My Avengers Infinity War review

My Avengers Infinity War review 

Intro: After ten years, we finally get a Marvel movie with all of the Marvel characters in it. Expect for Wolverine, Daredevil and Deadpool. Hey, it’s better than nothing.

Avengers: Infinity War: This movie is centered on the main villain Thanos who's looking for the Infinity Stones, he's going to use them to wipe out half of the population in the universe. So the Avengers have to stop him from getting the stones. This is one of those movies that proved me wrong and fixed some of the complaints I have with the MCU. This movie made the previous Avengers movie better, however, not enough to change how I feel about that movie. ( I’m still waiting for the director’s cut.) You feel like you're watching a war movie without the chain of command, we have different groups of characters coming up with different strategies on how to deal with Thanos? Sacrifice is the theme of this movie you’ll see why when you watch the movie. Also, it was nice to see a past villain return. The way this movie ends puts a smile on my face!  

Thanos is one of the best baddies the MCU has to offer! We go from despising him to understanding him to feeling sorry for him. Plus, he shows compassion for the Avengers despite the fact they tried to stop him, how can you hate an adversary who does that? He doesn't want to kill half of the population for the heck of it he has a reason for it, whether or not that reason is good or bad is up to you to decide. The scene where his conviction is being tested is my favorite scene in the movie because we see this with the heroes but never the villains. I'm glad the writers didn't stick to his motivation from the comics because that would make him less compelling. However, his drive from the comics could work if it's used as a social commentary on what men are willing to do to win women over but I digress. I'm glad that Thanos is not a pushover without the stones, however, he isn't powerful. 

Ebony Maw is a cult leader of Thanos, I'm surprised that he serves Thanos because seems to be more powerful than him.  

We see how much Steve Rogers/Captain American has changed in this movie, he went from boy scout to rebel leader. My gripe with him is he contradicts himself about Vision's solution to stop Thanos.  

Tony/Iron Man is still struggling with his pride and ego because he tries to take control of the situation and he refuses to let certain people help him. That's understandable considering that he's been dreading the day where he has to face Thanos. I'm fond of his Iron Man suit because it has almost everything you need for combat. 

Thor is bloodthirsty in this movie. I'm fine with that because this makes up for him not having a strong reaction to everything that happened in Ragnarok. Plus, Thanos pushes him over the edge, don't worry he still has his sense of humor from Ragnarok. 

Starlord is going to be popular in this movie, I’m going to leave it at that. 

Drax is the comic relief in this movie. 

Bruce/The Hulk are having issues, the beginning of the movie might explain that however, I want verification.

Doctor Strange is headstrong in this movie, which makes him hard to work with. Also, he did something that undermines the tension in this movie. 

Vision has the same characterization in Civil War and we see how his relationship with Scarlet Witch has developed. My beef with him is he's underused, seriously what's the point of him being one of the strongest Avengers if he's taking out way too easy? 

Of course, misplaced comedy is one of the problems with this movie. There is a subplot with one of the groups that could have been cut for time. Why didn’t Thanos find the stones sooner? Each team could have slowed down Thanos if they weren't so stubborn. Some characters didn't get the chance to resolve their differences. If you haven't watched any of the other MCU films you might feel lost. Overall this is one of the best MCU movies that I would recommend. 

Rating = Worth seeing  

Black Lightning Review

Black Lightning Review 

 

Intro: If I had a list of comic book characters with the worst disguise Black Lightning would be on it.  

Black Lightning Review: This show is centered on Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning who quit being Black Lightning nine years ago do to a promise he made to someone. Since then he helps his community by being the principal of a school and other things. Things has gotten worst since a gang called the 100 showed up, so Jefferson decides to become Black Lightning again and stop them. 

