#the spiderman issue mentioned is a real issue btw!

[error-core-animations]

Raph shoved another book back on the shelf, already tired of checking books. There were plenty of blank ones, some partial ones, and only a few complete ones. Raph didn't know what sort of information Donnie was going to get from this, but he hoped it was something useful.

Glancing around, he spotted someone else, who seemed to also be reading, or at least looking through books. Well, Don had said to ask people about what they were reading.

"Hey. You. I'm getting some information for my geeky brother. What are you reading? And have ya found books that were complete, or were they blank or missing things?"

He frowned at his notepad. "Pretty sure that's all the questions Donnie wanted to know."

(aquietwritingcorner)

"Oh! Uh, I'm reading..." Mikey checked the title of his comic. "Spider-man and the Power Pack? It's weird. I like it, but it's... I dunno. I know a lotta you guys don't have soulmates, but this comic feels..." He narrowed his eyes. "Targeted. But, uh, it's complete." He flipped through the issue, showing off the colored pages and all that jazz.

He didn't mention Rupert, people tended to get upset when he did. It made him feel... weird. Dirty, almost. Like he didn't deserve to be here because of him. Was he putting others in danger by being here? By... existing? No, no, that'd be silly! Rupert wasn't dangerous, and neither was he! Donnie might be, but she wasn't any more dangerous than her counterparts. That was just how Donnies were, it seemed.

Why would anyone think his sweet, domestic relationship was bad? They were soulmates! That just wasn't how it worked. Even people from soulmateless universes had to see that!

@tmntstorycomp

[voltrixz]

YEAHHHHHHHH its time to take over people's feed with our silly rambles

ALSO YOU. YOU GET IT TOO!!!!!!!! our brains our so in sync, this is the rumored insane tssm telepathy communication

(also I GOT SO CARRIED AWAY LIKE A LOTTTTTTT) (so putting a read more) (brace yourselves everybody)

BUT YEAH, do think there is always gonna be those little grudges (these two do not let shit go that easily AT ALL....) and AGRHH "why does doc trust you more then me" AGRHH AGRHH (sorry that line got to me (very emotional about him)

However the graph made me giggle and ITS SO REAL........ electro from the very start would think "yeah you're ok" (jealous and already exploding vulture in his mind) and yeah the team fuck up was the inital thing that made their hatred for each other not one sided anymore, and do think yeah sometimes they would try to trust each other and electro would fuck up either on accident (or purpose (< little shit (affectionate) and basically a repeat as your awesome graph says (btw saving this graph (the fact that the "hey maybe you're not so ba-" gets cut off by the line just dropping makes me giggle everytime) AND YEAH the rest of the sinister six just constantly deals with this, AND AHHAHAH YEAH they just get soda and popcorn and watch as a old grumpy petty man who can fly argues with a angsty living battery

AND YEHAHHHHH and yeah tbh they just kinda make sense in a funny way to be buddies and YEHAHH HEHE their silly beef over stealing each other's name puns and i think they would eventually just casually interchange puns because its funny to annoy people with em. AND the fact that their powers compliment each other very nicely, their silly and i think they would be awesome as buddies and i love them sm

and hehe. (actually sobbing) yeah arghhhh him seeing doc again after him basically leaving electro to die??? I think he would be informed a bout it before being placed in the cell and AGRHHH the fact he would probably try to convince himself that doc HAD to have a reason for it due to how much he trusts and admires the doc but he's basically only got his thoughts and maybe this time he'll start to put the pieces together and realize he was being used the whole time and i think he could have possibly found out that spiderman saved him and that whole dilema that the guy who you blame your rage on and direct your revenge on, bothered to save you but NOT the guy you out your trust in and AGRHHHHH, just him having to deal with that as he's just alone with his thoughts AND AGRHHHHH he would be so so conflicted and just have so many doubts and AGRHH the dilemas he would have would be insane........ and yeah there is SOOOO much angst possibility with this...

