Hey 3.5 Readers.
BQB here.
Marvel’s got a new movie trailer for Doctor Strange. Surgeon who becomes like a magic space wizard or something. Admittedly, I don’t know much about it as Doctor S is one of Marvel’s lesser known characters.
The trailer looks like the movie borrows from the Matrix and Inception.
What say you, 3.5?
Hey 3.5 Readers. You Tubers are like self-publishers for video production, right?
Once in awhile I’ll talk about my favorite YouTubers.
First up, Comic Book Girl 19. She’s a nerd. She’s hilarious. Swears constantly. Has sidekicks like Robot (usually broken due to a bad wire or something) and Space Brain (floating brain.)
Reviews nerdy movies, comic books, TV shows. Did a series of videos explaining the back story of Game of Thrones. Helped me understand some of the stuff going on, who is related to who and so on.
Comic Book Girl 19 – Youtube – Why Did I Go See Gods of Egypt
By the way, I agree with her about Gods of Egypt. That movie sucked so bad that I didn’t even bother to review it.
So much CGI but so little substance. Had a few good moments. But mostly sucked.
I’ve seen the first two episodes on Netflix. Enjoying it so far. Very noir. Very cool. Stylish but also with super heroes.
What say you, 3.5 readers?
So a rubberman, a rock monster, a burning man and an invisible girl walk into a bar…
Bookshelf Q. Battler here with a review at the latest attempt at a Fantastic Four movie.
To paraphrase Ben “The Thing” Grimm: IT’S SPOILIN’ TIME!
Fantastic Four – Movieclips Trailers
This movie is getting the crap panned out of it by the critics and even director Josh Trank reportedly tweeted (and later deleted), “You’ll probably never get to see my good version,” assumedly in response to a collective thumbs down from the movie review community.
Rotten Tomatoes, a movie review site that ranks films on a scale of 1-100% gave it 9%. It barely registered. Holy crap, that’s like, Gigli territory.
To put it in perspective, if Disney ever puts out a Jar Jar Binks origin story film, it’d probably get at least 15% just for being a completed film.
(I don’t know that to be case exactly. What do I look like, a Rotten Tomato expert or something?)
Personally? I don’t get it.
Call me crazy, tell me why I’m wrong, but I didn’t think it was that bad.
It was better than the two mid-2000’s attempts, though that’s not saying much. This franchise’s big villain/draw has always been the metallic Dr. Doom, and those movies, for some odd reason, were pretty light on the Doom.
A Fab Four movie that’s light on Dr. Doom is the equivalent of making a movie about Superman, except there’s no heroics and it’s just a rom-com about how he wants to tell Lois his secret but is too afraid.
This version makes up for it, with some pretty sweet Doom scenes in which he, in almost a Darth Vaderian level of bad-ass-itude, started popping heads left and right with his mind. Toby Kebell plays the baddie in this version.
The franchise went with a younger crew this time around, and I don’t think that hurt it. In fact, Miles Teller plays Reed Richards and in a summer where every hero is buffer and has more muscles than the next, it was good to see a nerd as the hero for once.
For once? TRY FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!
NERDS: Can a nerd be the hero for once?
SOCIETY: What?! You need glasses to see? Boo! No! No super heroics for you!
In this movie’s defense, this franchise isn’t Marvel’s easiest to put on film. You’ve got Reed aka Mr. Fantastic, who is a freaking rubber man. While being super stretchy is an interesting power, it does have the potential to backfire and look dumb. This film avoided that.
Then you’ve got a rock man, an invisible girl, and a man on fire, so all in all, they’re a haphazard collection of heroes with random powers.
(Oddly though, while this group usually gets goofed on by the critics, another comic book group featuring a Nordic god, a man in a robot suit, a green monster and a super patriot are box office gold so go figure.)
Kate Mara and Reg E. Cathey pull off a House of Cards mini-reunion. Frank Underwood fans know Kate as Zoe Barnes and Reg as Freddy aka the owner of Frank’s favorite barbecue joint. Here, Reg is the father of Sue (Kate) and Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan).
Sidenote: Jordan took a lot of heat (pun intended) for playing Johnny/the Human Torch. The character has usually been white in past films. But really, who cares? Spread the super hero roles throughout the races. If you’re worried about what color a character is in a super hero movie you probably have too much time on your hands.
