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Post by ayanami on Apr 10, 2018 23:14:02 GMT
DAY 1: Previously on the MCU...It is the year 2008. The US housing market is crumbling, taking the world economy with it, but at the same time people are excited for what might still be the best superhero movie ever made to finally hit theaters. The Dark Knight. Before that, however, it is rival company Marvel that takes the stage and introduces movie goers worldwide to the first chapter of what would become the biggest cinematic universe in history. IRON MAN.
A-lister turned drug addict turned A-lister Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark and dons the metal suit of the MCU's first hero. Joined by Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts and Terrence Howard as Rhodey, he is going to take on Jeff Bridges' Obadiah Stane, the MCU's first of many rather bland villains. Not that it really matters, though, because Tony Stark's journey from war profiteer to hero is far too compelling, the movie's plot, pacing and mixture of action and jokes too entertaining to get hung up on a minor complaint. The cast is rounded out by Paul Bettany, who lends his voice to the A.I. Jarvis, the perfect well-mannered counterweight to Tony's exuberance. ------------------------------------- Ten years, oh my! In a way it seems like yesterday that I've seen this movie in theaters, but then again it feels like a lifetime. Either way, that low-key guy, who approached Pepper, Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Devision, I do not recognise him anymore! But, well, I suppose that's what an early death and a hundred hours of character development will do to a guy. Oh, and: Tank missle!!! You know how this post is going to end, don't you?
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Post by ayanami on Apr 11, 2018 23:33:29 GMT
DAY 2It is still the year 2008 and the second entry into Marvel's Cinematic Universe is already on its way: THE INCREDIBLE HULKFeaturing Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, the guy with the world's worst anger management issues and Liv Tyler as his dearly beloved Betty Ross, the woman with zero fight-or-flight instincts. While trying to find a way to cure Bruce's condition, the two are hunted by William Hurt as General 'Thunderbolt' 'nobody-ever-actually-calls-him-that' Ross and his personal dragon Emil Blonsky, played creepily well by Tim Roth. -------------------------------------------------- With all due respect to all the great actors involved in this movie, but this is imo the worst entry in the MCU and, yeah, that includes Thor 2 and Iron Man 3! Edward Norton does a great job as Bruce Banner and even though I very much enjoy Mark Ruffalo in the role, the striking difference between the scrawny scientist and the hulking monster works much better with a man of Norton's build rather than Ruffalo's. The movie also especially did a great job – much better than all the later MCU ones – with depicting the toll the transformation takes on Bruce Banner every time. Those are about the only good things I can say about the movie, though. Betty Ross especially is as interesting as a sleeping pill and while being a complete a-hole might be considered a "good" quality for a villain like General Ross, being an utter idiot is not! Just how many people does he have to send against The Hulk to realise he's turning them into cannon fodder?! Blonsky is really the only redeeming factor here, though he, like Ross – both father and daughter – suffers from a severe lack of character development. Considering the movie's release date, right on the heels of Iron Man, which was probably still in theaters, and just before The Dark Knight was going to destroy any competition anyway, it does seem like Marvel didn't have much faith in their Hulk reboot, either. Ah, well, at least it didn't have poodles... AoS side note: Turns out that Cassius' dad used to have a job in the US military for a while there...
