123 replies to this topic

[Veteran]

Sorry, but I'll be the one to shit on the thread and not have a great first impression.

I hope I'm wrong though, but casting a wrestler that isn't the Rock is the kiss of death.*





*Macho Man doesn't count since his character was a wrestler.

[Oberon Storm]

Did Stone Cold ruin The Expendables?

[DarkJuno]

To be fair, the bar wasn't very high for The Expendables (note: I like both movies personally) and Stone Cold wasn't exactly acting in it. I'm sure Batista can run around giving space power bombs all day and do that part fine (he did all right in The Man with the Iron Fists) but Drax is a little more then just a bruiser, and he hasn't really done anything up to now that involves any sort of acting chops outside of cutting promos, and even then when he strayed outside of short and to the point (Congratulations. I want my rematch) or playing off someone specifically/accidentally making memes (BASKETBALLS DON'T HOLD GRUDGES) it got kinda painful.

 

Can't even really look at his other acting work since he doesn't go much but be generic tough guy, and/or the movies themselves weren't all that great and he wouldn't have had anything to work with even if he did do more then just punch people.

I'm willing to see if he can pull it off here, but that's more because I'm willing to give the movie itself a chance.

[DarkJuno]

Quick little scene from the beginning of Winter Soldier.

 

 

Cool, though yeah, they're not even remotely trying to hide the identity of The Winter Soldier. In the trailer it's quick enough that the majority of the general audience wouldn't necessarily recognize hgim, but the little featurette on Thor The Dark World's blu-ray flat out says who he is. Ah well.

 

Speaking of which, the One Shot, All Hail the King, is pretty good. If you had any issues with what happend with The Mandarin in Iron Man 3, it.......somewhat rectifies it.

[Masamune]

I just found it to watch it. The one shot is pretty interesting and I wonder where it will lead to. At the very least, it could be setting up a more interesting villain for Agents of SHIELD. 

[DarkJuno]

It's probably setting up the seeds for an Iron Man 4, though by all indications that won't happen 'till after Avengers 3 and probably with someone other then Downey in the suit, so it's far enough they can ignore this if things don't work out. At this point Agents of SHIELD needs all the help it can get though - I'll give it credit and say the last episode with Jamie Alexander guest starring as Sif is probably the best episode so far, but all it did was make everyone else other then Coulson and sometimes Mae just look worse in comparison. I'm assuming all this secret keeping within SHIELD itself and Fury going underground will tie into the plot points that the Cap 2 trailers have been hinting at, unless the SHIELD....erm, shield briefly transforming into Captain America's shield for a split second in recent promos ends up not meaning anything at all.

Speaking of Cap, kinda interesting that Sebastian Stan confirmed he signed a nine picture deal with Marvel. It's probably just standard practice for Marvel to use on its actors, and it's probably similar to how Sam Jackson's minute long cameos all count as a film, but given the long term planning they've shown that they do at this point and Chris Evans has three less movies on his deal at this point, you have to wonder if they at least have Bucky-Cap as an idea jotted down somewhere for posterity.

[DarkJuno]

Holy crap. Winter Soldier. Wow. o_o

 

I'll post more later, but that movie was great, it was a great action movie regardless of being a comicbook one or not and it being Captain America just makes it better. It also makes it abundantly clear why Agents of SHIELD seems to be trying its damnedest to tie into this movie, for better or worse.

 

And......

 

Spoiler

Quiksilver and Scarlett Witch I figured were coming, but not Baron Von Strucker. Also a very nice use of Senator Stern from Iron Man 2 to explain why he was so adamant in trying to get the Iron Man armor away from Stark. Also nice quick cameo of the rebuilt Stark Tower now called Avengers Tower along with tons of little Easter Egg names in the targeting sequence.

[SteveT]

Yeah, I was really impressed.  In a lot of ways, it was the Dark Knight of Marvel films.

 

Also, the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer made me suddenly super interested in that movie.

 

[DarkJuno]

Don't normally do spy shots too often, but I dig it.

 

Cap's new suit for Avengers: Age of Ultron.

 

I actually really like it, while the super bright one in the first Avengers eventually kinda grew on me (whenever he didn't have the helmet on anyway) this one's much better. The interesting thing is that it flat out has the Avengers logo on it, so we'll see how that pans out. If you dig around there's a bunch of shots of basically everyone else but Thor as well. I hate to admit it but I'm kinda amused by how they really ARE going to do the "Black Widow gets new hair for each movie" joke.

 

All right, so Winter Soldier! Been a week, so boiling all my thoughts done, hands down the best Marvel movie since The Avengers, and to be honest, in some ways it's better (Full disclosure, I've liked basically every Marvel movie, even the "bad" ones like Iron Man 3 I thought was okay if a little dumb. Also loved the first Cap despite the weakness of the second half). The Avengers was a big giant spectacle, as it should be, since it was about all these characters meeting and having to face something worth putting everyone together. Winter Soldier was a really good, kinda personal movie about Steve Rogers coming to terms with where he stands in the modern world and they did so without falling into so many of the easy traps lots of others have. It still did a good job of giving the supporting characters big roles where they were all interesting, and most important, they all came across like real life honest to goodness people as opposed to larger then life superheroes. 

