. Still, a guy can dream, huh? 

Miles would be an interesting pick. However, he’s getting his own treatment in animation and it was hinted that he’s in the universe already in deleted scenes. (Does that still count?) Originally, I was hoping that we could get a Silk movie. But her alter-ego Cindy Moon already is a part of the MCU. Yes, this is a thing I looked up. Here’s hoping Marvel can give Jessica Drew a chance.

#8. The Mutants

This won’t be the last time I kind of cheat on this list. 

With the Fox-Disney merger becoming all but a reality, the obvious next step for the MCU is to bring on the idea of mutated humans into their universe. I’ve always loved the Mutants growing up across at least three different animated series. While I haven’t exactly gotten into their recent live-action film endeavors, I've heard that’s mostly a good thing.

Of course, there’s also the matter of logistics when it comes to bringing in established franchises into the MCU. Does this deal mean we’ll get the X-Men or New Mutants in the fold? How much of the previous movies will matter in the MCU? What about stuff like Legion and the Runaways? Who will take up the mantle as the next Wolverine? Considering this company made adding Spiderman into this narrative work well after two different live action runs, I’m not too worried. As long as Ryan Reynolds gets to stay as an R-rated Deadpool, things will probably be fine.

#7. She-Hulk

And speaking of breaking the Fourth Wall, She-Hulk has made a name for herself by jumping through the panels of her own comics. It would be cool to see her come to life. Who knows, we could actually get some payoff to loose ends from The Incredible Hulk, which has been around for 10 years. 

There’s a bit of an issue with her though. Technically, the rights for her and the rest of the Hulk Universe belong to Universal Pictures. Of course, that’s not as much of an issue as with the Spiderverse, considering we already have the Hulk. But it still is kind of a hurdle. But it’s not like walls should mean too much to her.

#6. Devil Dinosaur

This is a bit of an interesting pick. Current fans of Marvel comics might know about his partner Moon Girl, a young African American girl. Older fans may know of the partner Moon-Boy, the alien who stopped him from dying out with the rest of his kind. The difference between the two feels more jarring typing it out.

If Kevin Feige decides to go with this pick, I’m sure that either side of the fandom would probably be disappointed in the event that they decide to do one over the other. Still, I think it should be obvious that the most important character in this equation has to be Devil Dinosaur as the original namesake for the comic. Though, I’d like to see Star-Lord find out about Devil Dinosaur for obvious reasons.

# 5. Power Pack

Look. I talked about the Fox deal and the idea of Mutants in the MCU is really exciting to me. And I guess it would be cool to see the Fantastic Four join in as well. But I’ve never been all that hype over them, to begin with. Like, part of it is that they haven’t had good movies. But I’ve never been all too interested in the group past the concept of astronauts becoming superheroes.

While I’m interested in seeing their potential movie in the MCU, I’d also like some attention go to other groups in the Marvel Universe. My pick is one of the other sets of families in Marvel. The Power Pack is a group of four siblings with superpowers- two brothers and two sisters. Incidentally, I’ve heard that there was some talk about them getting a movie soon. Here’s hope we get to see it happen.

#4. Hawkeye

What? You didn’t think I would add Hawkeye? For those of you who think I’m breaking my rules here, obviously, Clint Barton has been in the MCU for a while now. The new Hawkeye, Kate Bishop, has yet to make an appearance in the MCU.  I feel like this would be a good time to introduce her. Not to mention, we could finally get some explanation for Clint’s past if he decides to stick along in order to be Kate’s mentor.

There have been a lot of shake-ups in Marvel comics. The Spider-verse gave us a ton of new versions of Spiderman. Kamala took up the mantle as Ms. Marvel from Carol. And Carol took it up after the original Captain Marvel died. That’s in addition to a bunch other things. While there are a lot of legacy characters in Marvel nowadays, with Iron Heart, Jane Foster’s Thor, and even a new Wasp, I’d like to see what Kate can do for the Hawkeye mantle.

#3. Nova

This may feel like a bit of a lame pick if your only exposure with him is the Ultimate Spiderman cartoon with Drake Bell as Peter Parker’s voice. (A concept which has forever ruined my own readings of Spidey) Still, this one actually has some weight behind it. After the events of Infinity War, Nova Prime has a great alternate reason to actually build Nova. (Originally, the reason for building him was the work of Helmut Zemo. You can see why this is a problem for the MCU.)

