Comics Review: "World War Hulk"

After his banishment to Sakaar, and following the death of his wife, Hulk is angry. Very, very angry, and he returns home to take revenge on the illuminati: black bolt, dr. strange, iron man, and mr. fantastic. First stop, the moon, where he beats black bolt to a pulp. Then it's down to earth, where he beats the avengers, defeats Tony in his hulkbuster suit, and even destroys strange's hands when strange enters his mind. Plus, he has his friends from Skaar with him, called his warbling, who are totally on board with him seeking revenge. Thunderbolt Ross comes in after the other heroes are taken down, but even the military might cant stop hulk. Hulk then takes over MSG, making it into his own personal colliseum, complete with the obedience bands that the gladiators were forced to wear on Sakaar. Before that, though, Strange unleashed the power of Zom on Hulk, but still lost. Finally, Sentry decides to overcome his agoraphobia and face the Hulk, after remembering Tony's plea for help. Unfortunately, he is even in less control of his true might than Hulk, and Hulk has to save everyone from him. Then, his friend Miek from Sakaar reveals that the followers of Sakaar's evil ruler, the red king, planted the warp core that killed his wife, but Miek allowed it because he wanted it to bring out Hulk's true nature. Of course, Hulk got angry, and killed Miek. At the end, Hulk still remains angry, and Tony, using what I think is his extremis abilities, summons some laser to zap the gamma out of Banner, who's then taken into SHIELD custody. It turns out that siphoned-off gamma hep creates Red Hulk. Meanwhile, Skaar is born on Sakaar.

 

Theres a lot of cool stuff in this series. Tony uses the hulkbuster suit! Takes place right after civil war, with cap believed dead. Zom? "Strange Smash?" insane! Zom is insanely powerful, but uncontrollable. Having the heroes fight as gladiators was a great contrast to what hulk went through on sakaar. The scene with people recounting the bad the heroes did, in issue 4, was also stellar, showing that heroes aren't perfect. But the commoners are so bad, just looking for a fight, giving into basal human nature. Sentry is an interesting character, so powerful yet limited almost completely by his own agoraphobia and possible schizophrenia.

 

The artwork is very angular, kind of the opposite of what I like. It's very opposite of the realistic approach of McNiven, but the fights still looked rather cool.

 

Is Ronin Echo? Because he seems to be someone else here. I have to read those issues of "New Avengers" with Ronin son.

 

What's up with the sound effects? "VJJJWOMMMWWWB"? How does that even sound? They overused the sound effects wording throughout this series, and the end left me a bit confused. Did they somehow save banner but transport hulk back to sakaar? Nope, looks like that's actually skaar, the son of hulk who somehow survived even though his wife died. Gotta love comics, comic book logic is so illogical, it makes sense.... or not.

 

Overall, this was an enjoyable series. It showcased how powerful Hulk truly can be, and how the combined might of all the heroes of Earth may be hard pressed to stop him. I wish the artwork was better, but other than that, very enjoyable, and I liked the focus on Hulk.

"The Avengers," Round 3

So, I saw the film again a few hours ago. It's a lot, lot more easy to take in, as I know what's going on. The epic battle seems even shorter now, and I wish there were more to it, but I think they still found the happy medium between too little and overkill, aka transformers 3. This is probably the first movie I can't wait to see the DVD commentary for. Because, there are certain scenes that still confuse me. How was Black Widow compromised, and what's up with the red on her ledger? In the scene where the team were arguing with each other, how much of that was due to the scepter? Because thor especially says some rather uncharacteristic things, calling humans tiny or puny or something. The movie is still very enjoyable, and after reading annihilation, it's more fun to see Thanos standing there at the end. And after reading world war hulk, it's nice to see hulk there and know how truly powerful he can be. I hope I can see it in IMAX before it leaves. The only thing sad, and it's what I was concerned about before seeing it the second time, was that I'd lose the first time experience, which I did. That totally overwhelming, geekasm experience is understandably not as strong anymore, and I wish I could see it again as I had the first time. But the fact that I'm still noticing new things into my third viewing, like Pepper mentioning Coulson's cellist when he visits Stark Tower at the beginning, and the fact that the movie still is so enjoyable, I think shows how good it is. And at over 1.1 billion dollars to date, I'm not alone, I think.

Comics Review: "The New Avengers" #1-10

After the events of "Avengers Dissasembled," there's a huge breakout at the raft, organized by an unknown figure, and utilizing the power of electro. Daredevil, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-Woman are all there, for differing reasons, as it Sentry. They battle many villains, but about half escape, and Cap decides its a good time to create a new avengers team. Almost everyone agrees, except Daredevil, who was recently outed in the press and didn't want to bring his bad baggage with him. They set up base at Stark Tower, and decide to start investigating. Drew, meanwhile, seems to be feeding information about SHIELD and soon the new avengers to an unknown party. We learn that the goal of the breakout was to free Sauron, who's back in the savage land. So, the new avengers head there and try to find him, but eventually learn that a rogue SHIELD outfit is after him as well, and is also enslaving the locals to produce vibranium. The new black widow is also there, working as part of that rogue group. They also encounter wolverine, who they invite to join the team.

 

The new team is fantastic, with Cage and Spidey offering a healthy dose of humor. Having Sauron as a main villain is cool too. And choosing wolverine, a murderer, to join the team to do the things the other avengers can't, was smart. ton compared wolverine to the new avengers as cap was to the old: the missing ingredient.

 

The next storyline follows the team as they find to more about the sentry, who helped save the day during the raft breakout. It seems that sentry was a guy who got power after drinking a professor's secret formula, which gave him the might of a thousand suns. Unfortunately, he had some psychological issues with his power, and created a villain for himself, called the void, who would come out whenever he used his power. The general, unclear who he is, used mastermind to destroy any knowledge of sentry's origins, and he thereby forgot everything, and so did everyone. But somehow he got a comic book artist to make a comic about his life, including his origins. The avengers go to help him, but he unleashes the void. While the fantastic four, avengers, inhumans, and x-men fight the void, white queen uses his wife's memory of falling in love to convince sentry to allow all of his repressed memories to return, but not to the world, only to him. As she does so, he becomes the sentry, the void is gone, and we have a happy ending. This issue is notable for showcasing the illuminati, consisting of black bolt, namor, mr. fantastic, professor x, and iron man. Overall a somewhat confusing story, given the psych issues with sentry, but an interesting one. With wonderful artwork by McNiven.

Comics Review: Annihilation

This marvel crossover was set in the cosmic, with a lot of cosmic characters playing major roles: Annihilus, Thanos, Nova, Peter Quell, Ronan, Super Skrull, Drax, Gamora, Red Shift, Starlight, Galactus, Silver Surfer, and more.

 

The basic story was that Annihilus, a being from the negative zone, was starting to take over the galaxy. Nova and his United Front were trying to hold them off, to no avail. Thanos was tasked by Annihilus to discover the biological applications of the power cosmic, the source of Galactus's power, but he discovers that there is no true biological application. After freeing some ancient beings whom Galactus trapped once upon a time, they defeat him and Silver Surfer, and Galactus is turned into a weapon. The will use him to obtain the power cosmic, and then channel that out of him for their purposes. A lot of the first three issues deal with a battle on one planet, as the front tries to hold off the bugs of the annihilation wave. Once the wave starts using Thanos's teleportation technology and Galactus's weapon, they have to flee. They are able to teleport massive amounts of enemies to overwhelm the resistance. Nova sends his log to Earth, to warn them via Reed Richards. Ronan goes back to the Kree Empire to depose the government, the government who made him a fugitive. super Skrull joins him. Meanwhile, Nova decides to go and kill Annihilus, the only way to truly end the war before it reaches earth. Earth seems especially defenseless, with everyone fighting over what seems to be the civil war.