AND YEAH AGRH, reaching the conclusion that everyone he trusted to help him had just ended up hurting him and just adding on to that anger leading him to become so suspecting of people who claim to help him

also about eddie, not sure if electro would really be willing to trust or really think he could even be allowed to trust (nor do i think eddie is even in the postion to well help electro as eddie himself has a WHOLLEEEEEE pile of issues to deal with too) eddie even before all this realization. Def think he did had some sort of trust for him since he was there for him during the accident but after that, pretty much nothing, eddie didnt listen to his warning at the lab and he hurt him. After that (from what i remeber) i dont think its mentioned that either of them tried to reach out to each other and I think if they saw each other at ravencroft and electro seeing eddie has gone through his own transformation with the whole venom thing, i dont think they could recognize each other anymore as they both become completely different versions the person they knew before. (< this part made me sad just writing it (quick throw in a joke about this uhhhhh (they ended the mutual........... tragic.............) (sobbing crying) ( i do think their friendship could be salvageable MAYBE at some point down the road (but they have a lot of work to do on their own ends)

ok onward we go

ABOUT HIM BECOMING A MERCENARY.... I THINK UR READING MY MIND LIKE ACUTALLY... (< has thought of this before)

the idea that his desperation and all these fears crashing together and start blurring the line and just making him follow commands as closely as possible to whoever can offer him the cure and these commands would just become more morally questionable and that it'd start to cloud his morality so so much, but he just doesnt know what to do anymore and all he can is just lean more and more into the villain persona and i think as he leans more into this, he comes stronger and stronger and actually gets taken seriously more (a atsv spot moment) .

AND YEAH he'd just fall into that slug of being offered a cure for the use of his powers and would end up betrayed, repeat repeat that at this point he starts forgetting his initial goal and is just doing what hes being told because he rlly doesnt have anything else and is way too far gone to do anything to turn back

Actually had a bit of an idea for this, sort of an au??? or whatever. i think at some point he would be offered a cure by norman (who would be back from his vacation and plans to return as the green goblin) and would need someone to do his dirty work while he preps in the shadows and electro, just needing something, anything to do and having no real personal grudge against norman, he'd take it, despite knowing that doc, vulture (and not sure if he knew flint's and alex's transformations because of norman but ya know) hated norman and tbh he'd pick up that norman was just using him but at this point he just went along with also added angst, do think norman would pit electro against the sinister six, especially doc and erm.... drama.................... finally a chance to get revenge but also extreme confliction (also would greatly harm him and shocker's relationship, electro try not to ruin your one sorta stable relationship ) and LIEK AGRHH he would be taken seriously and be powerful but at the cost of his morality

GOT SUPER CARRIED AWAY TOO AND A LOT OF THIS IS JUST RLLY ANGSTY SPECULATION

BUT YEAH, so so normal (LIE)

You seem extremely bored, what are your Head-cannons on one on one dynamic ms with Electro? Like, Electro and vulture or Electro and Curt?

so... pretend i remembered. I'M SORRY..... OK let's see what my brain throws up!!!!

electro + vulture

vulture still holds grudges towards electro for that christmas tree incident... my guy doesn't really think before he acts 😔

as (forced by doc) compensation, electro helped improve his wings. and maybe tampered with them for a negative effect... just a little. like the bitch he is

he acts like a brat towards him tbh. dick student and dick teacher dynamic LOL

electro + curt

they barely talk. electro still had some respect for curt when he joined the sinister six, but it all went away after... y'know

yeah... don't expect a positive interaction ever since. thinking about the possible post-s2 angst with these two....

i mean, think about it. max trusted connors a LOT. he didn't even turn fully evil when he became electro, he still was looking for his help, becaues he trusted him. now he's locked in a cell by the man he trusted.

(EXPLOSIONS!!!)

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

I have a real soft spot for boyang... i was sad that he didn't compete at worlds! do you know anything about his situation? Is he going to continue to compete and will he be send to any gp competitions or maybe challengers?

Boyang had quite a struggle after the 2018 Olympics, where he placed 4th. He deals with a lot of injuries and mental health issues. (I think also the coaching change to Brian Orser that first didn't happen because he refused it, then happened during the pandemic, but only partly and seemed to be called off again didn't help either.) I cannot tell you if he will compete further, but so far he hasn't announced his retirement, so my guess is he will continue.