Not to mention that Kevin Feige has actually stated that he’s high on a hypothetical board of characters who could get a movie. If anything, this might be one of the more likely picks on this list. Who knows? He might be a part of that mythical easter egg in the Guardians films James Gunn has mentioned a few times.

#2. Namor

First, let’s get something straight. The Sub-Mariner came out a few years before Aquaman. I’m not saying that DC ripped off of Marvel (in this case). After all, the opposite is also true. Still, it’s crazy to think how unkind time has been to Marvel’s King of Atlantis. While Aquaman is getting a new film pretty soon, Namor hasn’t seen too much time to shine. It would be great to see what he can do.

Unfortunately, it’s not clear where his film rights lie. Marvel Studios thought they had control over him, but they don’t seem to anymore. And that’s if they ever did in the first place. So it’s not that they necessarily don’t want to rather than they technically can’t. With the new merger, hopefully, the other original members of the Illuminati will be able to pull something to bring their final ally into canon.

#1. A Surprise

Don’t judge me on this pick as my number one, okay? I can’t be the only one who hopes that we get something special and out of the blue as a hit. Could anyone honestly have thought Black Panther was going to end up being anywhere close to as huge as it’s become ten, or even five years ago? And I don’t just mean that it would be a really well-liked hero movie for Black people. This movie is one of the highest grossing films ever made and the only superhero films to make more than it is two of the Avengers films.

Similarly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange went from relative obscurity to household names after only a few movies. Heck, Iron Man wasn’t all too popular before his first movie more than a decade ago. Who’s to say that Marvel Studios won’t give us a movie none of us asked for but won’t end up being able to live without? Whether that be making a name from an obscure set of heroes we haven’t seen or gaining success from heroes with less than stellar comics, who can tell what will happen next in the MCU?

And that’s my list. Any heroes you’d want to see? 

[frankcastled]

so here I am look for an old article about robert downey jr that I read ages ago and instead i stumble upon this dinosaur

it’s dated April 30, 2014, which means captain america: winters soldier was the last movie that had been released (march 13, 2014) prior to this article being written. 

i remember reading this article too at the time, and I remember the dramatic sigh I let out when it laid out all these great points about how certain things would never come to fruition. except now I’m reading it for the second time, four years later, and i’m smiling, because guess fucking what. I think almost everything mention in this article has actually already happened or is going to happen, and to be honest, i’ve never been happier to have some bullshit, cynical thinkpiece proven wrong. 

the article starts off by claiming certain character will never get their standalone films and how could that possibly be when, at the time, we already had four spider-man movies, three iterations of the hulk/bruce banner, and a handful of other superheroes who had a heyday prior to the current explosion of superhero content.

specifically the article grapples with the idea of how we’ll never get a solo deadpool film or a standalone black widow. 

and yet here we are today with two deadpool films already released and black widow being talked about (in fairness, the fact that there’s two deadpool movies and no black widow, is just a gross injustice, but I’ll take what I can get).

i love it when cynics get proven wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. 

(for context, the rest of the entry simply explains that heroes with masks get more movies because you can pay the actors less money because you can have stand-ins act their part out when you see them in costume and the actors who are worth more like RDJ, don’t have to be on set as much and thus marvel can afford to pay him his asking salary. and with a heroine like black widow, she doesn’t wear a mask and they would not be willing to pay ScarJo her asking salary as a big star-- again, proven deadass wrong)

so, the title of this one is pretty self explanatory. have we seen the x-men working together with the avengers? obviously-fucking-not. however, that could also be easily a reality if this fox/disney merger actually comes through. but one thing we have gotten is spider-man working with the avengers. and not just in one avengers movie, but in three full movies, one avengers, one his own, and one captain america film. that’s a win if i ever saw one. 

did I mention i love when cynics get proven wrong?

another great and self explanatory entry that also gets proven wrong with this most recent phase 3. 

just to recap, phase 3 is

Ant-Man (okay, it’s phase 2, but) -- not only did we get a nice scene as to why the avengers weren’t called, but Falcon shows up anyway. was it to help? no. still a nice punch in the face for the guy who thought avengers wouldn’t show up in each other’s movies.