This series is better than any of the Fantastic Four movies we have gotten, that's saying a lot. This show is refreshing considering how Arrow and the Flash are doing. Really I'm just happy that we have another Black superhero show on TV, do I really have to explain why I'm happy about this? The pilot episode feels like it's trying too hard to appeal to Black People, I mean it's feels heavy handed. Despite thinking having the ability to control lighting is lame I'm fond of how Black Lighting is able to use it in different ways. 

I like Jefferson/Black Lighting because he try's to better his community the right way and I feel his pain when he thinks that it's all for nothing or when he's a victim of racism. My Beef with him is that we learn that he has an agenda that damage his credibility with me.  

If Eric Killmonger from Black Panther had a sister you would get Anissa Pierce/Thunder. She's Jefferson's older daughter. I like the relationship between her and her father.     

Jennifer Pierce is Jefferson's youngest daughter, she's a promising student who gets into trouble. That's understandable considering that her family is overbearing. 

 I don't have much to say about Christine Adams(Jefferson's ex wife.) She didn't become useful until the last two episodes. 

Peter Gambi is Jefferson's mentor, he helps Jefferson on the field and proved tech support. We also learn that he's an enigma. 

Inspector Henderson is the James Gordon of this series. 

I don't have much to say about Tobias Whale. (one of the villains) He's a ruthless crime lord who has history with Black Lightning. 

One of the many problems I have with this show is the Villains, I mean it's hard to tell who's the main villain is in this series. Also the creators bought back a character that died for no reason, this person served no purpose in this show so what was the point of bringing him or her back? One of the reasons why I think having lightning powers is lame is because you can protect yourself from it by covering yourself up in plastic or rubber. 

I'm surprise that no one from the 100 has done this. Another thing whenever Black Lightning use his power to lift someone off the ground that person is not dead or burnt, how does that work? Another issues with this series is that it feels rushed, it tried to tell three stories and all of them are not resolved. Part of the reason why that is it's because this show has 13 episodes. This show addressing what's wrong in the Black Community can make it hard to watch, because we are not trying to fix things. Jefferson's backstory is kind of all over the place, we get bites and pieces of it but not enough to fill in the blanks.  

Overall this is an OK show I hope it gets renew so the writers can work out all the problems in season one.    

My MCU rant

My MCU rant 

  

Since Infinity War is around the corner, and it's almost ten years since the MCU started, I decided to give my thoughts on it. I'm impressed that this franchise is still going on; however, I think it gets too much credit for having different characters from different movies come together. Did people forget about Freddy vs Jason or Alien vs Predator? (Well, I can't blame you if you did.) Despite that, this hasn't been done before on a scale like this. I feel like I'm watching Marvel comics on the big screen. To be fair, this studio got lucky with the first Iron Man movie because this movie came out the same year as The Dark Knight; they could have been screwed if it came out the same month. One of the reasons why I'm surprised by the success of the MCU is because Marvel Studios is doing the same thing as the other movie studios, as far as studios not letting the directors be creative with their movies. I'll explain why this is an issue for me later. 

The MCU might not exist if people played this game; this game can help the general public become familiar with the Marvel world. 

  

Then again, the Justice League movie didn't have world-building, and look at how that movie turned out. (That's what WB gets for kissing Batman's butt so much, I mean, ignoring the other DC characters. I want a Blue Beetle or Booster Gold series on Netflix.) Don't get me wrong, I'm not against what Marvel Studios is doing, it's just that I don't like how this studio uses their solo films to set things up, I mean, they set up things when they don't need to, and they don't set up things when they should. For example, Iron Man 2 that movie was used to advertise The Avengers movie, and no one can tell me otherwise, the way it was done neglects the non-comic book readers. The same thing goes for Avengers: Age of Ultron; that movie was used to promote other films. I wish that the creators would take notes from how Arrow built its universe in season two. Whenever that show brings a comic book character in that season, they're used for the episode he or she is in, or they serve a purpose in the overall story. 