On not participating at the World Championship this was stated (all credit to @boyang_fan (twt) - pls visit the Twitter for more)

On his injuries in the last 4 years:

Will Boyang attend GPs or Challengers?

Boyang should get one GP spot based on his total score at the Olympics of 270, 43 as this is the 16th highest total score and the top 24 total scores should get 1 invitation. Because he didn't participate at the World Championship and because his world ranking isn't among the best anymore, he will likely not get a 2nd assignment unless with Russia likely out of the GPs more spots for skaters are open, so Boyang is one that could benefit.

Due to the Covid protocol being extremely strict in China, it can happen again that the Chinese teams aren't able to compete much internationally, which happened the 2021-2022 season. Chinese skaters no matter if they had 2 GPs or not, attended only GP Italy, that was originally planned for China to host. I am not sure if China will host the Cup of China in the 2022-2023 season, though atm there is no plan for cancelation or moving. For Challengers the same problem comes to play. I am not sure the Chinese federation is able to send their skaters to the Challengers. In a non-pandemic season Boyang usually did a Challenger. In 2019 he won the Lombardia Trophy.

Off-ice:

Besided the struggles it seems the Olympics have given Boyang a lot opportunities to appear in Chinese fashion magazines and seem to have earned him sponsors. I really recommend to take a look at the mentioned Twitter above. There are tons of great pictures of Boyang. Here some examples

Btw I also have a soft spot for Boyang ever since I saw him becoming a senior. He is fun and has tremendous jumps. I may never have connected that much with his general skating, but his jumps are imo among the best in height and distance. His 4Lz is impressive. His Spiderman program remains my favorite. Funny sidestory is that as fashionable as he is dressed in those magazines, he also dresses outside the rink. I accidentally met Boyang after his FS at Worlds 2018 in the subway and I was impressed by his extravagant style. He was also very nice to us though he didn't understand a word. (He was the 1st skater I met up close and for this he will always have a special place in my heart)

[backdraft-bimbo]

tfatws 1x01 thoughts

Okay I already love it. This show has a very strong start–good exposition of the characters, the aftermath of the Blip, and the introductions of the antagonist force. 

I’m super impressed at how “movie-like” it is visually and the unique tone is carrying on real well. I ended the episode being like, “I need more. That cannot be it.” It went by really fast. 

First off, I can feel how different this show is gonna be from other Marvel content. Without even saying it directly, but by watching how the plot progresses and the politics and character interactions, it’s clear this show is gonna hit some sore spots for America. I’m so on board for that–it finally feels less super-hero-y and more human. Real issues. Real PEOPLE. 

Sam is clearly struggling with the mantle of Captain America, and he knows that other people would too if he took it, so he doesn’t step up. And you can’t blame him, clearly Rhodes doesn’t either. It’s a hard role to fill, especially since Cap was your stereotypical strong white American hero. And anyone who’s not a complete ignoramus knows that there would be a lot of backlash and hate directed at Sam if he, a black man, replaced Steve Rogers. No matter how skilled and awesome for the role he is. Like literally just look at real life right now. This show announcing Sam Wilson as the new Cap juxtaposes the reaction by a portion of Americans in this show. Some people weren’t happy about it. Others loved it. It’s a mirror to our country’s long-standing flaws. 

The whole segment with Sam’s sister and trying to get a loan made me so sad but like, it’s realistic. I’m glad we’re getting more good female characters in the Marvel universe, and their dynamic is really nice. I especially loved the ambience of the Wilson boat where Sam is standing there in silence, just staring off into the window with seagull noises in the background... it just felt really calming. There aren’t many quiet moments like that in action heavy Marvel films. It’s adding depth to the world. Also his nephews are so cute! 

The scene where Sam is fighting mid air was so badass...bruh. Anthony Mackie CARRIES. I’m kinda overwhelmed at how much I know about Sam Wilson now just because of one episode. Shows that the tiny details really add a lot of depth and make them feel more real. Sam’s little “What’s up” made me giggle a lot. And the new air force dude, I’m a fan of him. He’s cute and I think he’ll be recurring. 