Captain America: Civil War -- we literally get all the avengers on this one (with the exception of the obvious Thor and Hulk being missing for justifiable reasons, with ya know, the whole being in space shit). I don’t care if this is “avengers 2.5″ it was still marketed and is titled a captain america film, so the avengers did show up to help and fight each other. 

Spider-Man: Homecoming -- literally the OG avanger himself is a side player in spidey’s solo outing. so i don’t think i even need to go into this one more. iron man is a huge help in more ways than one so. 

Thor: Ragnarok -- I like to think of this as a reverse Civil War in that the two players not featured in Civil War get their own little buddy film, and obviously the avengers weren’t going to show up when neither Thor nor Hulk really had means of contacting them short of going to earth, and literally half the movie is Thor literally trying to escape a planet, so like, priorities on this one, but either way, Hulk shows up, so it counts. 

the rest of the films in phase 3 I like to think justifiably do not heavily feature other avengers (Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Guadians 2) if only because, two of them are solo outings that introduce characters and with one of them being a king from an african nation that literally conceals and hides itself from the rest of the world? legit reason. but then you have bucky come in at the end and thor at the end of doctor strange, so can we really say they didn’t have other avengers in them to begin with? and again, i think both these movie make good cases for why they didn’t call or ask anyone else for help in their respective cases. especially guardians, who are unaware of the avengers anyway and wouldn’t be calling them to begin with

and aside from the main article arguing that the casts have six picture deals that prevent them from doing more than their six films (3 solo films + 3 avengers), civil war and spider-man made it clear, that if it makes sense, marvel is more than willing to renegotiate contracts in order to have characters appear in each other’s films as long as it makes sense for the story and enhances as opposed to detracting from solo films, which should be about their respective heroes to begin with 

this is impossible to argue at this point, so i won’t even try. considering the original avengers are still exploring their big story arc.  i like to think, though marvel is making way for new heroes. i think it’s clear, especially with rumors i’ve heard about what marvel is planning for phase 4, they may not necessarily resolve a hero by completely retiring him or her, but they are going to explore other stories. they will probably kill some, which will be a definite resolution, whereas other may get an ending whether it’s outright retirement or simply passing on their mantle to a side player, they will get solid endings. i also am in the camp that each movie is its own story and those stories get resolved in and of themselves within their respective films, so i also think it’s a matter of opinion. 

i will say this, though, part of the article argues about how marvel will not use the same director twice. 

a. they have in fact begun to keep directors around. the russo brothers have a streak going, with three movies currently under their belt and a fourth movie on the way. 

b. they are more than willing to keep directors for as long as they would like. it’s clear james gunn has his way with the guardians movies and peyton reed has taken on ant-man. scott derickson has expressed more than enough interest in coming on for a second doctor strange film, if it gets made, and jon watts is officially doing the spider-man sequel.

c. joss whedon chose to not do avengers 3 saying the second one p much stressed and burned him out. it was, from the sounds of it, a personal choice he made. and while i think he hinted at the way marvel didn’t give him the creative freedom he wanted, other directors actively vouch for the amount of freedoms they get, notably james gunn, peyton reed, scott derickson and taika waititi who have all vocalized these feelings on twitter (and if you made it this far and want screenshots, i’d be glad to look it up and show you the tweets myself). i think the joss whedon scenario was just whedon wanting to do something that the marvel executives didn’t want and in fairness to marvel, a lot of fans were more than happy to have whedon stepped down and i am of the personal opinion that it was a good decision in the end. but in fairness to the writer of the original article, whedon, at the time, was the golden child who delivered an avengers movie that worked and was a box office hit and critical acclaim, so he probably had a lot of stress, pressure, and contention with marvel while making avengers 2. 

d. i think it’s incredibly clear from thor: ragnarok that marvel allows its directors plenty of artistic license. ragnarok was as amazing and insane as it was only because of taika and it was better for it. any other director could not have pulled off what taika did. you cannot convince me otherwise and the proof is in the logo

ragnarok logo went from this boring piece of shit

to this bright, beautiful miracle

but 3 out of 4 things happening four years later? that ain’t bad. 

i also like to think marvel is constantly learning and has made it clear that it wants to tell great stories and it will do whatever it can to tell those stories with the passion fans deserve.

original link to the article is here if you’re curious ( x ) 

[weekendwarriorblog]

CAPTAIN MARVEL: ED’s Very Important Thoughts on Marvel’s Latest (Possible Minor Spoilers!)