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Post by ayanami on Apr 14, 2018 17:20:41 GMT
Day 3.Two year have passed. It is the year 2010 and once again time for Robert Downey Jr. to fly head first into danger in IRON MAN 2 - Electric Boogaloo. While Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Pots is still on board, as well as director Jon Favreau reprising his role as Happy Hogan, Lt. Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes got a complete make-over instead, now being played by Don Cheadle. Compared to the first movie, the screen time for S.H.I.E.L.D. has been massively increased and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, as well as Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson make a reappearance, now joined by Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanov a.k.a. The Black Widow. They're up against a delightfully hammy Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer as well as Mickey Rourke's Ivan Vanko. Not as well received as its predecessor, Iron Man 2 still manages to widen the scope of the MCU with the further introduction of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as Howard Stark's connection to it. While Tony's failing health leads him into a crisis and alienates him from his friends and allies, his enemies try to seize this opportunity to destroy him and the Stark legacy. Yet with a little help from the past, Tony might still be able to save himself and everything - and everyone - he loves. -------------------------------------- While I realised that The Incredible Hulk was actually worse than I had remembered upon rewatch, Iron Man 2 actually redeemed itself to me a lot in hindsight. Several new characters and multiple plotlines were interwoven really well imo and on the villain front at least Sam Rockwell did a great job as Justin Hammer, making him exactly the smarmy douchebag that he was clearly supposed to be. To me the one - but glaring! - flaw of the movie was Ivan Venko and I'm not quite certain how much of that is on Mickey Rourke and how much is the director's/writer's fault. Justin Hammer was a joke, but that was the point. To balance that out, Venko should have felt and behaved like a real threat, but at least for me that didn't work at all. Instead he spent the entire movie looking like a bum, who needed a shower and a decent haircut to remove that bird's nest he insisted on wearing on his head. And don't even get me started on his villain get-up with those ridiculous electric whips!! Nah, to me the only good "villain" in this movie was Tony's palladium poisoning (Shout-out to AoS's current plot and the 'ominous lines forming on the chest' bit!) and the way it increased his already existing reckless tendencies. But, no matter people's opinions on the movie, what with S.H.I.E.L.D. all front and centre and the foreshadowing they had going on for Thor and Captain America, at least we can all agree that IRON MAN 2 had one thing really going for it: C-O-N-T-I-N-U-I-T-Y
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Post by ayanami on Apr 21, 2018 23:48:53 GMT
DAY 4.
2011. One year until Marvel's big team-up movie The Avengers is going to hit theaters and the roster is beginning to fill, this time featuring an actual god! (At least according to anyone who's been near his arms.) THOR, the god of thunder, played by Chris Hemsworth, a mighty yet boastful and rash warrior, who needs to learn some humility before he is worthy to follow in his father's footsteps and one day become king of Asgard. The movie brims with Hollywood starpower present in the form of Anthony Hopkins as Odin the Allfather, Rene Russo playing his wife, Queen Frigga, Natalie Portman as Thor's love interest, the brilliant scientist Jane Foster and Stellan Skarsgård as her mentor Erik Selvig. The latter two are supported by everyone's favourite intern Darcy, played by Kat Dannings, while Thor has Lady Sif (Jamie Alexander) and the Warriors Three (Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano and Josh Dallas) in his corner, as well as Asgard's guardian Heimdall (Idris Elba), who watches over the Bifrost Bridge. S.H.I.E.L.D. is also along for the ride once more, with Agent Phil Coulson in his third MCU appearance, this time joined by future roadkill Jasper Sitwell, played by Maximiliano Hernández. In what is a big first for the MCU, the movie actually features a great villain in the form of Tom Hiddleston's Loki, so much so that the guy is going to steal pretty much every movie he's gonna be in from here on out. Talk about a tough adversary… Oh, and then there was this Hawkeye cameo… ----------------------------------------------------- Aside from giving the MCU one of its greatest characters in Loki, Thor also expands this cinematic universe far beyond the boundaries of Earth by introducing audiences to Asgard and the nine realms. Maybe in an effort to balance that (or maybe just to balance the budget) large parts of the movie take place in a New Mexican small town, however, diminishing some of the excitement it could have delivered. In other words, that's so 1996! Things I've learned from the movie Thor: - Loki is a dick: Yeah, I don't mean for sneaking Frost Giants into Asgard, though, (neither the first or second time), for trying to destroy Jotunheim or even for sending the Destroyer to kill Thor. No, the one point where I was really frickin' pissed at the guy was when he lied to Thor about Odin's death and Frigga not wanting Thor to return home. That was cruel, dude! (Jup, definitely got my priorities straight! ) - Don't challenge an Asgardian to a drinking contest. You're gonna lose. Period. - Hitting a guy with your car repeatedly is hilarious. - Odin is a terrible father. - Don't mess with Darcy. - SHIELD make take away all your stuff, but, hey, at least they'll write you a check in return. - Thor's hammer is definitely pronounced Mir-Mir! One thing now on my bucket list: - Walk into a pet store and demand a horse. If they only have dogs, cats and birds, ask for one of those large enough to ride! And last but not least: Hulk sad.