 

And I also thing Scarlett Johanssen has finally found the perfect role for her, since this is three for three for her acting as the character being well done. Black Widow is a much better character in this movie and she's finally found the sweet spot of being there to just kick people in the face and making deadpan comments without it becoming annoyingly snarky. Honestly, she's probably going to get her own movie before Wonder Woman does and DC/Warners has no one to blame but themselves for completely and utterly squandering having the one and only well known superheroine and letting Marvel beat them to the punch with their B-listers. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Ms./Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers gets a movie before Wondie at this point.

 

Anyway, yes, awesome movie, and honestly, what they did with Cap here feels like what Man of Steel tried and failed to do with Supes. 

 

Spoiler

Kinda disappointed that Winter Soldier ended up being basically just a guest star in the movie with his name in it, but at the same time with the same directors and writers coming back for Cap 3 and how well they set it all up I'm looking forward to seeing how the story will go with Steve and Bucky now. I also loved how they pulled off Dr. Zola in the film, as well as introducing Von Strucker in the end. Hydra's here to stay, it seems, so with them, as well as the real Mandarin being implied in "The King" short, I wonder if some version of AIM will pop up in the future.

[Veteran]

Now that HYDRA are rampant on Agents of SHIELD I'm now a lot more invested in the show. I think the lack of a big villain hurt it early on. Centipede and the Clairvoyant stuff was all just a bit 'meh'.

 

Heil HYDRA!

[Crimson Lego]

This movie was awesome; like DJ said, I wish Bucky had a little more screen and personal time instead of just that one scene where he remembers the fall and having the metal arm surgery.

 

 

Also Silvestri's soundtrack was much better than Jackman's, I don't know why they switched. It fits the darker tone of Winter Soldier, but it felt weird without the main theme.

[DarkJuno]

The little Captain America March is at the very beginning of the movie, right before the jogging. I do like the first movie's score better, but this one's fits this second one better. First one was great for the type of movie it was. Still, with its appearance in this, Thor 2 and Avengers it's nice to see/hear that at least one of the Avengers actually gets to keep his leitmotif, it always kinda sucked that Iron Man and Thor lost theirs or got new ones in their third and second movies respectively.

 

Now that HYDRA are rampant on Agents of SHIELD I'm now a lot more invested in the show. I think the lack of a big villain hurt it early on. Centipede and the Clairvoyant stuff was all just a bit 'meh'.

 

Heil HYDRA!

 

I gotta say, while the parts of the show that were the absolute weakest are still bad, now that you know that every time the words "Clairvoyant" and "Centipede" were used the writers legitimately meant to say "Hydra" is makes sense of a decent amount of the nonsensical or random things going on. Have to give the show props for finishing strong and I now look forward to seeing season 2, and if they can stay in this groove I'm eager to see how the three different cliffhangers play out.

 

Also, while I'll miss Bill Paxton as a show regular the way they, ah, wrote him off was pretty entertaining.

 

Agent Carter is also a go, and fortunately they intend to make it a mini-series with a beginning and an end, which should make for a stronger story. I think the producer said that if they get renewed for another season then they'd just make a second story arc with a set length and definitive cut-off point, which is smart. I liked the Agent Carter short so I'm curious.

[DarkJuno]

Josh Brolin is Thanos.

 

 

Hmmm.....the article also mentions that he'll pop up in Avengers 3 and maybe Age of Ultron.

[JRPomazon]

Infinity Gauntlet is going to happen in the cinematic universe, it's got Phase 3 written all over it. Although I have to admit, I'm a little concerned that these movies might go on for too long in the future. I don't want to be pushing forty and still find that they're continuing this continuity.

Edited by JRPomazon, 31 May 2014 - 12:16 AM.

[Masamune]

You mean like comic continuities?

 

On the plus side, if they're still going on when I'm forty (which doesn't sound too unlikely to me...), they'll do what comic books never have the guts to do. They'll have a next generation of heroes that actually replace the old one. 

[DarkJuno]

I just hope they get all this wrapped up before they inevitably start recasting. The Infinity War would be a good storyline to wrap things up with before they either do the new actors or, heck, yeah, actually do the legacy character thing and have it stick, though a part of me thinks they'll just be boring and reboot instead.

[Veteran]

Infinity Gauntlet is going to happen in the cinematic universe, it's got Phase 3 written all over it. Although I have to admit, I'm a little concerned that these movies might go on for too long in the future. I don't want to be pushing forty and still find that they're continuing this continuity.

 

I've been waiting for this sort of thing my whole life! Even if there's movies in the jigsaw that I don't like, I love the planning involved. My only hope is that we eventually get cross-studio collaborations, even if it's only cameos.

 

Actually, with Fox attempting their own universe I will put money on a Spidey cameo in Avengers 2. It improves the Avengers movie so Marvel wins, it promotes Sinister Six so Fox wins. [/rosetint]

[DarkJuno]

Ultron's looking pretty good.