 

Drax, meanwhile, is on a task to kill Thanos. Moondragon reads Annihilus's mind, sees that he just wants total destruction of everything, and convinces Thanos to free Galactus and stop Annihilus. Unfortunately, Drax arrives just in time to kill Thanos in a particularly nicely drawn panel. It seems that the galaxy is now doomed. However, Drax saves the day by breaking free the silver surfer and having him activate Thanos's device, freeing Galactus. Meanwhile, Ronan goes to hala, the capital of the Kree empire, and with the help of super skrull and praxagora, defeats multiple Kree before realizing they allied with Annihilus. Fortunately, he is able to defeat Ravenous, who seems to be Annihilus's right hand man, and then kills house fiyero. Then, after finding that they imprisoned the supreme intelligence, he frees it by killing it, leaving an uncertain fate for the future of the Kree empire. Finally, Galactus is freed, and initiates the Galactus Wave, which decimates the annihilation wave. Nova and Phylla are able to kill Annihilus after removing his quantum bands, obtained from Quasar. Thanos appears seemingly with lady death. The world is saved, the universe is saved, but at the very end, Annihilus seems to be born in Ravenous's hands.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed this series. It wasn't my favorite artwork, as it didn't appear as nearly realistic as McNiven's work, but the story was fantastic. I didn't know much about these cosmic characters beforehand, so to have a whole story, especially an epic war story dealing with them, was fantastic. I really want to read the next cosmic crossover, "War of Kings," at some point. If we even get a taste of this cosmic level of events in upcoming marvel films, that would be fantastic. The writing itself was also very good, and having Nova as our sort of guide through these events was helpful. Overall, an excellent limited series.

Movie Review: "Alien"

Alien is one of the landmark, classic sci-fi films, directed by Ridley Scott. In preparation for Prometheus, I'm revisiting these films. I've only seem them once each, and don't recall a lot aside from my feelings about them. Overall, I felt they were rather dull. And I can see why in hindsight, but I think my film tastes have become more attuned since then. Sci-fi itself is a vast genre, with many subtypes. There's sci-fi with fantasy elements (Star Wars), comedy (Galaxy Quest), philosophical elements (The Fountain), and horror, of which Alien fits. As a horror film, Alien is very good. The films is shot well, using a lot of shots via reflections in helmets and windows, which I like. The setting is appropriately dark, and the tone slow and ominous, very appropriate for the genre. As in a typical horror film, everyone dies but one. The music is sparse, but present at the right moments to heighten the mood.

The story itself is straightforward. The crew of the ship Nostromo is going home, when they are diverted to answer a distress call. They land on the planet, find an abandoned ship, a crew member is attacked after finding an egg, they bring him on board despite warnings from Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) about quarantine protocols, and they head back to the main ship. Unfortunately, the face hugger incubates inside the guy, chest busts out, and becomes a full-fledged, titular alien. We learn that the science officer is an android, ordered by the Weyland company to capture the alien at all costs, even if the crew's lives are at stake. The alien kills everyone, until Ripley escapes and blasts it into space.

Simple story, executed well. But I still found it boring. And that's because I'm not a horror fan. Except for The Exorcist, I found most horror films dull, because they don't scare me. Ditto with Alien, a very well-made horror film, but not enough to give me a scare. But I can see why people liked it, although a more fleshed-out story would probably have made it a better film. But perhaps that's what the sequels will offer.

The Ages Of Comic Books

Comic books have been around long enough to have gone through phases and ages, varying with the mood of the times. The site “TV Tropes” explains the ages in fantastic, yet not overwhelming detail, which I tried to summarize below.

Golden Age

Timeframe: Usually from the publishing of Action Comics #1 to the end of WWII (1945)

Characteristics: This age represents the birth of superheroes: Batman, Flash, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, they all came from here. And also the birth of sidekicks, like Toro (companion to the android Human Torch). The main enemies were the Axis powers, drawing from real life, hence Captain America came out during this time, battling foes like Red Skull, Baron Zemo, and Arnim Zola. Creators didn’t care as much about age-appropriateness or creating hyper-moral heroes; characters weren’t as politically correct: Superman was seen as as a thorn in the side of establishment; Batman wasn’t afraid to use a gun when needed. Says TV Tropes, “the two-fisted pulp action hero merged with science fiction and fantasy, which merged with the crimefighting vigilante, which merged with ancient heroic sagas, to produce an explosion of new characters, individual men with strange abilities and the responsibility to use them against evil.” This age had a multitude of genres, including westerns, funnies like Archie, and so on, but the rise of heroes is most prominent of the age. Some heroes were spins off existing genres, like batman and the detective genre. And some copied off others, like Wonder Man (not to be confused with Marvel’s Simon Williams) copying off Superman. Women also had a very strong role, analogous to their more prominent role in society during the war when the men were fighting. They were bold, assertive, and tough.

Notable Examples: Action Comics (Superman), Detective Comics (Batman), Sensation Comics (Wonder Woman), All-American Comics (Green Lantern)

Silver Age

Timeframe: Foundation of the Comic Code until Kirby’s move to DC (1954-1970) or until price increase to 15 cents (1969) or Spiderman #100 (1971)

Characteristics: With the Comics Code, many things were prohibited. Mature themes were avoided, and emphasis was placed on stories for children. Science was a big factor, as this age was during the time of the space race. Given the generally goofy stories, science could be used to do nonsense, like “people who were exposed to radiation receiving superpowers instead of cancer.” Something Watchmen commented on with Dr. Manhattan’s former girlfriend developing cancer. Marvel’s take was more characterization, with heroes fighting enemies as well as their inner demons. DC was more old-fashioned: heroes using their signature powers to defeat clear villains. It’s interesting that Kirby left marvel to go to DC. As did Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man. Women’s role changed; instead of golden age strength, they were content with being housewives, being subservient to men, more in line with social norms. Comic covers were sensational, stories outlandish. The covers often represented characters in outrageous situations, which the actual comic itself resolved quickly. And they were rather silly, like Avengers #1. Also, black-and-white morality was prominent as well. But many famous comic book characters came from this era, and ideas were fostered that would be developed later on: teenage masked heroes, superheroes as a social platform, etc. Notable

Examples: Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk

Bronze Age

Timeframe: Lasting from Jack Kirby's move to DC, to the publication of Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns (1970-1986). Alternate start dates: when comics began costing 15 cents (1969) or Spiderman #100 (1971).

Characteristics: After Vietnam, Watergate, etc the country became disillusioned, and hence the bronze age. Stories became more morally ambiguous as the comics code became a bit more lenient. As Kirby left Marvel to go to DC, Marvel’s signature characterization-style moved there as well. There was also resistance against the Comic Code. Amazing Spider-Man #96 and #97 abandoned it entirely, embracing a strong anti-drug message; any mention of drugs was forbidden by the code. Stan Lee published it anyway. Without the constraints of the code, costumes became more liberal. Hence the fair amount of skin seen even today in female costumes, and bare-chested male heroes. Contemporary issues made their way back from the golden age, with Captain America even unmasking a conspiracy headed by someone similar to Nixon, causing him to become messed up and become Nomad. There was more diversity, but unfortunately based on stereotypes (possibly Luke Cage?). But some went above stereotypes, like Iron Fist (seemingly Asian but not), Stewart’s Green Lantern, and Storm. Also, there were more super-heroines, and those existing became more confident (Invisible Girl became Invisible Woman). The X-men grew more popular as a metaphor for society, racism, etc.

Being contemporary became a priority, and characters underwent changes to update them for the “modern” era: “Superman briefly lost his vulnerability to Kryptonite and quit his job at the Daily Planet to work as a TV Reporter. Wonder Woman was infamously stripped of her powers and made to learn karate.” Some changes were undone, but one that lasted was the more gothic tone of Batman. 

The bronze age also saw the “Fad Super” rise to prominence: disco, football, and transport trucks were means to fight crime. Part of this stemmed from difficulty creating new ideas for new heroes. Many faltered and became forgotten, but some lasted, namely Ghost Rider. Who, to me, seems sort of out-of-place to begin with.

The format of comics also changed, with the introduction of graphic novels. DC had a boom of titles, over 50, which were later disposed of in Crisis of Infinite Earths. Marvel copied the crossover with Secret Wars, and somehow released it first. Notably, this was the age where comics became more insular, perhaps giving rise to the image of the geeky, obsessed comic book fan. However, the average age of readers increased, as more adult elements were incorporated into the books. This trend eventually led to the dark age, with some events, like Gwen Stacy’s death, signaling the end of innocence of the silver age.

Notable Examples: The Phoenix Saga, The Dark Phoenix Saga, death of Gwen Stacy, Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, Secret Wars, X-Men

Dark Age aka Iron Age

Timeframe: Starting with the publishing of Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns (1986). Lasting until the publishing of Kingdom Come (1996), Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (2000), or ongoing.

