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avengers infinity war

Avengers: Infinity War Review

Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers. 

A lot of speculation manifested before the Avengers: Infinity War was released based on discussions and rumors about the contracts of some of the biggest stars in the MCU. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has dished out nearly 20 movies over the past decade or so and it is hard to see anyone other than Chris Evans as Captain America or Chris Hemsworth as Thor. For us, that remains extremely true for every character and recasting would greatly tarnish the legacy of the entire MCU. 

Based on these rumors, I thought they were going to kill Captain America, especially since he survived Civil War, which he does not in the comics. Even though there are multiple timelines and realities in the comics, that one is key and I was shocked when he didn’t die in Civil War. Add the rumors of Evans’ desire to end his role as Captain, and I thought that he definitely wouldn’t make it through Infinity War.

avengers infinity war

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black panther

Was the Black Panther Even THAT Good?

*WARNING: There are spoilers in this post. This post is intended for people who have already seen Black Panther. If you have yet to see it, we absolutely think this is a must-see as it is a marvel in filmmaking. 

If you follow me on social media, you’d know that we saw the Black Panther later than intended due to a wedding in Mexico this past weekend. I couldn’t help but get even more excited seeing the Pantera Negra posters all over Mexico City, since this film is being hailed as a major opportunity to realize that the inequality in Hollywood should be addressed in a way where action is taken. By the time we walked into the famous Auditorium 7 at Hollywood’s Historic Chinese Theatre, the pot was about to boil. 

black panther

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Thor: Ragnarok Review

On our drive up to Idyllwild, we were hoping that we’d run into a convenient situation where we’d be able to see the new Thor: Ragnarok in theaters, and we were fortunate! I did, however, waste a significant amount of time trying to explain what I thought would be the back story to this film. The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) is quickly growing and for anyone who doesn’t know the comics or watch the movies many times, you can get lost in the timeline. I had to remind Fit that Thor and Hulk were not in Civil War, so these two movies were most likely taking place at the same time and leading towards The Avengers: Infinity War, along with Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and who knows what else.

Thor: Ragnarok

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Hungry’s Movie Reviews: Man of Steel (Spoilers)

Let’s start by setting the scene. As you all know by now, I consider myself a nerd. Does that mean I have read every piece of canon work to all of the DC and Marvel comic characters and I am familiar with everything? Absolutely not. But I have developed a sense of the fictional characters that have been my heroes throughout my life as a child raised on cartoons, comic books, movies, and video games. Therefore, as a disclaimer, this movie review is done by me and not an objective or professional movie reviewer.

Phantom Menace 3D glasses what up

Phantom Menace 3D glasses what up

With that being said, I am actually somewhat picky when it comes to “recent” superhero moviesespecially the blockbusters. I did not like any of the five recent X-Men movies except First Class. All 3 Spiderman movies were trash. I enjoyed but wasn’t thrilled with Nolan’s Batman series. Superman Returns was far from great. The Incredible Hulk’s were incredibly lacking. Punisher was solid but its sequel wasn’t appealing enough for me to watch it. Iron Man‘s star made the movies enjoyable although I had a lot of issues with all three, especially the second one. Ghost Rider was awful but entertaining, the sequel never even got a chance. Green Lantern was similar. And I actually really enjoyed Captain America, Thor, and The Avengers. Did I forget any? I’m neglecting the older Batman movies, Superman movies, Supergirl, actually… now that I think about I could list a hundred superhero movies so this paragraph ends now and might find itself continued in a new post. (Because Blade, Spawn, and Hellboy will not be ignored)

Essentially, I have not been thrilled with many adaptations. And a lot of it is just a feeling… while a lot is me nitpicking these characters and story lines I know so well. I tried not to do that in Man of Steel and I tried so hard to not enjoy it because the reviews have been so on the fence after I was so ridiculously pumped for it for months and months. They made such a tremendous trailer and it seemed that they dropped the ball on the main project. However, I don’t completely agree after seeing it.

I think that Henry Cavill has the ability of being the Superman we need and deserve. It wasn’t completely evident in this film as Snyder and Nolan applied their darkness that cast over the Dark Knight and Watchmen. I feel that darkness doesn’t belong with Superman compared to the others but I’m being open to their effort. Amy Adams did an admirable job as well. I think the casting and acting all in all was good. All four of Clark’s/Kal’s parents really stole the show in my book, and I was questionable about Kevin Costner ahead of time. Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack, which removed John Williams’ iconic Superman March for the first time in decades, was spectacular and fit the movie perfectly. The sets and CGI for Krypton and Earth were stunning visuals. However, the movie, as a movie and as an interpretation of Superman was a steady downhill in my book.

Let me say that I did enjoy this movie tremendously. It might be my favorite Superman movie yet, even if the original movies are an overall better package. I would hope they make this a trilogy in order to fix some issues that I have, otherwise, this movie will lose points over the years. Clark Kent and Lois Lane first met in 1933 when Action Comics #1 was written. It was released in 1938. For 75 years their romance has been the most prominent in comic books and arguably in popular culture. This movie was seriously lacking that romantic spark and chemistry and it will be up to the team that led this project to develop that further in the sequels. While I don’t mind changing Clark’s background that much (All-American football star vs. the kid that was always bullied, etc.), I do mind the fact that they changed who Superman is so early on in a potential series.

man-of-steel-poster

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS INCOMING

Superman does not kill. He said it himself when he killed the only person he has ever killed in 75 years. At that point, Lois comforted him and he reacted with that iconic line. In this movie, when a similar event occurred, they moved on quickly like it never happened. This is a monumental change in who Superman is. He would not ignore a city being completely destroyed and millions dying in order to continue a punching contest with one person. He does this only to snap his neck in the end? All of Superman’s powers and he simply breaks a neck with a headlock instead of trying to not kill. I hope they aren’t recreating the character completely and are rather plotting a series where it will take many trials and tribulations for Superman to develop his array of powers. I hope they touch back on this point and how it will haunt him forever to some degree. Killing is not okay and if any superhero embodies that… it’s Superman.