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Post by ayanami on Apr 23, 2018 22:30:15 GMT
DAY 5.
It is the year 2011— No, wait, scratch that! *clears throat* It is the year 1942 and the world is at war! Nazi Germany threatens to overtake Europe, but there is one enemy The Führer hasn't anticipated: CAPTAIN AMERICA. Before that, however, he is just Steve Rogers, a sickly but strong-willed kid from Brooklyn, brought to life by the perfectly cast Chris Evans, who is going to step up and save the world! Stanley Tucci plays the brilliant scientist Dr. Erskine, who, with the help of Dominic Cooper's Howard Stark, turns Steve into the world's first supersoldier, allowing him to go toe to toe with the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), the leader of the evil Nazi science division HYDRA. Under the command of Colonel Phillips, played by Tommy Lee Jones and aided by the fearless Agent Carter (Hayley Atwell), his best friend 'Bucky' Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and the Howling Commandos (Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, Kenneth Choi, JJ Feild and Bruno Ricci), Steve will fight all over Europe to protect the world from being conquered by Nazis. And afterwards, he's gonna sleep for like a week. At least! Also, he'll protect all of us from having to do that stupid salute! With this solid, though not groundbreaking entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the cast for the 2012 Avengers movie is finally complete, giving the superhero team its designated leader. Because nobody holds speeches like Cap! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Even though Captain America is one of my favourite MCU movies, simply because, well, it's CAP, I have to say, it is also one of Marvel's biggest missed opportunities. After already having three appearances under his belt, there is just no excuse for Clark Gregg not to return as Phil Coulson for a cameo here, especially considering how much of a Cap fanboy the guy is! Shame on you, Marvel, for dropping the ball on this! Anyway, despite it's rather "comic booky" villain, Captain America is imo one of the biggest contributions to the MCU. It didn't just give up Steve Rogers, but also a whole bunch of other characters, items and plots that continue to shape this whole universe. There's of course the super-soldier serum, that repeatedly serves as an inspiration for others to achieve the same result, be it the Hulk, the Centipede Project, IGH from Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and so on and so forth. Then we have the Tesseract as the first Infinity Stone to show up, if we're ignoring its first brief cameo at the end of Thor. On the character front there's Bucky Barnes, whose friendship with Steve, as well as his apparent death are going to be major future story arcs for the MCU. And - maybe most importantly - then there is of course Agent Peggy Carter! Co-founder of S.H.I.E.L.D., idol of Jemma Simmons, lead of her own TV-show, much appreciated cameo whenever an MCU movie calls for a bit of nostalgia, and just all around badass! Oh, and last but not least, Captain America also gave us HYDRA. I don't quite remember, but I think those guys showed up again once or twice in the MCU. Briefly. High point of the movie: The star-spangled man with a plan! Low point of the movie: What might just be the most badly motivated "death scene" of any superhero movie ever until Wonder Woman ripped it off! Just admit it, Steve, you didn't really want to go dancing, did you?!?