Characteristics: Comics became more mature, catering to an older audience, which started at the end of the bronze age. There was an increased focus on sex, violence, and dark portrayals of characters. Deconstruction of the superhero genre occurred with TDKR and Watchmen. Antiheroes, such as Cable, were created. The DC universe itself was upended after Crisis on Infinite Earths, which was influential. It was the first “crisis crossover” (although Secret Wars technically came out first, it started as a response to DC’s plan). It set the overall tone of comics to follow; editors got to choose what to include and what to trash, and many lighter elements were removed to favor to a darker audience. This saw fruition in creation of imprint lines, such as DC’s vertigo line, which allowed a darker, mature tone for adults, while keeping the mainstream universe more family-friendly. Other comic companies also rose, including Dark Horse (Sin City, Star Wars comics).

The peak of the dark age was in the 1990s. Many critics feel that while content was more “mature,” it wasn’t really. Watchmen and TDKR were deep, with complex themes and psychological undertones, whereas comics afterwards missed the point, making things darker merely on the surface.

Rob Liefeld was a key figure, who (1) crafted archetype antiheroes like Cable (2) drew darker, angular artwork reflective of the age, and (3) created Image Comics, free of the comics code, with authors in charge of their works.

Big events were common: Bane breaking the bat, Superman’s death, and Spider-Man’s clone saga. Kingdom Come was seen as a deconstruction of the path comics were going for the decade. Some feel the excesses of the dark age have gone, but comics have changed overall to be darker and edgier. Women became “bad girls” and pornographic in nature.

In addition, an overly dark, cynical tone was noted in works which were unsuitable for it. I feel this is happening in films now, with the dark age-style The Dark Knight influencing films that should be more bronze- or modern-age, like the upcoming spidey film. Films themselves have had a darker takes on heroes, perhaps reflecting the times, perhaps a remnant of the dark ages. According to TV Tropes, “superhero movies have been increasingly focusing on much darker takes on superheroes, primarily represented by the release of The Dark Knight in 2008 and Watchmen in 2009. (Rather fitting, knowing what comics kicked off the original Dark Age.) Ironically, during the Dark Age in comics, superhero movies had actually been a lot lighter and softer than the material they were taking inspiration from. So far, however, the Hollywood Dark Age is taking a much more nuanced approach than the comic one. Whereas the comics, for the most part, crammed as much sex and gore as humanly possible into the pages they were given, the movies are taking a less bloody approach; The Dark Knight relies on bloodless carnage like no other, and Watchmen is gory but doesn't rely on the gore to tell a story (in fact, the climax is less gory in the movie than it was in the comic). For all we know, this could change in the future, just like how Alan Moore and Frank Miller gave way to Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld, although Hollywood's desire to attract wide audiences for their blockbusters will most likely keep things PG-13. But then, there's 2010's Kick-Ass.”

Notably, Miller (TDKR) and Moore (Watchmen) spear-headed the dark ages. Interestingly, Moore became the one of the era’s most outspoken critics. Supreme was revamped by him from a Superman clone into an exploration of the Superman myth and how it worked. Some of his other works, like Tom Strong, display a lighter, softer tone to balance the extreme darkness of the era. Miller was more on the fence, with his works including The Dark Knight Strikes Again and All-Star Batman & Robin either showcasing excesses of his earlier work, or openly poking fun at it. One notable light side in the dark ages was Shazam, who kept an optimistic approach.

Notable Examples: Watchmen, TDKR, Age of Apocalypse, X-Force, Batman: Year One

Modern Age

Timeframe: Publication of Ultimate Spider-Man #1 in 2000, or 1996 (Kingdom Come, Great Comics Crash of 1996)

Characteristics: TV Tropes mentions: “If The Golden Age of Comic Books and The Silver Age of Comic Books were the childhood of Super Heroes, The Bronze Age of Comic Books was their adolescence, and The Dark Age of Comic Books was their angst-ridden teenage years, then The Modern Age of Comic Books is surely the college years: all the work gets turned in late, people come up to you with crazy-awesome ideas all the time (most of which don't really pan out), and there's still some adolescent attitude about, but it's growing into something more mature.” Some feel that we are either still in the dark ages, or there are some lingering elements present in the current age, in terms of tone and atmosphere, rather than actual content. Says TV Tropes: “If The Dark Knight Saga is a Dark Age movie, then the Iron Man movies can be considered Modern Age movies.”

According to TV tropes, the modern era has seen the decline of comics as a regularly published periodical, but has seen the rise of graphic novels as more respectable reading, at least in mainstream North American culture. Watchmen was named one of time magazine’s 100 top novels recently. And, according to TV Trope, “public libraries, which for generations has largely treated comic books like a hospital did with medical waste, have embraced the format in their acquisitions. This is not only in growing recognition of the medium's unique artistic and literary virtues, but also in recognition that one way to encourage kids to read at all in this age of video games, home video and online resources is by meeting them halfway with this combination of word and image.”

At least one commenter suggested calling this age the “aluminum” age, as much of it is recycled. An alternative name is the “diamond” age or “prismatic” age, as the medium has become multifaceted; or because diamond has a monopoly on distribution. Grant Morrison referred to this age as the "Renaissance", to contrast it with the Dark Age that had just come before.

Says TV Tropes: “It's too early to say for sure, but if an ‘age’ of comic books lasts fifteen or so years, and the Modern Age began in the mid-90s, then it is likely to be reaching its end point now. Certainly, the September 2011 reboot of The DCU following Flashpoint appears to be a significant change, similar to how some consider Crisis on Infinite Earths to mark the end of the Bronze Age. Also, Archie and DC finally officially dropped the Comics Code in 2011. The fact that the reboot also marks the beginning of DC's major digital publishing initiative is also a sign that times are changing. On the Marvel side of things, September is also the month that Ultimate Spider-Man, one of the launchers of the Modern Age, officially passes the torch from Peter Parker to new character Miles Morales.”

Notable Examples: Ultimate universe, Kingdom Come, Civil War, etc.

Comic Book Time

A nice explanation from TV Tropes! In comic book time, “you use the illusion of time passing. You never refer to specific dates if you can help it, and you let characters change, but only a little. This can prove harmful to characters that are tied to a certain time period. For example, Magneto's backstory involves being in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. This causes a particular type of aversion, the Refugee from Time where you just don't allow any Sliding Timescale at all or at least not for one character. Another factor of Comic Book Time is that it does not pass at the same rate for everyone.”

Comics Review: Civil War

Civil War was a fantastic read. It delved into serious issues, using superheroes as a backdrop. After the events in Stamford, aforementioned in my prior review for the first two issues, the heroes are split into two camps. The underground, led by Captain America, we're against the superhuman registration act (SHRA), while Tony Stark was a staunch supporter. Both sides believed fervently in their cause, but there were some switchovers. Most notably, Peter Parker took a risk and revealed himself, but later switched sides. This occurred after Stark tricked Cap's team into battle, and when things were looking bad, they called a cyborg version of thor to come down. Unfortunately, he was not completely under control, and he ended up killing Bill Foster, aka goliath. This led Spider-Man to switch over. Frank Castle also comes in to join the underground, but is asked to leave after being a bit too trigger happy. Meanwhile, SHIELD and Tony are hoping to create a superhero team for every state, and even recruit some former villains to join a new Thunderbolts team. They actually beat up Spidey quite well until he is saved by Punisher. Finally, Cap has enough, and groups everyone together to break into 42, the prison in the negative zone established by Tony, Mr. Fantastic, and Hank Pym. They obtain the data needed to get in by breaking into the Baxter Building. After a battle in 42, Cloak teleports them to Manhattan, where the fight continues until Cap realizes they are fighting for the sake of fighting now, not for a cause, and thus stops the fight. Cap surrenders into police custody, while the other heroes are given amnesty. Sue Richards, who left to join Cap, returns to her family. Tony becomes head of SHIELD, and his superhero initiative is carried out. And Cap goes into custody, but in the epilogue (Captain America #25), he is gunned down by an assassin and Sharon Carter, under the influence of some guy named Dr. Faustus, who is working for Red Skull, who's in someone else's body. And thus ends the civil war.