Then there’s Bucky’s whole part of the episode, which I just gotta say broke my heart over again. He really is a compassionate guy who went through awful things and he’s just trying to find some peace, like he mentioned to his therapist. Which was such a strong scene, btw. I loved that. Also Sam has been texting him!! I’m so excited to see them interact and get that spicy dynamic we love, but alongside more serious moments where they open up to each other; letting down the walls Bucky has to confide in Sam, and Sam confiding in Bucky about his doubts in becoming Cap. I just really want them to bond. A lot. And hug. Pull throughhhh. 

And Bucky with his notebook of peoples’ names that he needed to make amends (I think that’s what it was) was SO heartwrenching to see. You can feel him becoming more human as a character. No more Winter Soldier–we get Bucky Barnes now. You can just feel it in Sebastian’s performance how well he knows Bucky, and the guilt on his face when he interacts with that old Japanese guy was so tragic. It looked like he wanted to tell him he killed his son, but there’s that visible internal struggle of having to trust someone and knowing it won’t go well. I really really want to give him a hug. 

But there was some humor sprinkled in this episode, which I appreciated. It didn’t feel forced though, more of like a Spiderman: Homecoming vibe where the humor is a lot more situational and how people would actually act. 

Anyway I don’t want to wait another week. I have work tomorrow but if they released all the episodes at once I would 100 percent binge it all into the early morning. GO WATCH IT.

[pink-kitty-kela]

Avengers: Endgame (WARNING SPOILERS)

I watched Endgame last night. This is my personal opinion of the movie, you are more than welcome to have your own. Don’t like it? You are not obligated to read! 😉

☠☠☠ WARNING!! SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! ☠☠☠

☠☠☠ WARNING!!! ☠☠☠

☠ ~~ ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS, ENDGAME SPOILERS! ~~ ☠

Hmm.

Now that I got that big spoiler wall out of the way, here goes my thoughts: 

Infinity War made me leave the theater speechless, looking like （＊〇□〇）……！

But after leaving Endgame, I was kinda like... ┐(ﾟ～ﾟ)┌  I think it may be because at the end of Infinity War, you don't know what to expect, and in Endgame, it was more like...conclusive? Like, there isn’t really anywhere else to go, except I guess... new generation Avengers. 

I’ll admit, someone was soft-spoiling me about the movie, so I unfortunately wasn’t going in as blind as I hoped. That kinda pissed me off the whole day, but whatever. Basically any emotional/sad ending scenes I was already expecting, so it really took the wind out of my sails. 

Anyways, Endgame wasn’t necessarily a bad movie, but it definitely pales in comparison to Infinity War. Was it a good conclusion for the last decade of Marvel movies? I kind of have a...resounding “Sure...” I feel neither overwhelmed or underwhelmed. Just...whelmed. 

Btw, RLM just released their Half-in-the-Bag about Endgame, and honestly, I agree with basically most of their review. 

I feel like the parts of the movie that were good were REALLY good, but the gripes/nitpicks/questions I have for the movie now... stick out.  

Let me get the positives out of the way:

Visuals and action scenes are top notch! And when everyone comes back (despite it being...a little too convenient??), it is a really epic ass moment, especially when Captain America FINALLY SAYS THE THING. 

I like how most of the characters had at least a scene of emotional closure. 

There were some witty jokes and one-liners did make me laugh! 

Morgan is cute! And teenager!Cassie is adorable! ...now I want cheeseburgers. 🍔

Even though I had issues with the time travel aspect of the movie, I did like the nostalgic flash backs to the previous movies, like the first Avengers movie. 

Honestly, the back and fourth between the Avengers was pretty spot-on. The Russo Brothers are really good at knowing how each and every character works. 

Uh...Spiderman coming back was pretty cool! No matter what he did, his interactions were always solid. 

Um...that’s it. 

Now I’ll move onto my gripes questions I had for the movie: 

The biggest issue in the movie, to me personally anyways, was definitely the TIME TRAVEL aspect. Now look, I’m not coming into Avengers expecting them to have the mechanics of time travel down like goddang Primer, but I was hoping for a decent, tight time traveling with little need for hand waving. 