 

And to the surprise of....no one, apparently the article states that (Spoiler tag juuuuuust in case):

 

Spoiler

With SHIELD going down at the end of Winter Soldier and currently being just a small tiny secret office with Coulson in charge, Stark will bankroll The Avengers at Avengers Tower/Mansion.

 

Kinda neat.

[DarkJuno]

Double post of movie reaction.

 

So....Guardians of the Galaxy was actually surprisingly fun and entertaining. I honestly have no clue how well it'll do for people who aren't already inclined towards comic books and their really dumb plot lines, but I really enjoyed it. It definitely doesn't live up to how well done Winter Soldier and even Dark World were, but in and of itself it's a good watch. It starts off a little too awkward and bizarre since it flips from cripplingly depressing with Peter Quill's back story to Chris Pratt dancing in ruins using a space lizard as a microphone, and and it almost seems like the trailers used all the good parts, but after about 10 - 15 minutes and everyone meets up it locks itself back into place and turns out fine - better then fine, really. While some characters are definitely better fleshed out then others, even the more cardboard ones are still pretty entertaining and interesting, and hell, even the flattest of the 5 Guardians ends up having a pretty impactful moment. The baddies are definitely silly in their motivations, but let's be honest, even the evil master plan in Winter Soldier was stupid as all hell if you try to think about it without the "Comic book plot!" excuse. It's well executed, so that's all that matters. Ronan the Accuser wasn't special but he was fine, though I'd have liked him to have been the whole Judge Dredd-y type character he is in the books, and Nebula was okay.. Thanos flat out appearing, even if only in a small little scene was a nice surprise and Brolin definitely nails the voice, but not in the way you'd expect, so I'd love to see him start acting through the scenes with Death and take center stage. 

 

I'll give Batista credit, he did pretty good channeling classic Drax (the guy with the orange cape) in his dialogue and mannerisms while obviously pulling off the physical prowess of modern Drax. Nothing special but he didn't pull me out at all since he usually doesn't sound like he's cutting a promo. Zoe Saldana pulled off Gamora great, and Chris Pratt was honestly funny and convincing as Star Lord. Rocket actually has a pretty good brief emotional scene when he's drunk that's pulled off well, and Groot honestly ended up being very well done, Vin Diesel did nothing but help the vocal and mo cap performance for him. Seriously, he emoted the hell out of three simple words, and he deserves however much they supposedly "overpaid" him.

 

And....

 

Spoiler

....holy crap the Collector's Room. I for sure saw a Chitauri and a Dark Elf, but I know there's a ton more stuff in that room. And that ending cameo! I know these are spoiler tags but I'm not going to spoil it even here, it's amazing.

 

...so yeah, it was honestly really fun. Doesn't really add anything to the Marvel movies as we know them, but it almost certainly adds to what's coming in the future.

 

 

 

...also, what magician did silly goofy Parks & Rec Chris Pratt murder and steal the magic from to become so buff? o_o

Edited by DarkJuno, 02 August 2014 - 05:35 PM.

[SteveT]

I greatly enjoyed Guardians.  It's notable that this one doesn't really feel like a superhero movie at all.  It's a straight-up pulpy sci-fi adventure.

 

Also, it's worth noting that Comixology has the 2008 run of GotG at 50% off this week if you want to see the source.

[Veteran]

I take back everything I said, this movie was great. I was really surprised at well Batista did.

And jesus christ at the post-credits scene. O.o

[JRPomazon]

I take back everything I said, this movie was great. I was really surprised at well Batista did.

And jesus christ at the post-credits scene. O.o

The vey end had me reeling.

[DarkJuno]

Well, there's this.....

[Crimson Lego]

Captain America 3 will be the Civil War: http://comicbook.com...-plot-and-robe/

 

 

This just gets better and better.

[DarkJuno]

Also Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), Black Panther, Thor Ragnorak, Inhumans, Guardians 2, and Avengers Infinity War as a two parter.

DC just got schooled again.

[Veteran]

Phase 3 seems to me a more exciting line up than when phase 2 was announced, but that might be down to Guardians instilling joy in me again.

As an aside, has Ant-Man started filming yet or is it cancelled?

[Twinrova]

Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)

 

[DarkJuno]

I know. I think her movie comes before DC's plans for Wonder Woman, which is sad and funny. Not that I mind, she needs to be more well known.

As an aside, has Ant-Man started filming yet or is it cancelled?

Filming right now, there are "leaks" of Michael Douglas on set as Hank Pym.

Edited by DarkJuno, 28 October 2014 - 08:29 PM.

[Crimson Lego]

http://www.cinemable...-Art-67919.html
 
 
The next 5 years look amazing.
 

[DarkJuno]

Between Marvel, DC, Fox, and Sony there will be SEVEN superhero movies in both 2016 & 2017. That's 14 in two years and not including anything like the Ninja Turtles sequel or other stuff.

Woof.