Overall, it was a good, solid story, with some truly beautiful artwork by McNiven. It's my favorite comic book artwork to date. It told a good story too, although i feel it could've been fleshed out more and been a big longer. I guess thats what the tie-in series are for. I liked the idea that Stark, Reed, and Pym came up with 100 ideas to make the world safer, hence 42. Enjoyable read, I hope the subsequent crossovers are as good.

Avengers: The Second Viewing

So, today I saw "The Avengers" again, and it was a lot more conrehensible. In the sense that I could actually take in what was happening without being overwhelmed or cloudewd by that weird overhype apathy whatever feeling. And it remains a fantastic film. I really feel like the character work was so strong, especially Banner. I also think loki was done so well. I really need to watch it wit subtitles, because I missed some good lines regarding loki. But in the film, he even explains how he was living in his brothers shadow, not really being noticed; thor didn't seem t buy that as legit, however, calling it a perceived slight or something.

I also noticed some smaller details, like how tony put the decryption chip on the shield bridge. And, Hank Pym! No, just kidding about that one, but I love the character and would want to see him in the sequel, if not in his own film. But Banner was also done so well. We learn that he could never escape the beast, so you learn to live with what you have. You deal with the cards you're dealt. It's life. And I can relate to him, especially now, when I'm having a somewhat tough time deciding where I'm going career-wise.

 

I really love Hiddleston's performance. It's nuanced, and when he's talking to thor about stopping the war just as it begins, he says something boot it being too late. N you sense regret. But is it real? With him, you just don't know.

 

I also noticed the letters fall of the Stark Tower during the battle, i like that they paid attention to seemingly little details like that. The chitauri themselves seemed more mechanical than biological. They actually seemed biological until the point when they shut down with the control ship's destruction. I'm not quite sure how to explain that one.

 

And yeah.... that definitely looked like thanos now. And they referred to Thanos multiple times, not as himself, but as the guy in charge. The test the avengers is the court death, huh? Well then, I look forward to it. I also like how at the end, we don't know where they all went. The team comes as needed, and are now relatively untraceable. Well, maybe not, except for thor, and maybe Banner if he decides to peace out somewhere random again.

 

The music really is good. I love the theme, and especially after Banner hulks out and we see the team all together for the first time. The music had a CA vibe to it, moreso than any other previous hero theme especially during the helicarrier attack The battle itself was just too short But it was satisfying, just enough, like a good meal where you don't overstuff yourself. I love the camerawork on that one scene where we pan throughout the city, seeing each hero amidst the big battle. Overall, fantastic film, remains a such on a second viewing. Audiences laugh too much, though. .

 

After seeing it the first time, I had little desire to see any other film. It was just such an experience. It was such an overwhelming and. comprehensive film experience, I feel the desire to see movies overall temporarily diminished inside me. It grows on you over time, gets better the more you think about it, and may come to define the quintessential comic book film.

The Nature Of Hulk

This (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/05/the-hulk-on-mark-ruffalos-hulk.html) article was a very interesting analysis of the Hulk, and on aspects of superheroes in general. What makes us like superheroes, relate to them? According to this author, our heroes are flawed and interesting, and our empathy for them cannot be assumed by the director. In some ways, they have to earn it by making us care for the character. Which is something I'm big on in movies, creating characters that we actually care about. The article then goes to talk about how the heart of the Hulk is Bruce Banner, and that's what draws us to the character. Which is right. But he says it's not just that he gets big and angry, and that we can see our own anger in him. No, according to this author, it's that we care about Banner, about his gentle side, his helpful side, to the point where we don't want him to turn into the hulk, to have this issue. I agree with the author that the most recent hulk film was rather mopey. But I felt it had the right tone; we felt the burden that Banner carried, and the guilt he had for it affected his loved ones. In that sense, I don't agree with the author, I think that was an important element of the cinematic evolution of the character. As I've mentioned in my reviews, Ruffalo's Banner is a much different. In The Avengers, Banner is in control of the beast, and went a year without an event. But we also learn that it came with a price, as Banner got to th epoint where he tried to commit suicide. But he grew stronger, and devoted his life to helping people in India. The author comments that having him in this "joyful" environment helped make his sadness resonate even more. It wasn't as pushed in our faces as the last hulk, which I can agree with. Banner is still a more rundown, weary type of character, worn down by years of carrying the beast with him. The author comments that he's also on the edge of a smile, as if he's privy to the cruel inside joke of life, which i can definitely see. I think that's part of the stark difference I noted in his portrayal. An article at AICN (http://www.aintitcool.com/node/55550) about this stated that "Empathy isn't just about showing up - it's about finding that connection between the character and your own personal experience, and the best filmmakers know how to set that up within a few minutes of the character's introduction." That's true, and it's not easy to do. The AICN article goes on to theorize why hulk attacked his team on the helicarrier, but not during the final battle. It was akin to my idea, that he was reacting more to the recent disarray of the team, which changed as the team was cohesive by the end. And I agree with that author, him turning int the hulk at the end was likely a type of defense mechanism. Overall, a good article, and an interesting analysis of the character, who may be the MVP of The Avengers.

Jaded

It's rare that I write on the blog about something non-entertainment. Because that's what I love, and what I love to think about and write about, but sometimes things happen that make me angry. I'm no fan of internal medicine, but there are some points I don't want to reach. I didn't want IM to change me when I first started, but I feel it has made me more jaded, maybe a bit more annoyed. But still, there are things that cross the line. Today, in the CCU, we had a patient code and die. During the code, some family, including a PA brother-in-law, asked to come in. This patient was morbidly obese, and came after a heart attack from a different hospital, intubated, with a poor prognosis. We coded her three times, and when the PA asked to come in, someone from our team said no. Fair enough; those are the rules. But after we stopped the code and she passed, one of our team members started saying things about her weight, something about her being a whale, about if they loved her how did they let her get like this. Look, I get it, she did this to herself. But now she's dead. Fat or thin, a person is a person. Do I get annoyed when patient's come with chronic issues they likely caused themselves? Of course, but this lady is dead. When the family started bawling outside the CCU, one team member remarked about how loud it was. They just lost someone close to them, this was a person, and people are losing sight of that. Is just sad, that after she was gone, someone could go in and still criticize her for being overweight. It is bordering on disgusting personality-wise to me, and I don't know why it upset me that much today, but it did.

Movie Review: "The Avengers"

It's so rewarding to see a fantastic movie translated into the big screen. What I loved was that the character in this movie was the team. We saw the development of Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and thor. Now, it's about seeing how they work together as a cohesive team. Just like a character, they had their downs, their inner struggles, but in the end overcame it as a much strong force. It's so wonderful to see how Whedon crafted this film. I don't care if anyone criticizes a lack of character development in this movie, I'd say they're missing the point. It's a comic book movie. That doesn't mean we just require action and no character development. It means that this movie is not singular; it's part of an ongoing series, albeit one particularly epic chapter. It means that the detailed, strong character work went into the individual films. Now, let's see the team as a character, let's see these heroes we love to watch work together. And after all that, we are treated to the epic, comic book action sequence we have been waiting for. But unlike "Transformers," it's not just eye candy. We know these characters, we understand them, and we now know why they are fighting, and what it took to get there. It's action with substance.

I love that the marvel films, while having deeper themes and great character development, aren't afraid to also embrace the comic book side and showcase bright, epic action scenes. Look, I love Nolan's batman universe, and the seriousness lends itself well to the character, but let's face it: the batman universe is about as far from the true comic book experience as we've gotten in films. It's a great, deep film based on a comic character. "The Avengers" is a comic book film that feels like it's made by and for the fans, fans who care about their characters.

The film ended up earning just over $200 million domestically, and by the end of the domestic weekend, it racked up a grand total of around $440 million overseas. That’s a brand new, and in my opinion very well-deserved record. Marvel took a gamble making this film. “Iron Man” was a success, but movies like “Thor” were definitely more gamble than sure win to me. The fact that marvel pulled this off is just stellar. I can’t believe I’m living at a time when a movie of this scale, this finely calibrated, can be made.