So I’m going to try a bit of a two-fold experiment here. The first part of the experiment is whether I can set aside a few personal grudges against those involved with making this movie (which I won’t get into right now) to write a fair and balanced review. I think I can do it.

Caveat:  I wasn’t too happy about the seat/theater in which I saw the movie. Normally I’d go for IMAX but that screening didn’t start until after 8pm, and the seat I reserved ended up being further back then I liked and also was too far to the side so part of the screen was blocked. The sound wasn’t too great either, definitely not loud enough, but hey, I’ll do my best.

The other caveat is that I’m only going to write this review for an hour, and once that hour is up, I’m done talking about Captain Marvel, other than in terms of box office or other aspects for my day job at The Beat. To make this easier, I’m gonna break this down into a few categories, borrowing from one of my old colleagues at ComingSoon.net, Mr. Scott Chitwood.

I’m not going to talk too much about the plot, because that’s probably wherein lies the most spoilers for the movie, because even if you think you know the general story and how some of the characters play into it, there are quite a few nice surprises.

The movie starts on Hala, homeworld of the Kree, where Brie Larson’s “Vers” is training with her Commander, played by Jude Law. They go on a mission to stop a Skrull invasion of a small defenseless planet, and in the battle, Vers is captured, her mind is played with and she gets transported to earth circa 1995 where she runs into S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his new recruit Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg). The Skrulls, led by Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos, are right on her tail, looking for some sort of hyperdrive, but Vers is haunted by implanted memories, and she wants to find answers, taking her and Fury to Pegasus.

What I Liked:

Brie Larson was a wise pick for Carol Danvers/ Captain Marvel. She’s a damn good actor and she brings her all to a character who is highly complicated in terms of emotions and backstory. My personal issues with Larson have nothing to do with the character or her abilities as an actor, but her decision to be a Social Justice Warrior and make a big deal about using her celebrity to constitute change…  without really know what she’s talking about. I’m sure that in a few years from now, when she’s a little older and maybe learns a bit more about the business side of things, she’ll understand why what she’s been doing is actually angering people who would support her, especially if and when she decides to move further into directing. Don’t get me wrong. I think she’s entitled to speak her opinion, as is every woman, but you can’t go after men, especially those who have been the ones whose fandom have helped Marvel get to where it’s at. Anyone who was surprised by the fanboy reaction, just doesn’t have a clue how the internet works.

I loved seeing the Kree and Skrull brought to the screen finally, and for the most part, the movie used them well to set-up future conflicts between the Kree and Skrull in other MCU films.

Similarly, I’ve been a fan of Ben Mendelsohn for a long time and I could say the same for Jude Law, so their casting in the movie was definitely going to be primary reasons for me to want to see this. Mendelsohn is great in a role that allows him to play in creature make-up but also for him to play with a few other roles including playing Fury’s S.H.I.E.L.D. supervisor who looks surprisingly like… Ben Mendelsohn. There’s a lot more to his Skrull Talos than I expected going in, and I owe a lot of that to him reuniting with his Mississippi Grind directors, as he was fantastic in that movie as well.

Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck do quite an amazing job when you consider that they’ve mainly been working in the realm of independent film and have never had such an enormous CG-heavy movie with such a big budget. Granted, at this point, Marvel Studios has its team of designers and CG people who basically do the job they do, but that also added up to one of my issues, which you can read below.

Many others have raved about the cat Goose, who Nick Fury quickly bonds with while infiltrating Pegasus, and Goose frequently does steal scenes from the human actors. There’s also a lot more to Goose than you may think, and that’s another fun surprise of the film.

What I Didn’t Like:

I can understand why it was important to include the young girl version of Monica Rambeau in the story to set up possibly having Photon in a future MCU movie, but man, I’m so not into Disney’s decision to keep forcing kids into these movies. I had the same issue with Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 -- still my least favorite MCU movie -- and at least Akira and Azari Akbar, who played the younger Monica, were better than the kid teamed with Downey for that movie.