The one thing I was kind of expecting was the alternate branches of timelines being a thing (with all the talk about quantum physics), but then they had to close the loop on one timeline... which is fine... but when Captain America stays in the past... that breaks the first rule they established of the Avengers being unable to change the past but only their future (hence why they were bringing the stones back to the future, snapping, and then returning the stones). Future Captain America going back to the past to spend his life with Peggy CHANGES the past, not to mention... wouldn’t there be... two Captain Americas running around?? 

...WHAT I’M TRYING TO SAY IS THAT THE TIME TRAVEL BEGAN TO BREAK IT’S OWN RULES FOR THE SAKE OF CLOSURE WHEN I PERSONALLY THINK STEVE ROGERS HANDING THE BATON TO SAM COULD’VE BEEN DONE BETTER WITHOUT IT BREAKING THE TIME TRAVEL RULES

Also, Iron Man and Antman screwing up and not getting the Tesseract cube thingy and having Loki escape breaks the past? Because??? In the first Avengers, Loki is captured with Thor, but....in this past he escapes?? I’m assuming he gets caught later on, but too late and that’s why Iron Man and Captain America have to execute plan B to get the Tesseract. That’s...fine... but it’s not mentioned in the movie... 

Okay, now that I think about it more, I think the movie threw out the “We can’t change the past” line just so people can’t be all like, why aren’t the Avengers preventing very bad things from happening like peoples’ deaths or terrorism or blah blah blah. Mainly because logically speaking, the Avengers traveling to the past at all changes the past period. But...I’ll let that slide, I guess... 

Another thing that kind of bothered me was Captain Marvel’s inclusion. It was the issue of Superman or Quicksilver in the Xmen movies - you can’t have too strong of an OP character in a movie, or...well, it’d be a very short movie. My issue, though, was that it felt that the reason she was out of the movie (planet tremors????) was kind of... flimsy?? I just think the Russo Brothers could’ve definitely 1) wrote her more interesting, 2) given her something to work with (flaws? personal conflict?? SOMETHING???)  

Also, another thing pointed out by RLM, how was Iron Man able to recreate a gauntlet that would hold all the Infinity Stones vs. Eitri (Peter Dinklage’s character in Infinity War) having to create very special, POWERED BY SUN gauntlet? Also, how was Iron Man’s own iron suit hand able to even hold the stones in the first place at the end, assuming it was an impromptu move...? 

ON THAT NOTE, why the F*CK didn’t Captain Marvel just use the gauntlet??? She was carrying it??? And (assuming how effing OP she is) she probably could’ve easily put it on and snapped her fingers. And probably say some stupid sassy one-liner like “Was that even hard you guys?” 😏 But I digress, I couldn’t stop thinking about this last night, all because now that I realize that she could’ve done that, it really took out the importance of Iron Man’s sacrifice. THERE WAS NO NEED FOR HIM TO DIE IF GOD DANG CAROL DANVERS JUST SNAPPED HER FINGERS?! Sorry. I’m upset. 

Speaking of OP, Thanos was WAYYYYYY too OP. Like...weirdly too OP for some big purple guy not having any of the Infinity Stones. I get that when Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man weren’t exactly at 100% when they first went up against him (they did just come crawling out of a bombed building), they should’ve easily took him down. Like I get that they kind of had to amp up his strength in the third arc to raise the stakes, but it took me out of the movie considering he had... zero stones. 

Speaking of OP, Scarlet Witch should’ve totally been able to take him out. She held her own when Thanos had four stones, and in Endgame, he had, as I remind you, none!

As cool as the big third act battle was, it was pretty cringey when all the girl superheroes got together and were basically like, “Girl Power!” Marvel...I get it. You love and respect women. You don’t have to lay it thick on the audience how cool the womens are. It just...felt unnecessary? 

Also wasn’t a fan of him being all like, “I’ll just recreate the universe!” So much for him being somewhat sympathetic at the end of Infinity War. I was kind of hoping for a bit of a twist where he realizes his mistake, but no, he has to be the big bad guy. I’m kinda with Jay from RLM, it’d be cooler if the conflict of the story was mostly on the time travel shenanigans without the need to drag Thanos back in. 