The characters were handled just about right, to me. Banner was a bit odd at first, because his sort of mannerisms were more openly awkward than Norton’s version. Cap was very strong; I felt like he grew so much more as a leader here, and I really believed he was more a super soldier here than in his own film. As for thor, he was a lot angrier here, but that’s understandable, his brother causing all this mischief and all. And loki was well done as usual, but I have to rewatch the beginning again; that scene with him making people kneel rings in my head as a bit odd, but it needs a re-viewing.

I love how the plot was not convoluted. It was straightforward, giving us time to focus on our characters. Phase 2 was a natural, and almost expected reaction of SHIELD against alien threats like the destroyer. And I like how we got cosmic by the end. Which makes sense. All the major heroes, to my knowledge, have had cosmic enemies. The x-men had the phoenix force and the shi'ar empire, the avengers had the skrull and kree, and the fantastic four had super-skrull. And let's not forget galactus. So, this was a natural step, and one I wonder how far we’ll delve into in future films. I know the second “Fantastic Four” film showcased some cosmic stuff, but was felt less epic than this did. Probably because the quality of filmmaking was just so much higher.

We got the movie we needed and the film we deserved, I think. Take that, Nolan. But honestly, I’m on Nolan’s side for batman, and I can’t wait to see his story completed in July. But marvel has pulled off something stellar. They’re almost pixarian in nature, with hit after hit, in different types of genres within the overall superhero umbrella.

As you can see by my post below, yesterday my mind was in too much of a flurry to really cohesively evaluate this film. Arguably, my mind is still pretty blown, and I couldn’t stop getting the film out of my head today. It’s just that good. But I wanted to write a more formal, cohesive review. I read on AICN’s comments about someone saying the film was more than the sum of its parts. Which it was. The movie wasn’t just IM + IM2 + T + CA + TIH. It took those, and elevated it to using the strengths of each character to form an epic, multi-faceted team. Even less-focused-on characters like Hawkeye and Black Widow got pretty decent backstories, with enough room left to delve on in the future. How Whedon weaves these threads together is just impressive, and if I were given the chance to have made this film, I don’t think I could’ve done it.

The theme song is also stuck in my head. I know reviews of it have been rather blasé. But superhero themes have become much more subtle than Williams’s day, when a loud, emphatic theme like “Superman” was heard. The theme for CA was rather strong, but “Thor” had a very versatile yet subdued theme, yet still beautiful and my favorite marvel theme to date. “The Avengers” is more along those lines. Subtle, yet powerful, with room to expand more in the future.

I also liked the comic book references, at least the ones I was able to catch. I think the prison they designed for loki was reminiscent of the prison they trapped him in during “Avengers #1.” Thanos was of course a throw to the fans, but I’m embarrassed to say I initially thought he was a skrull. I didn’t know much about Thanos aside from him being a titan from some moon of Jupiter or something, and he had something to do with the infinity gauntlet. I have to read up on some thanos. But I’m glad I caught the chitauri being from the ultimates universe. I imagine there are even more fan easter eggs to look for!

Hulk reflected the nature of the team. When he first transformed, the team was in disarray. Part of it was the staff, but part of it was them. They couldn’t get along, these individual heroes used to working alone. When he transformed, he didn’t know who to trust, he was an individual. When he willed himself to transform, the team was there. No longer individuals, they worked together, as did Hulk. I kind of think Banner represents the nature of the team itself.


Coulson's death was sad but needed. I unfortunately knew, from a quick glance at an early review, that a fan favorite dies. Given that Fury or the Avengers are unlikely targets, I figured it was either Coulson or Selvig. Still, having his death, and the bloody Cap cards, serve as the impetus to bring the team together was a good touch, and showed that Coulson himself knew that the team needed. It's almost as if he sacrificed himself. It was the equivalent of Tony's captivity or thor's banishment.

There are two things I can’t quite figure out. First, how loki was in Selvig’s mind. I’m guessing it was a manifestation of the cosmic cube and based on his proximity to it; he may have been controlling others as well, more as a mind control depicted for us as his reflection in the mirror. And I’m guessing loki ended up with the chitauri after falling into space at the end of “Thor.” And second, why couldn’t thor pick up mjolnir after he fell from the helicarrier? Was he trying to summon it and it wasn’t working? Perhaps this will have to wait until the DVD commentary.

I loved the montage at the end, with scenes showing people's appreciation for the avengers, even with people getting a haircut like Tony Stark. The fight scene at the end is just epic in itself. The panning, how we saw a grand view of the battle instead of focusing from one character to another, and sort of using Iron Man as our guide. It was just so well planned and executed. It lasted so long, but when it was done, I was satisfied but hoping for me. I’ve been waiting a while to see something this epic, this amazing on screen. “Avatar” was decent, but I didn’t feel anything from it. I did say, after that movie, that it’s the best battle I’ve seen on screen. That’s now been broken, by a long shot. This is the superhero battle, perhaps any on-screen battle, to beat, for me at least. I want to see this again in IMAX, it really makes you feel like you’re right there.

The use of the term "geekasm" signifies, to me, some form of geekery (yes, I defined a word using the word) so exciting, it creates a feeling of such euphoria and anticipation and craziness, that it causes one's mind to experience a sensation that's hard-to-define, but you know it when you have it. "The Avengers" was a two-hour geekasm, plain and simple, to me. 


About a month ago, while doing the night shift, I got rather tired/bored/frustrated, and decided to put the SHIELD logo on all the computers at work. Meaning, almost every computer in the emergency department, on multiple floors, and so on. I even created a sort of SHIELD headquarters on the floor known as "4 South," as seen below. And, I posted some SHIELD logo flyers around, in stairwells, bathrooms, etc. Maybe around 7 or 8 flyers in all. I was awaiting a reaction and I actually got it. While I wasn't there to see it, I heard a nurse on "4 North" got nervous and called security to investigate the matter. As I got the files from my email, I figured it's traceable, so I went and took most of it down. Mission accomplished, and maybe it inspired someone to see "The Avengers" in the process. 

I was talking to one of my attendings, who's quite a geek himself, totally into comic books and whatnot. We discussed how stellar this movie was, and he said the last scene was almost like joke at the fans. We waited for the end, and all we got was the heroes chilling and eating, and maybe laughing at us through the fourth wall. Kudos to Whedon or whoever came up with that idea. In it's own way, it was brilliant. 

Overall, Whedon has crafted a superhero masterpiece, one that takes the groundwork laid before it and sets the genre to new heights. It’s almost the equal but opposite of Nolan’s approach. Both have fantastic character development, but Whedon doesn’t appear afraid to embrace the comic book’s origins while respectfully modernizing it. “The Avengers” is a landmark film, to me, and I think it’s truly gone where no superhero movie has gone before.

Avengers Assemble!

Here's my initial thoughts after watching "The Avengers" yesterday, written around 4am!

Its hard to know where to even start with my review of "The Avengers." You know when you get so hyped for something, to such a high degree, that you almost go beyond hype to the point of a weird type of apathy? Thats basically what happened today, and I think the last time it happened was with ROTS. Today started off nicely. My cousin came over around 2pm, and I shortly finished my marvel marathon with "Thor" around 1pm. After hanging for a bit, we headed out to pick up my friend from Sophie on SI, then my best HS friend from NJ with his significant other, and we then headed up the IMAX theater in New Rochelle. Surprisingly, I got to Hoboken, NJ a lot faster this time.... I don't know what route my GPS was taking. After that, i parked, we went to the theater to get tickets from the machine, and then I went to pray near the car. We then proceeded to find a place to eat, and the one with the shortest wait time was a mexican restaurant called El Tio. One of my best friends/current roommate joined us. We ordered, I got some kind of vegetarian platter that wasn't too tasty honestly, and my best HS friend's significant other paid for the meal. I wasn't there for that part, though.... I was so focused on getting ideal seats, that I really wanted to be in line at 1900. As usual, I overestimated things, and when I left early with my friend from Sophie on SI, after praying, we were the first ones there. Which was fine, because I really wanted good seats. One of my best friends from Sophie and his friend came around that time, as did everyone else, and we had a good time just talking about various things from work, to movies, to superhero geek stuff. It really was a fun experience for me, something I feel I don't get to do often, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We could head noise from the theater, basically a lot of explosions, but couldn't make out much. As more people started coming in, we could barely hear the theater noise at all. I saw "Thor" here as well, I believe. Once the line got very, very long, some woman came up to my cousin, and asked how early we got here, because her husband wanted to know. Which was odd, to me, but everyone seemed to think she was trying to flirt and get earlier in line. Mission failed. For the film, I wore a new jacket I found in the closet, with my SHIELD badge ironed on (which works surprisingly well)" and I also had my fake arc reactor light thing. Finally, we got into the theater, and I was first to go in and get a seat. Except for two people who inexplicably were already there. Anyway, I got my choice seat right in the middle, two rows down from the bottom, and then I tried to get a drink. The line was so long, and it was nearing the typical 15 minute preview time, that I just had to go back. My HS friend kindly got a drink for me though, even though I didn't ask him too. After some trailers including TDKR (closed my eyes to avoid spoilers), the new spiderman (too nolan-esque), and "Prometheus," the film finally started. Marvel logo on the screen, and then bam: the cosmic cube.