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Post by ayanami on Apr 24, 2018 22:27:05 GMT
DAY 6. It is the year 2012 and with the world about to end due to some Mayan prophecy, what better time could there be for THE AVENGERS to finally assemble? Featuring all the people you already know: Robert Downey Jr. as Awesome Facial HairChris Evans as The CapsicleScarlett Johansson as The Original Ginger NinjaChris Hemsworth as Hammer TimeMark Ruffalo as Super Smash BroJeremy Renner as The ArrowTom Hiddleston as I've Got The PowerStellan Skarsgård as Blue Eyes BabyGwyneth Paltrow as Miss 12% Paul Bettany as The One Sane Man A.I.Samuel L. Jackson as Director "I've had it with this motherf**king Hulk on this mother**king Hellicarrier!"Clark Gregg as The World's Biggest Fanboyand new on the team: Cobie Smulders as Fury's Left Eye Right HandSo settle in, kids, and let me tell you about the summer your aunt Robin joined S.H.I.E.L.D.: ---------------------------------------------------------- After having been four years in the making, The Avengers turned out to be just as much of a geek orgasm as fans had expected it to be! Tom Hiddleston rocks the villain role once more, though it is quite obvious that Joss Whedon does not have a full grasp of the character and he therefore strays quite a bit from his original appearance, as well as future ones. But, I guess the difference in Loki's character can also be attributed to whatever the hell he went through after his fall in 'Thor', and Thanos' influence in particular, so I'm willing to just role with it and have fun with what we're given: A wild rollercoaster ride of a movie, that is by no means perfect, but whose highpoints (characters, action, humour, pace) shine so brightly, that you barely have time to think about any discrepancies. (Many of which are explained in the extended/deleted scenes, btw. WTH, Joss??) Also the movie that made Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson so incredibly popular, they brought him back from the dead and gave him his own TV show. Because, yeah, that's what it does! Now, who wants some Shawarma?
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Post by ayanami on Apr 26, 2018 14:56:07 GMT
DAY 7. 2013. It's back to solo movies for Marvel after last year's Avengers team-up and Robert Downey Jr. is the first one back on the screen in IRON MAN 3 - PTSD edition. With his usual team by his side, Tony Stark must face the ruthless terrorist calling himself The Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley, to protect the President of the United States (William Sadler). But everything might not be as it seems, as Tony's real enemy, Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian, prefers to hide in the shadows and let others, be it some hired muscle (James Badge Dale) or a pretty face from Tony's past (Rebecca Hall), do his dirty work for him. ------------------------------ The re-negotiation of RDJ's contract is plainly visible throughout the movie, as we see a lot more of Tony Stark without his Iron Man suit, even in action sequences. Also, the breakneck pace of the previous IM movies has been pumped up to 11, as Tony stops sleeping altogether to avoid his haunting nightmares that plague him ever since the Chitauri invasion. So instead he created a whole army of suits to fight off his fear of ever being defenseless again. But count on some kid with a potato gun to make Tony face his demons! One oft he weaker entries in the MCU, if you ask me, though better than the second Iron Man, at least on the villain's front. And, hey, looks like we've got a new Avenger!
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Post by ayanami on May 1, 2018 14:06:09 GMT
DAY 8. It is still 2013. While Marvel Studios have finally expended their cinematic universe to the TV screen in the form of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., they're also back on the big one, this time with THOR - THE DARK WORLD. So get ready for another otherworldly adventure, now with 100% less New Mexico and twice the interns!
In ancient times, people believed the heavens were filled with gods and monsters and magical worlds. Then, as time passed, those beliefs faded into myth and folklore. But now we know the stories were true. Other worlds, with names like Asgard, do exist. And beings once revered as gods, like Thor, have returned, leaving us with more questions and...
...another lame-ass Marvel villain in a pretty forgetful movie whose only saving grace was - once again - Tom Hiddleston's Loki! There, I said it! (Well, at least still more entertaining than the competition...) Featuring all the guys and gals you know from the first one (although, does Fandral look different to you? Reminds me of that guy from I.T. support. ), as well as Christopher Eccleston as the universe's most boring elf and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as the minotaur on steroids. ------------------------------------------- Seriously, Thor, are you ever not going to fall for that? Aw, well, let's give it another movie or two… Soooo… are we to assume that giant monster from Jotunheim is still running around Earth? Because as far as I know, the team never got to take care of it.
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