I just didn’t get the point of Annette Bening’s character at all, and I didn’t think she brought much to the story at all. Sure, I can understand her place in the story  but she was given the name of a character that I thought was played by Jude Law, and it just made things confusing

That brings us to the overuse of nostalgia to keep showing how the movie takes place in the ‘90s. Boden and Fleck absolutely go overboard with it, not just showing locations like a Blockbuster Video or making references but every song is from the ‘90s and not all of them work for the film. I had the same issue with last year’s Bumblebee, because while I loved the music in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I felt that both movies were deliberately trying to win points by using popular songs. For instance, having a scene with Bening dancing to Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” served little purpose, and the use of No Doubt’s “Just A Girl” during one of Captain Marvel’s fights was so obvious that it hurt the scene more than helped. I feel like things like this will have to be blamed on what James Gunn did in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, but in those cases, he found really interesting and often 

The opening scenes in Hala and the other planet basically looked like so many other Marvel movies as well. Those scenes could have just as easily been in one of the Thor or Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and it makes me feel like Marvel’s design and art team is starting to get burnt out. Marvel really needs to make a few movies that look vastly different from what we’ve seen before, because at this point, the criticism that all of Marvel’s movies look the same is starting to be very true.

Most of the visual FX were decent, but seeing a younger Samuel Jackson/Nick Fury was a bit disconcerting at first since CG is used to make him look younger for the entire film. Also, the Skrulls, whether they’re created using make-up or CG or a combination of both, look a little cheesy compared to, say, Josh Brolin’s Thanos. Stuff like that really takes away from things like Mendelsohn’s performance when he’s in Skrull form.

I was pretty excited that Lee Pace’s Ronan the Accuser and Djimon Hounsou’s Korath from Guardians of the Galaxy were included in the story, but they had so little to do and added so little to the story, same with Gemma Chan’s Minerva.

I also didn’t need to be hit over the head with the movie’s Social Justice Warrior agenda about how women can do anything and that they shouldn’t be underestimated. DUH. See, kids, us grown-ups have known that for many, many decades, and we certainly don’t need a Marvel movie to teach us important life lessons, thank you very much. This just adds to my feelings like these MCU movies are trying to drive home messages rather than just be escapist entertainment.

What I Was Ambivalent About But Feel It’s Worth Mentioning Anyway:

It was really hard to tell if the humor in the movie worked, because there was a guy near me, who was just laughing so hard and loud at every single line regardless of how funny or not it was. Oddly, I had this exact same problem when I saw Bumblebee, too, and it’s why I often refer to fanboys as “rubes” because they will laugh at just about everything.

I also didn’t feel the sound was decent enough in my screening to have an opinion on the score, which is usually a big deal for me.

Something I Loved (That Might Be Considered a Minor Spoiler) But That Kept Me from Hating the Movie:

One of the initial issues I had with the idea of making a Captain Marvel movie was that I didn’t think even Marvel Studios could create an origin story out of the mangled mess that is the character in the comics. I mean, there was another Captain Marvel aka Mar-Vell who had Nega-Bands that let him change into this perennial Marvel sidekick named Rick Jones, and Ms. Marvel’s origins came out of air force pilot Carol Danvers getting a blood transfusion from Mar-Vell. She then went on to a number of different guises and monikers over the years, and I knew that there was no way to cover everything.

That said, I was really impressed with how the filmmakers broke away from the comics in a big way and to the point where there lots of twists and surprises in terms of which characters were good and which were bad. In other words, more than any other MCU movie, Captain Marvel plays with the grey area between good and evil which exists in the real world. That’s something that just isn’t done very much in this day and age, especially in movies, so delivering so many surprises was my favorite thing about the movie.

Basically, Captain Marvel ends up somewhere in the range of the first Ant-Man movie in my book, although I’ve already been liking the movie more as I’ve thought about it, so it might get another viewing very soon. I definitely liked the characters in the movie more than I did the ones in Black Panther, and I think Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel is going to be more than a worthy addition to the Avengers. I wish her introduction to the MCU was handled a bit better, but in my mind, Captain Marvel does the job it was meant to do, and I can understand how some people might like it more than others.

Rating: 7/10