I don't even know where to start reviewing this film. It truly felt like a comic book to life at certain points, especially the battle at the end. The film started without a huge bang. We see a SHIELD base, where the cosmic cube is being studied, with hawkeye keeping on things, around where the comic left off. When the cube starts activating itself, Fury, Hill, and Coulson come, and we see the other side of the cube, where loki is talking to some alien, about the chitauri, and then he transports into our world and escapes. Then, we see Fury talk to his bosses about something called phase two, which we later learn is about making some crazy powerful weapons. Then recruitment begins. Widow goes to India to find Banner, Fury speaks with Cap, and Coulson talks with Tony, and Pepper. I didn't know pepper was in the film, so that was a pleasant surprise, and they're romantically together as well, it seems.

They basically capture loki, with IM and Cap, but then thunder strikes, and somehow thor made it here, takes loki, and escapes. Cap and IM go to assist, fights ensue, and to be honest, so much happens by the end, the beginning is getting a bit fuzzy, sounds like a good reason to see it again. Anyway, the team doesn't get along well, stuff happens on the helicarrier with brainwashed Hawkeye, and eventually loki is recaptured, but unfortunately kills Coulson in his successful escape attempt. Selvig meanwhile opens the portal, and tons of chitauri come out, a fight ensues, and the trailer gave away only a taste of the epic battle.

To me, this battle set the bar so high for any superhero film to follow. It's similar in scale to your generic transformers battle scenes, but here, we actually care for the characters, we see how their powers work together, and it's just a marvel to behold. I don't know how they filmed it, but it pans so well. We get a grand scope of the action, pan down to see thor fighting, then follow IM as he flies by, then lands near Cap, uses his blasts to bounce of Cap's shield, then he flies up, past Hawkeye who throws an arrow at loki, who crashes into a building, where hulk sees him and beats him senseless. Thats just what I remember, and theres so many just plain epic scenes like that. My cousin said he can't read another avengers comic after seeing that epic battle, and it'll be hard to see anything as epic as that. It took action to a whole new level, and made up for the short duration of action in IM2

The Mark VII, which was teased at in the iPad motion comic thing, was fantastic. In seemed to utilize a new quick delivery system using these magnetic bracelets, that one can buy online now for a few hundred bucks.

The real core of this film is the forming of the team. If each marvel film was chronicling the origin of their titular characters, this film was emphasizing the character of the titular team. At first, the team was so disparate, disorganized, and angry at each other. It was only through the death of poor Coulson that we saw then truly come together for a common cause.

Hulk totally rocked this film like crazy. Good comic relief, amazing action sequences, and visually more expressive and realistic than we have seen before. Ruffalo was a bit tough to get used to at first as Banner; he plays him almost overly socially awkward, which was kind of weird. I saw more of a guy resigned to his fate, than a man withdrawn. This was a guy who even tried to kill himself, but the hulk part of himself stopped the bullet.

Hawkeye was also well done for the limited time we had with him. We got a sense that he is maybe a no nonsense, serious soldier. Romanoff got a bit more, and we learn something about her past, and her history with Barton. And we see her skill set at extracting information, which was quite impressive.

Hiddleston is again at top form as loki. But his motivations here are bit shady. So he wants revenge on thor, but why does he want to be king here? Why was he trying to take over the world? I guess multiple viewings will be needed.

The end scene was nice, with us basically seeing the avengers mansion. The first end scenes shows the guy behind the current stuff: Thanos. I honestly wasnt sure if it was Thanos or a skrull, but my cousin thought it was Thanos, and a google search seemed to agree with him. This means they're taking marvel in a whole new direction, cosmic and grand. I'm interested to see how this plays out in IM3 and the next few marvel films. And the last end credits scene, with them all just eating schwarmma and not talking or anything in the diner; odd, but funny in its own way and in its simplicity.

The IMAX experience was immensely subversive, especially in the final battle, and I think it's the first time I really felt like seeing it in IMAX was worth it. The 3-D was equally fantastic in both the final battle and on the helicarrier bridge. Cap didn't seem to have enough time to adjust to the modern world; supposedly that's what CA2 is for, and that's good. There were rumors of some Cap flashbacks from his time, but that wasn't seen. Coulson's death was sad, I knew someone was gonna die according to a quick review, and Coulson was high on my list, but I thought maybe it could've been Selvig. And my HS friend said it was odd that hulk first was against them, but at the end was fighting well on the team. I think it's because first he had no control of his change the first time, and second, they were at odds the fist time, but this time, they were a team and hulk, primitive as his mind is, could understand that. Caps new uniform is very nice, more tidier and modernized than his older one. Seeing them address Jane Foster was also important, I'm glad they included that. Lots of herpes fighting each other, sometimes maybea bit much but I gotta rematch to reasses. There also seemed to be too much humor at the start and the first half, but again, something I'll need to reassess. . Even after the battle ended I wanted to see more.

I'll probably have more thoughts on the film soon, but I'm quite tired now as its nearly 0430, but I at least wanted to get some quick thoughts out there, overall, Joss Whedon pulled off an epic superhero film, spending time developing not the characters per se but the team. And having seen these characters before, their origins didn't need to be repeated, so we got more time to enjoy a truly epic battle in NYC. And I'm glad, during a quick flashback thing, we saw Cap in ice. This film was a lot to take in, and I need to digest and sleep a bit, but I think I plan on seeing it again and analyzing a lot more of it. Until next time!

Marvel Marathon

After seeing the marvel films again, in some sort of order, it's really nice to see the tapestry they're building. Also, watching it after seeing the TV show and delving a bit into the comics made it much more rewarding and engrossing, to me. Hres my thoughts while watching the marathon:

Captain America

 

They actually mention yggdrasil, and we even see the serpent underneath it, which was in the "Loki" comic. Very nice touch. Steve Rogers medical conditions include asthma, scarlet and rheumatic fever, htn, palpitations, nervous trouble of any sort, contact with tb, family history of dm, and oddly, right and left ear discharge. How'd this guy get so sick? I feel like I've gained a greater appreciation for cap after reading the comics, as few as I've read admittedly, and by watching the animated series. I also love the montage of cap trying to sell bonds. You can see the defeat in his face, the utter dejection at what he's doing. The whole aspect of the government hiring to sell bonds, putting him in films, was done so well. Also, i liked the comparison of small steve watching movies, and now we see cap watching himself in the films. Also nice touch with him drawing the dancing monkey. Tucci was fantastic, but jones has the best choice lines, like "if youve got something to say, nows the time to keep it to yourself" or something like that. In the end, a fantastic movie that I enjoyed a lot, lot more this time around. I feel like they got the tone, the character, and the whole setting pretty much right. The only issue is that things moved fast, and we don't exactly realize that caps story takes place over maybe months to years. Especially the mission montage when the destroy the hydra science camps, that seems quick, but it's probably an extended series of missions. But, for the sake of time, it sans done as well as it could be, I suppose. And the ending.... I still would've ended it before ca wakes up, but I suppose it'll ease "The Avengers" a bit easier; I do hope they focus on caps struggle dealing with the modern world, though. And I want to see his first interaction with stark's son, tony. The end credits were also nicely done, use ping classic war imagery. I feel like this movie was underrated. Even I felt, intiallwy, that the depiction of caps origins was a bit contrived, as we've seen it done similarly in the other marvel films, but I've changed my mind. First, this is true in spirit to the real story, from my understanding. Also, it's different. Iron Man was a rich guy who had a change of heart. Cap was a good guy at heart, who finally had the power to do something. By the nature of it being an origin story, we had to see events the they happened. That way, in "The Avengers," we can see the origin of a team, not of an individual hero. That work's already been done. The music was also very apt and fitting for cap, and a very nice superhero theme that, to me, sounds like it comes from an older age, fitting his origins. This is definitely a solid marvel film, not my favorite only because there are aspects I just enjoy more about IM, like the humor, and "Thor," the fantastical elements. But I'm glad marvel did right by Cap, in my opinion, and I look forward not only to his time with the avengers, but his next solo outing. And I love the bond-esque endings: "Captain America will return in The Avengers"

