The Avengers - Movie Review

 The Avengers (2012)

Here we go, the grand finale of Phase 1 of the MCU! My review for the first Avengers film is FINALLY here! This still remains one of my all time favorite theater experiences! The Avengers tells the timeless tale of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. forming the team called The Avengers, consisting of Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye, to stop Loki from bringing Earth down to its knees. Released in 2012, The Avengers was the highest grossing film in the franchise at the time, as well as the highest grossing superhero film at the time, and the highest grossing film of 2012. The film is also one of the best reviewed films in the MCU, it was highly acclaimed by both critics and audiences. This was also the first MCU film to be distributed by Disney.

THE GOOD

The Avengers is a flawless example of pure popcorn entertainment done right! This movie is EXTREMELY entertaining, with funny, witty dialogue, great banter between the characters, it is jam packed with enthralling action sequences, and it's extremely fast paced! This movie is a huge bundle of joy. The plot is very simple and straight forward, which is what a movie like this should be. The film is extremely well written, there are so many moments of witty, funny dialogue with some great banter, I loved Iron Man as always, Captain America is really great as the guy from the 40s in modern times, Chris Evans really does a great job at making us buy that, Thor is great here, and Hulk is FUCKING BADASS! Everyone has their time to shine, like Iron Man fighting Thor, Hulk fighting Thor, Hulk just brutalizing Loki in one of the funniest scenes in the entire movie, Hawkeye jumping off the building for that badass slowmo shot with his bow and arrow, and of course, the "I'm always angry" scene with Hulk! Speaking of those moments, let's talk about the action sequences! The action is riveting, exciting and enthralling! Every action sequence is beautifully shot and extremely well edited. The film is PACKED with action so every time one awesome action sequence ends, you don't have to wait too long for the next one. The visuals are stunning, the CGI is fucking great, there was never a point where the CGI or green screen was painfully obvious. Of course the acting was fantastic, the entire cast does a wonderful job in their roles. Lastly, this film is extremely fast paced! There's never a dull moment here, the film never drags on, the movie moves constantly.

THE BAD

My only issue does not at all bring the movie's quality down AT ALL, it's just a petty nitpick, it's Captain America's suit. I'm sorry but Captain America's suit looks terrible. 

CONCLUSION

The Avengers is one of the best films in the MCU hands down, and one of my favorite comic book films! The film is so much fun! It's nothing deep but the movie is extremely well acted, funny, witty and packed with action! If you are looking for a great fun action movie that's never pretentious, this just may be what you are looking for!

GRADE:  A+

FILM INFO

MPA:  PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference)

Run time:  143 min

Release date:  May 4th, 2012

Studio:  Disney, Paramount Pictures

Saw III - Movie Review

 Saw III (2006)

Wow, it's been 1 year and 2 months since I reviewed a film in this franchise! Since Spiral: From the Book of Saw is FINALLY coming out this week, I think it's time to at least review another one before that comes out! Saw III tells the story of a man named Jeff, who's son was killed by a drunk driver and is put through a serious of violent, sadistic tests to overcome his anger towards his son's killer, meanwhile Amanda from the first two films kidnaps a nurse to perform brain surgery on a dying John Kramer. Saw III was released in 2006 and was a massive box office success, becoming the highest grossing film in the franchise. Much like literally every film in the franchise, it received negative reviews from critics.

THE GOOD

Saw III is a movie that's just okay to me, I definitely have some problems with this one, but there's still plenty of things I liked about it. Tobin Bell as John Kramer/Jigsaw is once again great as the character, it's nothing short of iconic! This is one of the best acted Saw films. The traps are fucking gruesome, which is exactly what I want from a Saw film. There's plenty of gore and torture and shit like that. The opening scene was fucking BRUTAL, and the rack trap with that black guy getting his neck, arms and legs twisted is easily one of the most gruesome things in the franchise. Just like Saw II, this film does a great job at going deeper into the character of Jigsaw/John Kramer, I loved learning more about his worldview and philosophy and shit like that, it's absolutely one of the most compelling things about the franchise. The film also for the most part does a good job at maintaining the atmosphere that the first two films had. I loved the twist in the film where Amanda was actually an apprentice to Jigsaw before the first film, it's by far the best twist in the entire franchise!