One personal gripe I have is I actually thought Hawkeye should’ve taken the sacrifice, not Black Widow. I love them both, and I did like the small callbacks they did in the first Avengers but I mean...so much for that Black Widow movie people were clamoring about. Also, they were super doubling down on that family he had that no one asked for so...yay, I guess. 😒

Speaking of closure, I’m kind of annoyed that there was actually zero mention of poor Vision. Which begs the question of how they’re going to...explain that in the Disney+ show. I guess you could say it takes place before he dies but...that’s kind of lame. 

Poor Peter Quill didn’t have to be done in like that! He barely recovered from losing everything he loved, and you make his love interest beat him up. 😒 That was a slap to the face to poor Starmora fans. Unless they found that funny, idk? 

I personally didn’t like how they handled Thor in this movie. It was fine in Infinity War, because while he had more the comedic bits, there was still brevity in his character. In Endgame, he’s literally a total joke and a butt monkey they entire time. I felt that no one had any real respect for him, and the times when his implied trauma and anxiety were brought up, it kind of turned into a joke?? And there wasn’t really a satisfying arc to his character, he was just know lame, schlubby, and funny? Like, if this was done with a female character, no one would be laughing and also there would be riots on the streets imo. I’m not one of those people screeching “fatphobia” but I really didn’t like how Thor was handled. I get that he’s better off as a comedic character, but they went too far with hi in those terms. I’m fine with him leaving to go with the GotG, but it’s annoying that they didn’t even bother bringing Sif back, wtf.

The tone of Endgame as a whole was starting to feel almost like Age of Ultron, where the balance between funny/witty began to outweigh against the seriousness of the situation.  

Also, while I did like the send-off they gave to Iron Man, it was really jarring how... conveniently everything turned out when the 50% population just suddenly CAME BACK TO EXISTENCE. Like... Peter coming back to high school presumably only a few weeks/months after coming back? And the high school looks practically brand new and intact??? At the beginning of the movie, the shots all over the world look practically post-apocalyptic. Sending everyone back won’t solve everything, there would still be chaos you guys. 

Obviously these are just QUESTIONS that I don’t have answers to, so if you do, let me know! 

Like...I’m understanding of the passing the baton thing. The actors all the way from Phase One are basically retiring, so they’re gearing up to casting the new Avengers. That’s fine. I just...wasn’t a fan of the “things happening because plot” thing that I felt happened more than twice in the movie.

It kind of felt the same as when I left The Last Jedi, where the more I thought about it, the more things started to not make sense, even though I was at least entertained in the theater. 

My poor SO, he was feeling a bit pessimistic after the movie. He says while he does find Marvel movies enjoyable, they’re no longer exciting as they were a few years ago. I remember being so excited to see Captain America: Civil War and Guardians of the Galaxy on opening night a few years back, but now, we watched Thor: Ragnarok on DVD and didn’t even bother with Captain Marvel.

I think we’re kind of tired of the “Marvel Formula.” It’s fine that people still enjoy Marvel movies, but they’re all starting to become...samey. Predicticable? And all the female characters are starting to be all samey as well. Sassy, witty, and sorta annoying. It’s like Disney doesn’t know how to make decent female characters that aren’t sassy and/or into science. It’s kind of boring now. Also please Disney I’m begging you no more woke millennial humor please

I didn’t mean to go on a rant, I still honestly like Marvel movies and it’s great how far we’ve come. I’m just annoyed that Endgame was more messier than I’d like, and I didn’t get enough closure from the whole cast, despite it being a 3-hour movie. I think at the very end, despite the big battle scene, I was really feeling the bloat from so many characters all in the Marvel universe.

I’ll probably give Avengers: Endgame a 7.6/10. I would tell people to go watch it, but I’ll probably meme about it for a few days, then be done with it. Unlike Infinity War, I don’t really feel compelled to rewatch it again.  

That being said, I’m totally rooting for DC to give Disney a run of their money. Shazam was awesome, 10/10!! 