 

Iron Man




"Iron Man" remains a hugely fun film to watch. It doesn't focus on the brooding, dark Tony Stark. Because that's not Tony. Tony is both tony and iron man. Not like Wayne, who is batman with the face of Wayne, so I'm glad Favreau didn't take a page from the Nolan handbook with IM. The way they took a involved plot, with a lot of stuff going on, and not only paced it well but made us actually care for the characters is a sign of Favreau's skill. Theres a reason IM spearheaded the marvel cinematic universe. The villains are a little bit on the extreme evil side, with no sympathetic qualities. Which is fine, as I've said before, we should have all spectrums of villain, and loki gives us enough complexity to obviously last for "The Avengers." this movie was about stark anyway, and it's not like x-men and thor, where Xavier and magneto, and thor and loki, respectively, are kind of tied together. Iron Man is who he is, regardless of his villain. It's his captivity that changd him. The music is so well done too, but Ramin Djawani, who also does "Game of Thrones." Overall this remains the textbook marvel film, for good reason, and it's just to much fun to arch, but has substance underneath. Maybe not as subtle or nuanced as Nolan's bat-verse, but still, its there, and mixes comedy, action, and deeper stuff well. And that last scene, the first with Sam Jackson, is still killer.

 

Iron Man 2

 

I like how it started, showing the alternative to Tony, almost at what-if, if Tnys life had turned out differently. And I like the way they showed the recap of events between the last film, by showing news articles, depicting Iron Man helping nations become more peaceful, etc. I like how this film did something different. The two villains are almost foils of Tony. One being the guy who was just as smart, but not as successful as Tony. And the other, a jealous competitor trying to outshine someone who has taken the world by storm. Both different villains, but almost present a unique look at what Tony could've been. You also see how arrogant stark has become after revealing himself as Iron Man. It's almost as if he sees himself as untouchable, a flaw to the character which I like. With him being so close to what he thinks is his death, with him planning who to take over the company and all, it's understandable how some of his actions are not based on logic or longevity, but on sadness or living for the moment. As a standalone villain, whiplash is weak, but the villains in IM2 are three: Hammer, Whiplash, and Tony himself, whether it's from depression or alcoholism. I liked vanko's line, about how if he just makes Tony bleed, people will know he's fallible, and the world will consume him. That all he needed to do, not kill Stark. Rockwell played his character so well, as evidenced by the fact that he's so freaking annoying. Hammer has the same idea as Vanko; don't destroy the man, destroy the legacy, the legend. IM2 is not as cohesive a film as the first, but it's also trying to tell multiple stories: that of Hammer and Vanko, Tony and his mortality, the legal ramifications of having weaponized suits, war machine, and of course, trying to infuse some SHEILD into it. Jackson is so funny as Fury, it's just Jackson with an eyepatch basically, as Jackson is in most films. Even as Mace, he had that Sam Jackson attitude to him, but I love how he delivers his lines, it's like instant comic relief. I also like cheadle as Rhodes better, he's more no-nonsense and serious. He more gravity to his personality and to the character. I don't like the way some of the action films were filmed, namely black widows's attack on hammer's HQ. A bit too choppy and seemingly too real, like 120hertz real, to me. The action scenes, especially with whiplash, we're a bit too short but well done. I wanted some spiderman level of comic book action, but perhaps "The Avengers" will provide that. And was that Stan Lee as Larry King?

 

The Incredible Hulk

 

I like how they mention Rick Jones at the start. Those news clippings in the recap wee actually quite interesting. The film has a grim sort of tone from the start, maybe not grim, but sort of like a lost feeling. As if it's very somber, lonely almost, which I guess is right in tone with the character. Blonsky as super soldier lite was very nice. I read somewhere online where someone felt that CA should've had more of cap's abilities as a super solider, more akin to what we saw with Blonsky, but we never really saw it in CA. I think that's partially because cap never fought a large villain like hulk, but hopefully "The Avengers" will show him in true form. I also like the frequent SHIELD references. I dont think I've ever seen a cabbie act like so far in NYC though. The transformation to the hulk in the lab was done very nicely, and looked quite real. The fight with abomination was nicely done. I wish the last scene with Stark was a postcredits scene though, because if felt just like one. Overall a good, if rather somber, film.

 

One-Shots




The one-shot dealing with Tony convincing Ross to let the abomination join the team was cool. It explained exactly what his purpose was there, because at the end of TOH, it's unclear whether tony is there to get hulk for the team. And if so, why is he along Ross? The other one-shot, describing what happened to Coulson on his way to NM, wasn't as informative, but showed his skill set as an agent. It was more of a fun aside. The best overall glue that connects these all together was that prequel comic.

 

Thor

 

I love the way "Thor" begins. Not the time in NM, but the narration that brought us up to speed with what's going on, but was actually just a story told to thor and loki as kids. The whole set design, the tone, it really impresses me how fantasy like they make it. And I didn't realize that ice box was actually the casket of ancient winters! Tom Hiddleston plays loki so well, it's hard to tell when he's lying and when he's being truthful. For instance, when he said he had no idea thor would be banished, was he real? Or did he plan that all along? I think one of the SHIELD agents in the mjolnir site was the same guy from the one-shot talking about Stark as the consultant. I didn't realize they actually mentioned yggdrasil in the film as well, when he's explaining stuff to Jane by the campfire. The scene where he gets his power back, still epic and fantastic. I'm telling you, the music here was so apt, so well done and fitting of the epic fantasy nature of the story, it's really commendable. The again, Patrick Doyle is a really good composer, having done "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" last year as well. And maybe the best line? When thor calls Coulson "son of Coul." ah, love having subtitles on board. Loki is a tragic character; he did what he did to gain his father's love, even moreso as he feels like doesn't belong given his adoption. Is still tough to tell.... was that really his only motivation? Thats what makes him s interesting, we don't quite know what his motivations are. Although I don't it's just to cause chaos, like the joker. In his mini speech before they starting fighting, you can see his hurt, his anger, and his rage; excellent acting. I think this actually is my favorite marvel movie to date. Its really the epic fantasy aspect that appeals to me. Is just so well done, and the music, art direction, set design, acting, it all just adds j to make such a cohesive, beautiful whole. I only hope future sequels maintain the same balance. I even buy thor's change in character more now. I feel I appreciate this movie even more after reading those comics about loki, watching the TV show, etc. and the end credits were nice, I think they even showed yggdrasil. I can't wait to see how thor returns to earth, although according to the prequel comic, as year passes between these events and the finding to Cap, so there's time for lots of stuff to happen. Oh man I cant wait, I only hope loki is handled with just as much care this time around. Man, this movie was so good, almost caused some unexplained emotional reactions. And in the special features, Doyle says he tried to create a theme that could be tender at times, powerful at times, just like the main character; I'd say he succeeded!

 

Avengers Assemble!

 

Lots of questions as we start "The Avengers." Will we see asgard? How does he end up on earth? How did loki survive, was is in the cosmic cube somehow linked to when the red skull touched it? What's that army all about? Creations of the cube, or maybe still they are the skrull or kree? Although I kind of feel that should be its own storyline, not linked with loki per se. I really hope the reviews live up to the hype, and that the movie really is this good. After IM and "Thor" and "Hulk" and CA, the bar is set pretty darn high. Each film with a different feel, epic to somber to period piece, but each so well done. How they mix together the different styles into one owill be very interesting to see.