THE BAD

My issues with the film is entirely with the pacing. This movie is one of the slowest in the franchise, and not always in a good way. The first 30 minutes of the film is basically trap after trap with very little story. It really takes a long time for the actual story to start. The main character being put through the test is super slow with everything he does, which makes the movie slower, which is why this is the longest film in the franchise. There were a few times where I wanted the movie to pick up the pace.

CONCLUSION

This was definitely a very easy film to review! Anyways, Saw III is a perfectly serviceable film the franchise. Despite glaring pacing issues, Saw III offers more of the compelling story behind Jigsaw and the gruesome, gory traps that we loved from the first two. As a Saw fan, I was always just satisfied enough with the film to enjoy it.

GRADE:  B

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  R (for strong grisly violence and gore, sequences of terror and torture, nudity and language)

Run time:  113 min

Release date:  October 26th, 2006

Studio:  Lionsgate

Captain America: The First Avenger - Movie Review

 Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Alright, nearly done Phase 1 here, we are now at the 5th film in the MCU, Captain America: The First Avenger! This film was released on July 22nd, 2011, received positive reviews and while was still a box office success, it's the second lowest grossing film in the MCU, grossing only $370 million worldwide. The was also the last MCU film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures independently before Disney bought the rights to the franchise. The film tells the story of Steve Rogers, a young man who greatly desires to join the military to fight the Nazis, despite having many physical and medical problems. After he joins, he becomes an experiment and results in him becoming a super soldier named Captain America.

THE GOOD

This movie is a extremely fun action flick with a very old fashioned vibe. The 1940s setting is so well used, it looks so authentic from how people talk, the weapons people use, the technology, everything! The production value is off the fucking charts! The story was always interesting, I loved how they didn't just focus on Steve Rogers fighting in war right after he becomes Captain America, at first they use him as a propaganda piece. The song that plays over the propaganda montage was also catchy as fuck, seriously, you'll be humming that shit. The action sequences are also a lot of fun, there's one action sequence that takes place on a train and it is straight out of Uncharted 2! The shield is also one fucking awesome weapon! I loved every single time Captain America threw his shield at enemies and you hear the impact of the shield hitting them, it was always satisfying! Let's talk about the performances! Chris Evans is great in this film, he is great in the action of course, people say he wasn't as badass in this movie as he was in movies like The Winter Soldier or Civil War, I respectably disagree. Hugo Weaving as Red Skull was fucking awesome! Red Skull is easily the 2nd best villain in Phase 1 MCU for sure, he adds to the old fashioned feeling to the movie as he's portrayed as an old fashioned comic book villain where he's just evil and wants to fuck everything up! It may not sound very compelling but Hugo Weaving does a phenomenal job at making it work! I thought the romance between Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter worked pretty well, their chemistry was good and I thought they did do a good job at making the romance believable.

THE BAD

My only issue is the montage scene with Captain America doing all these missions for the military. I really wish we could have seen them as actual action sequences instead of a montage, plus it didn't have 80s music in the background so I REALLY had a problem with it. You can't have a montage without 80s music, it's filmmaking 101 for fuck sakes!

CONCLUSION

This is definitely one of the best of Phase 1 MCU. It's not quite as good as Iron Man but it's a little better than Thor and The Incredible Hulk and is A LOT better than Iron Man 2. This movie is beautifully old fashioned with phenomenal production values, fantastic action sequences, and great performances all around! This truly is pure fun and a must watch for Marvel fans for sure!

GRADE:  A

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action)

Run time:  124 min

Release date:  July 22nd, 2011

Studio:  Paramount Pictures

Thor - Movie Review

 Thor (2011)

It's been a while since I posted my last MCU review, but now here is my next one! I'll also continue my Saw reviews later on, because I recently saw Spiral: From the Book of Saw. Anyways, Thor was released on May 6th, 2011, received positive reviews and was a box office success. Thor tells the story of Thor (the god of thunder) obviously, as he attempts to start a war with the frost giants to prove how mighty of a king he will be, and after his father Odin disapproves of his actions, he exiles Thor to Earth and Loki sees it as an opportunity to take over the throne. This marks the first time we ever see Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston as Loki, two roles that definitely became iconic throughout the past 10 years! I can't believe this movie is 10 years old already, feels like it was just only a couple years since I saw this in theaters!