But this happens at the end of the movie! In the beginning, Russell Crowe and a beautiful Krypton provide us (or at least me) with a tear-jerking early origin story. The flashbacks that compliment his current endeavors are not accurate to the story completely but they continue to build the man who is Superman. It gives a look into his origin on Earth with the Kents in Smallville, by having memories in his thirty year old form triggered by things that he sees. As the movie progresses, however, it gets worse in every way. The action picks up but mostly to the degree of lots of punching and loud noises. This culminates with Superman yelling a lot as he flies around the world and runs through machines and aliens with his fists. Back to the Zod point I made earlier.

Nevertheless, the beginning was so tremendous that my overall feeling for this movie was positive. Perry White’s antics, Jor-El in the escape scene and Superman’s crash landing provide comic relief. Clark’s moments with his mother provide joy and warmth. And his scenes with Lois have small hints of romance and chemistry. Thus, that feeling could become more positive if they develop their romance, his life at the Daily Planet, the development of his powers, introduce exciting new villains (there are many) and show that Superman thinks that killing is not okay.

This could be a great jumping off point for a trilogy. And while Henry Cavill may never be the Superman that Christopher Reeves was, he could still be the one this reboot deserves. Hungry gives this a double thumbs up, with potential for more (or less) depending on sequels or deleted scenes. (A date with Lois or a grieving scene of his murdering of Zod would make this movie VERY amazingly good for me.) I do very much so want a sequel. Sorry, this was not organized and was just me speaking my mind.

Try to watch movies but make sure to stay hungry and fit if you do!

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Hungry’s Movie Reviews: Iron Man 3

Last Sunday, a few days after the grand opening, we decided to add a few extra dollars to the nearly $175 mil opening weekend that Iron Man 3 boasted by seeing it in 3D. Luckily it was an early showing at Century Boulder so it only ran us about $11 a ticket.  This review is a week late and it may prove to be better that way because it will contain spoilers. I repeat… SPOILERS follow. I will try to save them for the end and give another warning before they appear if you want to continue reading.

Marvel has done a good job lately creating The Avengers. Both DC and Marvel have gone through countless reboots of characters throughout all of the versions of their movies. Within the past decade Eric Bana, Edward Norton, and Mark Ruffalo have all appeared as Hulk in major motion pictures. The X-Men have been consistent in casting but the only good movie has been First Class. The latest versions of Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man all have my seal of approval. Also, in my opinion,  The Avengers is Marvel’s best representation to date. I think I’ll save all this for another post as I continue to Iron Man 3.

Robert Downey Jr. has done an incredible job as Tony Stark and he is the reason that this series is so good. I would not have enjoyed any of the movies in the trilogy if not for him. The soundtrack is as bad as every other Marvel movie soundtrack and stories have not been up to par. The same holds true for this third film although I enjoyed the story the most with the exception of the predictable and disappointing ending. The rest of the movie was entertaining and engaging. I recommend it for anyone looking for a pre-Summer blockbuster and a good old time. Here comes the spoilers and my personal nerdy issues.

The changes made to Aldrich Killian and The Mandarin made for a good movie, but they could have made this trilogy so much better by doing the following. If you noticed in the first movie, there is a terrorist group ran by “The Mandarin” known as “The Ten Rings.” The Mandarin is Iron Man’s arch-nemesis and one of the super-villains of the Marvel universe. He is a highly skilled martial artist and intellectual being that has ten rings of power from an ancient civilization that grants him powers. Each of the ten rings gives a power and you can look those up if you care or don’t know them. Let’s say it would make for quite a fight scene on the big screen but they decided to throw The Mandarin away like he never existed in the comics.

Furthermore, Killian never was injected with Extremis. He helped develop it with Dr. Maya Hansen but the real enemy in that story was Mallen. Mallen was injected and later fought with Iron Man in some brutal fights before finally being blasted to death by repulsors to the head. Killian committed suicide sitting at his computer because of the monster he created. They essentially combined those two characters in this movie. It’s not a huge deal because no one read Earth 616 but this is how the trilogy would have been amazing. The second movie was so bad I stopped watching it. Maybe I’ll give it a second chance. Nevertheless, keep the first movie as is with the ties to the Mandarin. Next, make the third movie into the second and scrap Mickey Rourke. Lastly, bring Mandarin back in the third movie as an actual villain. You can keep the Ben Kingsley being an actor on drugs and everything, but then have him stumble across the ten rings and actually want to take over the universe. Okay, that’s enough ranting and maybe they can take me up on that idea for a reboot or a third Avengers movie.

All in all the movie was well worth the money and I look forward to Iron Man’s return in the upcoming Avengers 2. Dream to be a superhero and workout like them to be really hungry and fit!

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