Meanwhile, Jamie Bell plays Ben Grimm, the team member who has it the hardest (pun intended) because while the other characters can return to normal, he’s stuck being a rock monster.
And in this film, he’s a rock monster with no pants. He’s got nothing down there in case you were wondering. Maybe you weren’t. I don’t know.
This movie is all origin story with a face-off against Doom at the end. Perhaps it can be criticized on the fact that most of the first half is devoted to the experiment that leads to the team inadvertently catching their powers.
I’m not a fan of super hero origins stories, mostly because we know them front and back already. I don’t need to see Batman’s parents get shot for the hundredth time. I don’t need to see Superman’s escape pod land in the Kents’ corn field. I don’t need to see Peter Parker get bitten by a damn radioactive Spider again.
We all know what happened. There’s no need to re-tell the whole story again every time the cast changes. Just jump straight to the action.
However, I can’t begrudge the Fab Four an origin story because they’ve been denied a good one thus far.
I don’t know. Based on the reviews, I went into it thinking that it would be two hours of The Thing performing a poetry recital while Sue and Johnny use Reed as a jumprope, so I was pleasantly surprised.
If you hated it, I don’t want to start a nerd fight or anything, but what did I miss? Why is this movie considered so sucky?
It’s not like it was good enough to run out and watch again, but I didn’t feel like I didn’t get my money’s worth either.
STATUS: Shelf worthy.
While other heroes might be larger than life, this one’s going small.
Bookshelf Q. Battler here with a review of Marvel’s latest summer smash hit, Ant-Man.
Be forewarned – the SPOILERS ahead aren’t tiny.
Ant-Man – Marvel – Movieclips Trailers
Try this one on for size (pun intended.)
In a comic book world where one superhero is big, bolder and badder than the next, this guy’s power comes from becoming super miniscule. Not only that, but he controls a legion of ants who become his buddies.
Sounds epically stupid, right?
And yet, somehow Marvel pulls it off with great gusto in one of its best offerings this year.
Michael Douglas plays Dr. Hank Pym, whose Pym particle allows miniaturization. The wearer of a suit infused with Pym’s creation allows the wearer:
Years ago, Pym put the kibosh on his creation, refusing to share it with the government out of fear it could fall into the wrong hands and be used for nefarious purposes.
Flash forward to today, where Pym’s protege, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll of House of Cards fame) has managed to recreate Pym’s research to create “Yellowjacket,” a suit that allows the wearer to become small, fly around and shoot lasers.
Cross has evil plans for his creation and that’s where ex-con Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) comes in.
Pym’s too old to don the suit himself, refuses to put his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) at risk by allowing her to wear it, and thus Scott is recruited to become…dun dun dun…ANT-MAN!
This is a heist movie, more or less Marvel’s version of Ocean’s 11, as Scott must infiltrate Cross’ security and make off with the Yellowjacket tech before Cross’ evil plans are unleashed on the world.
I love Avengers, but here’s the thing. Iron Man has super intellect. The Hulk has super strength. Thor has muscles out the wazoo. Capt. America is the world’s ultimate soldier.
Try as much as you like, but you’ll never get to be like one of these guys.
That’s why Ant-Man is such a relatable character. When Scott dons the Ant-Man suit, he doesn’t react with great poise and precision. He gets slapped all over creation, avoiding people trying to step on him and a hungry rat who thinks he looks delicious.
He needs Pym to train him and he needs a lot of work as he makes a lot of mistakes along the way (as most average people would when gaining a special ability for the first time).
There’s cross-over into the Avengers world, though I won’t spoil it with details. Fans won’t be disappointed.
Paul Rudd, known for his comedic roles, was the perfect choice for the part. Meanwhile, it was great to see Michael Douglass, whose suffered health problems in recent years, back on the big screen in a major role. Thanks to some fancy effects, there is a flashback part where he’s youth-i-fied to the point where he looks like he could fight Glenn Close for boiling his bunny (aw come on, you’ve had plenty of time to watch Fatal Attraction.)
It’s been awhile since Hollywood’s attempted a good big person becomes small movie. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, is the last one I can remember.
The key to this movie is it takes itself seriously when necessary, but there’s also balance where the goofy premise is poked fun at. Epic fight scenes are shown on a small scale, where Ant-Man squares off against Yellowjacket in a daring, death defying struggle, but then panned out on a regular human sized scale their fight on a child’s train set looks like a few toys being tossed about.