THE GOOD

Thor is a fun movie! This movie feels very epic, especially when it's taking place in Asgard! Asgard looks so big and grand, it was awe inspiring the first time I ever saw the movie, and it's still very awe inspiring. Most of the performances are absolutely wonderful, especially Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston as Thor and Loki! Loki is seriously a great villain, his motive is simple and is also a very common motive for a movie like this, but Tom Hiddleston really does a good job at making it work, and so does the screenplay. Chris Hemsworth is obviously great, he provides so much humor and charisma to the role, and he is GREAT in the action sequences! When Thor throws down in the action sequences, it is BADASS! My favorite action sequence was the one where Thor breaks into the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility to try to get his hammer. It was so white knuckled and the hand to hand combat was surprisingly brutal and realistic. One of my favorite things about the film is the character growth for Thor, it's the best character growth for the main character since the growth of Tony Stark as a character in the first Iron Man film. The comedy mostly works too, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are obviously very good with their comedy, and the fish out of water story with Thor provides some great comedy throughout the film too! Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman work pretty well together, I bought their romance just enough. I also really liked the magic and science are the same concept that's in this movie.

THE BAD

I really don't like Kat Dennings in this movie. She's the reason why I said the comedy mostly works. I'm sorry if y'all liked her in this movie but I find her so fucking annoying! I also thought there could've been a bit more action. I always had so much fun with Thor being fucking badass in the action sequences that when I realized that there really isn't a whole lot of action in this movie, it left me wanting more action in this film.

CONCLUSION

Thor is a great addition to the MCU, I loved most of the performances, most of the comedy worked really well, and when action did happen, it was fucking wonderful! Is it the best Thor movie or the best MCU movie? No, but as a movie in the franchise, it's definitely worth watching, it's a fun film!

GRADE:  A-

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence)

Run time:  115 min

Release date:  May 6th, 2011

Studio:  Paramount Pictures

American Horror Story: Murder House - TV Review

 American Horror Story: Season 1 - Murder House (2011)

Alright folks, we're doing something different this time! Here is my first ever TV review! I was thinking for a while about reviewing a TV show, the first shows on my mind were Breaking Bad or The Sopranos, but then I thought about reviewing American Horror Story! Each season is something different, so it's kinda like reviewing movies, so I think this was a great way to start. Season 1 is about a dysfunctional family moving from Boston to Los Angles to start over after the father has an affair with one of his students, but little do they know that there's a sinister secret about their new house. Season 1 received mostly positive reviews from critics and was acclaimed by audiences, and had great ratings on television, spawning a second season with a completely different storyline, which I will be reviewing in the near future.

THE GOOD

The thing I loved about this season was that the story was consistently compelling. It took me 3 days to watch this season because of how interesting this was! I loved the twists and turns, the whole failing marriage aspect was surprisingly not cringe, and the atmosphere was a great bonus! The first episode and the home invasion episodes were by far my favorite episodes in this season, they had the best atmosphere in the entire season, the home invasion episode was the most intense episode in my opinion, and the first episode did a phenomenal job at setting up the season. The progression of the story is very well done, you slowly learn about the history of the characters little by little, and it gets more and more interesting and fucked up the more it progresses. The acting was absolutely fantastic, the actors who play characters who are meant to be unlikable really do a great job at making them unlikable! Taissa Farmiga is the best part of this season, I loved her performance and I loved her character, she was the character I cared about the most. Evan Peters also gives an absolutely wonderful performance as this troubled guy who is the love interest for Taissa Farmiga's character. You find out shit about him that's really fucked up and horrible, it's executed so fucking beautifully! The production value and gore effects are wonderful, it was shocking how good everything looked considering it was a TV show. This season has some real balls to it too, it isn't afraid to get fucked up for a TV show, there's some kinky sex stuff, a school shooting, dead babies, stuff you wouldn't normally see in a TV show made for network television. The music is also a major standout in this season, the theme song, and the musical score are horror magic! They definitely set up the tone of the show in a masterful way!