 

The Marathon Begins

Finally, after a nice night in the CCU with no admissions and about 3 hours of odd sleep sitting with my head on a table or a chair, I'm ready to begin my marvel marathon in preparation for tomorrow! I made a video montage of the five marvel movies to date, those from the cinematic continuity that is, set to the theme from the first IM film. Watching it, and seeing the last scene I put in with the avengers gathered, I'm still amazed that it all came together. For better or worse tomorrow, it's still commendable that marvel put all these characters together after successfully navigating the box office for each of them. I'm so excited, but also very excited just to experience the marvel movies again, in HD, sitting on my bed, iPad next to me. I've seriously been waiting since IM for "The Avengers," but even moreso since last year. I even tried to set my vacation so 5/4/12 would be off, but alas I got stuck on CCU nights, and wasn't able to switch out to check out the midnight show. But I think it's for the best. Sure, it's nice to see it at midnight, but it wold probably have been me and maybe one other person. Now, I get to do my marathon, and see it with my cousin and a variety of friends from high school and college. I really can't wait, and I'm glad I'm seeing it with family and friends. There's something to be said for that.

I also find it a bit annoying how everyone is excited for the film. I admit I jumped on the bandwagon with IM, but I've been a sort of lifelong superhero fan. I didn't read the comics, but I watched the TV shows, which were largely derived from the original stories. As such, I feel I have an appreciation for superheroes that the general public doesn't. To them, I feel this is just like another blockbuster, "Transformers" with superheroes. But still, I hope it gets a lot of box office revenue, because it'll pave the way hopefully for more films.

Let the marathon begin! Four years in the making, I really hope tomorrow will be epic modern movie making meets comics book at its best. People may criticize the marvel movies for being comedic, for being light, but they're not. There are dark themes, like in IM and TIH. Sure, there's light moments, but after actually reading comics, you can see its true to the nature of these comics. Is not batman, where Nolan's work is in line with the tone of some batman works. But a lot of marvel is funny at times, serious at times, complex at times, and simple at times. Like life. Raimi's "Spider-Man" series was almost like a comic book come to life, especially the first. The new one looks so untrue to the feeling of the character, I feel it's too Nolan-esque for the wrong reasons. But that's a discussion for another time. Time to watch some movies.

Comics Review: "Loki" Volumes 1 and 2

Marvel released two comic books under the name "Loki," which both focus on the titular villain, but are not connected to one another. The first dealt with events after the titular character took control of asgard. It's slow paced, but details how he has placed his family under captivity, with thor chained and trapped. We see how loki was jealous of how he was treated, and how he was so angry at his brother. Yet, he still had some love for him, and was willing to let him go, when by the end, thor broke free and was ready to defeat him. The series itself was decent, but didn't really captivate me as I hoped it would. I thought the next one was a sequel, but thankfully it was something different.

The second volume dealt with events as loki tried to understand his destiny and place in life. After seeing some witches of norn, he gets wind that he should kill balder, his and thor's brother. The first issue deals with how loki felt he should have been in charge of mjolnir. After cutting off sif's hair out of jealousy, he went to the dwarves to try and fix things. They made new hair for sif, but also gave him a special boat, a spear, and from some opposing dwarves who loki manipulated, a boar's head, and golden arm ring, and mjolnir. As loki went to give his gifts, he made a pact with the second dwarves, that if their gifts were deemed better, they could have his head. Unfortunately, after seeing mjolnir, which landed in thor's hands, the dwarves came just short of his head; instead, they tied his mouth shut, with thor's help. Whether these events were true or not is rather unclear. The point was, loki always felt like a bit of a joke, someone who never truly belonged with his family, and as a result, he wanted more. This led him to be jealous, and to seek out his destiny. Which, was revealed by those norn witches, was to kill balder and bring about ragnarok. So, through some tricks, he did just that; he convinced balder's brother hoder to kill him with a spear, and eventually thor caught whiff of the plot. We see some scenes where loki saved a poor family, and afterwards, realized he'd rather be feared than loved.

Unfortunately for him, loki's plot is uncovered, as he reveals he's killed balder in front of everyone, and thus did not shed a tear to help bring him back, unlike everyone else. And, he also accused his adopted mother of not even knowing who balder's true father was. After that, he's ran to stone hidden cove where he won't be found.... or so he thought, because thor finds him, in a scene returning back to the ste start of the first issue of this volume. They fight, and loki is eventually tied to a rock with a serpent above his head, spitting poison, mirroring a scene, I think, from the first volume. There's some clues that he may eventually escape and lead the dead in battle, but the book ends there.

Overall, the second volume was much better than the first. It's hard to feel bad for loki, because his side is not something as sympathetic as, say, magneto. But still, it's almost as if he's resigned to his fate, playing his role of the villain. After being treated like second class, or so he viewed, he felt jealousy, and anger, and that it's what motivated him to do what he did. Not out of pure evil, but out of anger and dejection. And that makes him more of a tragic character, albeit one who does seems pretty bad stuff. I'm glad I read this before "The Avengers," perhaps it'll give me a new perspective on the villain as I watch the film. Only one more day!

Comics Review: Fury's Big Week

As a way to tie the various films in the marvel cinematic continuity together, a prequel comic to the upcoming "Avengers" movie was released, in eight parts. It follows the agents of SHIELD, particularly Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Nick Fury was they deal with the events seen in the marvel films. As it starts, we see Fury summoned to stop the search for Steve Rogers, and instead focus all attention on the cosmic cube. Fury disobeys, keeping a team up north, and working on getting Stark to join his initiative. The prequel offers little in the way of spoilers; we have no indication what world threat led Fury to even consider the avengers initiative. I don't even think the word "avengers" is uttered during the comic.

Things start off in the middle of IM2, as Stark has his drunk fight with Rhodey and flies off. SHIELD is somehow aware that Stark is dying of palladium poisoning, which is explained as forming bonds with someone's RBCs. They give Fury some lithium compound to slow down the effects; I have to pay attention to IM2 and see if that injection is in the film.

While Fury works on Stark, Coulson gets word of an abnormality in New Mexico, and after much convincing, is given the go ahead to check it out by Fury. We know what he finds there, so the comic doesn't focus on that. Rather, we see much more of Clint Barton, who was there in the scene from the film, but also present during the time of the destroyer attack.

Meanwhile, Natasha Romanoff was working with Tony Stark, as seen in the events of IM2. The comic shows the final battles to some degree. Afterwards, Natasha is told to go find Banner. We learn that General Ross also broke into SHIELD's database, maybe on company of SHIELD's boss, the world security council or something. It turns out Ross feels he's the sword protecting the world, killing the world's enemies, and Fury is the shield, protecting secrets safe behind a wall. As Natasha traces Banner, she sees the incident at Culver, and reports that Blonsky was likely on something to make him strong. She eventually tracks Banner to Dr. Stern's place, when the end battle of "The Incredible Hulk" occurs. Before this, the final events involving the destroyer and whatnot happened in New Mexico, placing the Hulk battle after this.

In a nice aside, we see her find Samuel Sterns, already imbued with his powers, feeling he can see his future as the super villain called "the Leader." But he's a bit too annoying, so Natasha shoots him in the foot. We then see her report back to Fury. Hulk has vanished. Fury talks with his bosses regarding his busy week: helping save Tony Starks life, making an alliance with thor, and following Banner. All the while, he had a team up north searching for Cap. And each one of those things can help with the cosmic cube, aside from the Hulk stuff. Tony's new elements, temporarily called "badassium," may unlock the clue to opening the cosmic cube. The destroyer, now property of SHIELD, may have come from the same place as the cube. And Cap is the last guy to actually have used the cube.

Surprisingly, the epilogue takes place a year later, when Captain America's body is found. We actually see the scene of his frozen body picked out of the ground! We also see Coulson walking through SHIELD headquarters. In some nice artwork and panels, we see various experiments conducted by SHIELD, including "Project Mr. Blue" aka the leader, and a now functional destroyer. Finally, before Fury heads up to see Cap, he sends Barton to watch Selvig. The last show shows Selvig working on the cube, and in a reflection, you-know-who waiting to cause some mischief as "The Avengers" begins.

Overall, I thought this was superbly done. It avoided spoilers, which could've been so easy to just add in here. We finally see, with some canon basis, how these films fit together. It's CA, IM, IM2, T, TIH, and then the last scenes of CA, with IM2, T, and TIH overlapping to some degree. It was a nice way to also see the behind-the-scenes of SHIELD, and realize that even SHIELD has a boss. Can't wait for the film!