Scott’s ex-con buddies who back him up also provide much comic relief.
Hollywood’s been at this one for awhile. Ant-Man was in play for at least a decade before reaching the big screen. The public had to develop a thirst for super heroes and a great team had to be put together, one that was self-aware that the concept is goofy and could portray that one the screen while also providing the high stakes, do or die situations that comic book fans love.
STATUS: Shelf-worthy
This trailer shows more of what we can expect. Batman fears Superman’s power and vows to destroy him. Plus, our first peak at Wonder Woman.
Briefly, I was sad to see Joss Whedon being accused of being anti-feminism. I mean, the guy is the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you were a young person in the late 90’s/early 00’s you were glued to that show. Evil hideous vampires running in terror at the mere mention of “The Slayer.” Willow and Tara – one of the first open lesbian relationships I remember seeing on television. Faith the Vampire Slayer who went rogue. Willow goes from lowly nerd to witch of unstoppable power.
Meanwhile, if you saw the latest Avengers and thought that Black Widow came across as weak then I don’t know. I don’t think we saw the same movie.
You might have noticed that I’m a nerd. SPOILER – Due to said nerdyness, I cheered for the scene where Black Widow, referring to Bruce Banner, says “He’s kind of dorky. Chicks dig it.”
In my head, there was a voice that said, “No, no they really don’t but thank you for saying that, Black Widow. It made my day.”
If there had been some kind of effort in the film to portray Black Widow as some kind of brainless bimbo, wouldn’t she have gone for Thor’s muscles or Tony Stark’s money? No, she went for the nerdiest member of the team. The guy with the brain.
In reality, the nerd never gets the girl. Capt. America, Thor, and Iron Man can walk out the front door and score a dozen women before they hit the front porch, but in his human form, Bruce Banner is a super geek. It was nice to see a geek get the girl.
What’s the argument that Black Widow came across as weak? Strong women can’t fall in love? They can’t be comforting? Hulks need love too you know.
SPOILER – The main complaint centers around a scene where Banner tells Black Widow he can’t be with her because he’s a “monster” and he can’t have children. (I’m not actually sure why he can’t have children. Is there a scientific reason as in the gamma radiation fried his junk or just the general safety concern that if he had a kid the kid might misbehave, piss Bruce off and he’ll Hulk out? But I digress)
Black Widow shares that she can’t have children either because of a forced sterilization procedure she underwent during assassin training (no kids=no ties that can be exploited). She then says something like “you’re not the only monster on the team.”
Thus the fracas is over the idea that a woman who can’t give birth is somehow a “monster” but I don’t think that was what Whedon was trying to say at all.
I mean, from a writing perspective, maybe that point could have been clarified, but in general I think she was referencing her overall past as a ruthless killer and not necessarily the sterilization.
Or, maybe she was referring to it. Maybe she does feel down on herself because of it. Sometimes it is possible for a character to be too harsh on him or herself. Perhaps Black Widow needs to realize all she has to offer the world as a hero who’s now fighting on the side of good.
SPOILER – Times she came across as strong in the film:
On top of that, you have the new character, Scarlett Witch, who forms a team with her brother, Quicksilver and is arguably the stronger/more powerful of the duo.
I don’t know. I know it’s only a movie and I know feminism and women’s rights are important but I’m not sure I can think of anyone who’s done more to promote female characters in comic book style movies and TV than Joss Whedon.
What say you, 3.5 readers?
Iron Man! Thor! Hulk! Captain America! Black Widow! Hawkeye! Various and sundry other Avengers!
ASSEMBLE!
It’s time for Bookshelf Q. Battler’s review of Avengers: Age of Ultron!
Dun…dun dun da dun…dun dun…dunnnnn….dun dun da dun dun dun!
Sorry, that was me trying to sing the Avengers’ theme song. Doesn’t translate well through the written word.
The summer movie season is has arrived and Hollywood is coming out swinging with this superhero extravaganza.
If you SPOILERS make you angrier than Bruce Banner with a stubbed toe, you might not want to click below:
Who’s excited for it?
What are your expectations?
What do you want to happen?
What do you want to NOT happen?
Iron Man takes a siesta on my bookshelf.
Bookshelf Battle 