THE BAD

My issues are very few, but I do have to mention them. I do think this season focused a lot more on drama than horror. I do think more of a focus on horror would have made this season even better. There was this character who was severely disfigured, and while I acknowledge he was essential to the plot, I found him so fucking annoying. I always wanted him to go offscreen every time he had screentime because he always got on my nerves.

CONCLUSION

Murder House was a rock solid start to one of my favorite TV shows. It's not perfect but it does deliver all the goods I wanted, gore, horror, atmosphere, a compelling story and terrific characters and performances. I can't wait to review Asylum and I am looking forward to Season 10 coming out soon! 

GRADE:  A-

INFO

Air date:  October 5 - December 21st, 2011

Studio/Network:  20th Century Fox, FX

Iron Man 2 - Movie Review

Iron Man 2 (2010)

 

Continuing on with my reviews of the MCU leading up to Black Widow, here's my review of the sequel to Iron Man and the third film in the MCU. Iron Man 2 came out in 2010, with Jon Favreau returning to direct, and Robert Downey Jr. reprising his role as Tony Stark. I'm not gonna bother explaining the plot because if I explain the plot most of my review will be in the intro. Let's get on with the review.

THE GOOD

Alright, here's my opinion on Iron Man 2, this film is just okay enough to be a decent watch. I definitely have some major issues with this movie but let's talk about what I like about it! First of all, Robert Downey Jr. once again is wonderful as Tony Stark! He proves once again that this role was made specifically for him! Don Cheadle is great as Rhodey, much better than Terrance Howard. Some story elements are great, like diving deeper in Tony's story with his father, it was interesting and compelling. There's a couple of great action sequences, the final act is a ton of fun, it was so awesome seeing Iron Man mowing down all these flying robot things, shit is blowing up, it was stuff that was missing throughout the movie. Black Widow is in this movie, this is where she was introduced, and she was fucking badass in this movie, there was a great action sequence involving her in the final act, fuck she kicked so much ass! The visual effects in this movie are wonderful, definitely an improvement over the visuals in The Incredible Hulk. I think for the most part this movie does a fair enough job at giving more of what we liked about the first film.

THE BAD

Now let's get to the issues! This movie is very messy. Why couldn't I explain the plot properly? There's LITERALLY 12 different plot points in this movie. I'm completely serious! You got Tony Stark's declining health, you got the government after Tony's technology, you got Whiplash's revenge plot, Tony's alcoholism, Pepper Potts becoming the CEO of Stark Industries, Tony's public image, Tony's relationship with his father, the jealousy of one of the main villains, the introduction of Black Widow, Rhodey becoming War Machine, another subplot involving Whiplash's revenge this time being hired by the other main villain, and Nick Fury entering the plot because he's concerned about Tony. All of this crammed into a movie that's just over 2 hours. There's far too much going on in this movie, so it's very hard to tell what this movie is really about. Despite Black Widow being really fucking awesome in this movie, you really have to wait for that to happen, because before she becomes that badass you have to deal with her not really having much of a character at all, she's really just in this movie to be hot. This movie has terrible pacing, sometimes they'll really focus on one plotline for an absurd amount of time, while other plotlines are skimmed over and forgotten about. This was actually the result of a terribly rushed production. Apparently Jon Favreau wanted 3 years to make this movie, but Marvel and Paramount Pictures said that he could only have 2 years to make the movie, so because he had less time to finish the movie than he wanted, he had the rush the production process a lot more, and it really showed in the final product. Whiplash was completely wasted as a character, you get this revenge plot with him, one of the 12 plotlines in this movie, and they do NOTHING with it. There's also a terrible lack of action in this movie, I think there's maybe 30 full minutes of action tops in this movie. You get the race track sequence involving Whiplash, which was entertaining enough, but it ends almost as quickly as it starts, you get a VERY brief fight between Tony and Rhodey while Tony is drunk, and the final act, which is by far the best one, until the final confrontation between Iron Man, War Machine and Whiplash. The final confrontation is one of the most disappointing fights in comic book movie history. Not that is was badly executed or anything, it's because it was only 45 SECONDS LONG! Yeah, that's what we wanted to see for a final confrontation, a fight that was less than a minute. I feel like I was bitching a lot about a movie that I don't even hate. This is just coming from a person who expected a lot better from the follow up to one of the best superhero movies of all time.