In case you haven't noticed, the standalone movies are one of the problems I have with the MCU; most of them feel the same as far as quality. The directors don't do anything edgy with these movies, I mean, we had two brief sex scenes in Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. Plus, a handful of intense action scenes in the other films. This is why I consider Captain America: Winter Soldier and Thor the best MCU films. Captain America: Winter Soldier is a solid spy thriller; the movie doesn't feel like it's setting anything up. Also, it affects the rest of the MCU. Thor is a family drama story. Yes! It has world-building; however, it didn't distract me from the story. Most of the MCU movies are about the hero's origin, personal issues, set up and the main villain looking for an object that will give him or her power. Since we're on the subject of villains, the MCU didn't produce adversaries that are memorable for the most part. 


Some of them would have been better if they were like their comic book counterparts. 

 

Or if the studio didn't throw away the actor or actress's hard work on the character.

 

It's time to address the elephant in the room, and that's the comedy. The comedy in these movies is overblown to the point where it ruins certain scenes, the tone of the movie, or the overall movie. Thor Ragnarok and Iron Man 2 are prime examples of that. The Last Jedi tried to copy this, and it didn't work because it creates mood whiplash. OK, I can see why the directors would do that because it's unexpected; however, it feels like a cheap way to get us to laugh. I'm surprised that the creators didn't use the break-the-fourth-wall type of comedy with setting up the Marvel universe. This reinforces why I'm not happy about Marvel Studios getting the rights to the rest of the Marvel characters, because I want variety. Despite not being crazy about the New Mutants movie being a horror film, I'm mad that the creators want to change that to make the movie family-friendly. We haven't seen a comic book horror film yet, unless you count the Blade trilogy. We might not have this problem if Marvel Studios let the Directors have their way with their movies.       

There have been stories of directors leaving or being fired from Marvel Studios because they don't like how this studio undermines them. Heck, even actors or actresses have gripes with this studio.

        

The standalone films are also similar to each other. don't believe me, answer these questions. What's the difference between the first Avengers movie and the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie? What's the difference between Black Panther and the first Thor movie? You don't really need to watch these movies to watch the Avengers films. Yes! The writers reference events that happen in the solo films; however, they don't play a role in the overall story in the Avengers movies for the most part. For example, Captain America: Civil War is going to feel like filler because we know or suspect that Tony and Steve will call a truce to deal with Thanos in Infinity War. As far as I know, Iron Man and Guardians of the Galaxy are the only characters that became popular due to their standalone movies. That's saying a lot considering how much trouble Tony Stark/Iron Man has caused.  

Do I really have to explain why this studio announces that more movies will be released years in advance bugs me? First of all, they're spoiling their fan base. Have they ever heard of the saying less is more? If they keep going at this rate, people might get sick of superhero/comic book movies. Second, it takes away the surprise of watching these films. I mean, what's the point in watching a Thor movie if I know he's going to be in the Avengers safe and sound? The only time Marvel Studios played with my expectations was in the second wave of Marvel films. For example, after seeing how Iron Man 3 and Captain America: Winter Soldier ended I thought Tony was going to rebuild S.H.I.L.E.D and run it. That makes sense (Not because this was in the comics.) it's because Tony became obsessed with protecting Earth from another alien invasion, plus he doesn't trust Nick Fury. Also, I thought Thanos was going to be the main baddie in the second Avengers movie because A the creators showed him in Guardians of the Galaxy. B they set up the Infinity stones. 

Am I the only one annoyed that the Hulk is not getting any more standalone movies? The dynamic between Bruce and the Hulk is interesting. I'm happy that the writers finally gave the Hulk the ability to speak in Thor Ragnarok because we can finally get inside this character's head. I just wish that this had been done sooner. So the Fantastic Four gets four movies, but you're not going to give the Hulk a third chance. What gives Universal Studios !?! Seriously, what's the point of setting the Leader if you're not going to use him? 