[dettonator11]

Universal Sins of Universe Movies

I love movies; and I love going to theaters to see them, it's not an experience I had very much growing up. However, I have resolved from here on out to neither watch in theaters nor at home any movie from a franchise of more than three. For brevity, we shall call these movies Universe Movies or U-Movies, after the Marvel Universe whose unprecedented success set the tone of such franchises from 2012 onwards. There may be some exceptions - watching with a large group of friends, for instance - but on the whole my mind is set: no more Avengers, no more Star Wars, Star Trek, or Harry Potter. I would mention the DC Universe, but I was already not watching that. "But wait!" my inner critic cries. "You need to be aware of the culture! You can't just put a blanket ban on movies that haven't been announced yet! Think of how many good movies you'll miss!" And it's right. I will miss a lot of good movies. I've already missed Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as well as Star Wars: Rogue One, and I only saw the new Star Trek movie (Beyond?) because I was on a plane with nothing else to do. So why am I doing this? Well, to save money in part; but also because I'm fed up with un-innovative, uninspiring sequels; action/adventure movies that are all action and no adventure; boring, routine storytelling and cliched camera shots. Here, for your perusal, shall I list the 5 Universal Sins of Universe Movies:

1. Theme park effect I read a great article, and I'm upset that I can't find it again, about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the screenplay that's acting as a "Book 8" in the Harry Potter series. It pointed out that in Cursed Child, story took a back seat to spectacle: a lot of things were put in for fan recognition - "Oh, I remember this!" The author of that article called it something like a theme park story. What happens doesn't matter as much as the fact that you're in the same place you were before. And I get it, I get the longing to be back in Harry's England or Gotham City or what have you. But the reason we love those places in the first place is the characters we learn about there, the stories that move us to better ourselves; and in U-Movies those things are often gone, poorly replaced by brand recognition.

2. Character undeath One of the worst features Marvel and DC took from comic books is that heroes often seem to be immune to enemy attack. Or, if they do fall, they are resurrected somehow, or it was a faked death, or...you've heard it all before, I'm sure. It's a cheap bait-and-switch for storytelling: all the drama and loss of death without having to end the story arc! This tactic has been used so many times that it's all but certain now that main character deaths are not real. Part of why Game of Thrones is so refreshing is that most people in it stay dead. I remember watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens when it came out (spoilers, btw). Poe and Finn's ship crashed in the beginning, and Poe was apparently dead, but I had a sinking feeling he would be popping back up later; and when the expected reveal did happen, I was disappointed. J.J. Abrams had a chance to do so much character building based on Poe's death, but chose the cheap thrills instead. This topic also leads into

3. Escalating or dangling plot lines *Old man voice* Back in my day, movies used to have a beginning, a middle and an end. Now, they're all middle! </Old man voice> For real, though, when you know a character /needs/ to be alive for the sequel, or there's a whole lot of backstory that props up the character interactions in a movie, it feels like you're watching a TV Show with breaks of epic proportions in between episodes. 2 to 3 hours should be enough to start and resolve a plot; but in a U-Movie there needs to be a teaser of what's coming next, some unresolved issue to use as a cliffhanger. There's only so long movies can say they're going to resolve everything and then don't before I start getting suspicious.

4. Unclear directive vision Universes in and of themselves are not bad. There are, presumably, stories it would take many movies to tell well (see: The Lord of the Rings). But many Universes these days exist only to make money, because other people are doing it, or it was successful in the past (see: The Hobbit movies [why is that a plural what were you thinking Pete]). The thing about long franchises is that at some point, the director you've hired will die or stop making movies and you'll have to find another one. Same for characters in your franchise. Hence Spiderman is more like schizo-man because he's been remade so many times.

5. Sameness I left The Force Awakens theater with a bad taste in my mouth. It had been a perfectly good movie, but it was almost exactly the same, plot point for plot point, as the original Star Wars: A New Hope. It was then that my desire to cease seeing these things was born. Why did the American wizard school in Fantastic Beasts have to have four houses with creature names? Why did The Force Awakens start with John Williams music and a title crawl? Why do all the Star Trek movies end with the original show's introduction voice-overs? Because producers and directors have mistaken style with formula. And as long as money keeps falling into their laps, they will remain convinced that Star Wars IS the hero's journey or Star Trek IS Captain Kirk going against orders. U-Movies are safe bets for production companies - why innovate and ruin a good cash cow?