CONCLUSION

Iron Man 2 is just watchable and enjoyable enough to not be a completely bad film. It's got terrific performances from its cast, a couple of awesome action scenes, fantastic visuals and I found some enjoyment in some of the multiple plotlines. However; this movie is a complete mess, wastes some of its characters and lacks the action we expected to see in the sequel to one of the best superhero movies. It isn't a terrible trainwreck, but it's a major stepdown from the first film.

GRADE:  C+

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language)

Run time:  124 min

Release date:  May 7th, 2010

Studio:  Paramount Pictures

Stay tuned for my reviews of Thor and Saw III coming very soon, and a special review coming soon.

The Incredible Hulk - Movie Review

 The Incredible Hulk (2008)

The Incredible Hulk is a superhero film from 2008, it's the second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the second Hulk film adaptation. It tells the story of Bruce Banner, who already became the Hulk, as he goes on a quest to cure himself while also being on the run from the military who wants him as a weapon. The film was released on June 13th, 2008, was a box office and received mostly positive reviews. Let's continue on with my MCU reviews leading up to Black Widow!

THE GOOD

This movie isn't one of the best films in the MCU, but it's a great time! Edward Norton, while not quite as good as Mark Ruffalo, still gives a solid performance, I wouldn't expect anything less from an actor as talented as him! While the story isn't anything original, it's always engaging and it always kept my attention. I loved the execution of the story of Bruce Banner's fear of becoming the Hulk and his journey to finding the cure. I loved the fact that this movie didn't just choose to retell Bruce Banner's origin story again, especially because Ang Lee's snoozefest Hulk movie just came out 5 years before this movie did, this movie cuts right to the chase and decides to just have fun with the characters. I can't review a Hulk movie without talking about the Hulk action, and when it happens, it is fucking AWESOME! The action sequences in this movie are fucking fantastic, the big throwdown between the Hulk and the military about half way through the movie is so adrenaline fueled and white knuckled and fun, I really love that action sequence! There's only 3 main action sequences but each of them are very well handled and directed, each of them are unique and distinct, and they last a long time too so there's not a feeling of a lack of action whatsoever. I love the military characters in this movie, they were so much fun to watch, and Tim Roth's character is definitely one of the better villains in pre-Phase 3 MCU. There's also a few very nice references to the original 70s TV show, including the theme song being played and Lou Ferrigno also makes a cameo too!

THE BAD

I do have a few flaws here, some of the CGI definitely didn't age very well, especially in the final throwdown between the Hulk and the Abomination. Speaking of the final act, while the final act still kept my attention and was pretty entertaining, it was the least interesting part of the movie, and the entire thing looked like a video game that would have come out at the time this movie did. This movie also runs into the same issue I had with Iron Man, where the villain gains the same power as the hero to fight the hero, it's just not an interesting way to have a final fight in a superhero movie. There's nothing strong in terms of emotional weight, there's some here, and it's definitely well executed, much better executed than that piece of shit Ang Lee made in 2003, but there definitely could have been more.

CONCLUSION

Is The Incredible Hulk one of the best films in the MCU? No, but it is extremely entertaining! The performances are very good, the characters are fun, the action is exciting, and the story is fairly compelling, despite the lack of emotional weight and the fact that this is another film where the villain just copies the hero.

GRADE:  B+

FILM INFO

MPA rating: PG-13 (for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images and brief suggestive content)

Run time:  113 min

Release date:  June 13th, 2008

Studio:  Universal Pictures