As far as a Black Widow movie goes, I'm not against it; however, I don't think it's needed. First of all, we learn something new about her every time she's in these films, and we see how much she has changed since Iron Man 2. Second Black Widow works better as a supporting character if you ask me. If Black Widow is going to get her own movie, it has to take place after the Thanos story, because we already know most of her backstory, so we don't need to see it. 

I wouldn't mind a Nick Fury solo film to explore his backstory of how he went from soldier to Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Plus, he feels like an extra rather than a character. 

I'm kind of disappointed that we didn't get a Nova movie sooner. I mean, why show us the Nova Corps if you're not going to use them?         

Before I wrap this up, I want to talk about Infinity War. I don't think that this will be a good movie. First of all, too many characters; second, how will Thanos stand out the way Loki, Ultron, and Killmonger did? He's just like most of the forgettable villains as far as wanting a MacGuffin that will give him the power to destroy everything. How much of a threat does Thanos pose without the infinity stones? This studio didn't do a good job at building him up they just have him appear in some of the films like he's a big deal, I'm going to be outraged if he isn't. Third this is one movie it's suppose to be split in two, if the creators did that it would reinforce how dangerous he is. Finally, killing off characters, if anyone dies in this movie, it's hard for me to take it seriously because this studio doesn't seem to have the guts to kill someone and keep that person dead.      

The MCU would have been better if the creators borrowed more elements from the comics for example, the infinity stones in the comics can do different things. Most of the stones are used for destruction in these movies. There is a story in the comics where Thanos killed Odin (Thor's father) to get the Infinity glove. (Sorry, I could be wrong about that.) If the writers did anything like that in the MCU we would have personal conflict on how to deal with Thanos since one of the Guardians is a family member of Thanos. That's all I have to say about the MCU for now. What do you think of it?         

My Rotten Tomatoes rant

My Rotten Tomatoes rant 

OK, is it me or are people losing brain cells? People have lost their ability to act civilized, I mean you can’t say anything bad about a sports team, comic book character and game console without a fan wanting to kill you. Now we have this problem with movies, certain people want a website called Rotten Tomatoes shut down because they don’t like the scores, they give certain movies. I’m sorry I’m getting ahead of myself. Rotten Tomatoes is a website that takes reviews from other critics and gives a score based on that. This site also does that with the moviegoers however they're not the main focus. 

I didn’t know about this website until six years ago when people were outraged that this site give The Dark Knight Rises a low score at first. Since then, I don’t like the pedestal people put this website on, they treat this site as the voice for all of cinema. I can understand why people would go to this website because they don't want to waste their time and money on a movie that may or may not be good. (Especially if you bring your family to the movie theater.) How is this fundamentally different from not taking a surgery where your chances of surviving it are 11%?  

Just because you don't agree with the scores doesn't mean this website lied to you or the site is paid to play favorites. No one told you to watch the movie. People get carried away with the rating system, if the movie is not 10 out of 10 it's crap. People seem to forget that rating is subjective, what's a 10 for me may not be a 10 for you. You don't think that critics may exaggerate about the movie? (I do that from time to time.) is there a black-and-white movie that is a 10 out of 10 and you still feel like it deserves that rating? There are movies that Rotten Tomatoes don't give a 100% but I didn't think it was as bad as they say. Heck, I watch films that has a low score to see for myself how bad it is.  

I'm glad that Rotten Tomatoes didn't give the Justice League movie a score at first because I want to see how hypnotic people are by the website score system. Surprise! Surprise! They are! This caused DC fans to want the website shut down because they are tired of the site giving the DC movies from Man of Steel to Justice League low scores. Don't they stop and think that the reason why they got low scores is because the movies are bad? If you don't think it's bad who cares if the site gives it a 0%? 

Disappointments are a part of life!  

There are movies that I thought was going to be terrible, but they surprised me. 

 

 Movies that I thought was going to be good, but they end up disappointing me. 

 

And movies that I regret seeing. 

 

The bottom line is this people shouldn't put so much stock in one site, it's not good to put all your eggs in one basket.