marvel

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2 is all about family.

GotG2 opens on a fun action scene set to music off the Awesome Mix 2. This sets us up nicely for the B Plot group that will be after the Guardians. This setup brings Nebula into the mix and introduces us to Star Lord’s biological father, Ego.

Ego the living planet. Ego is portrayed beautifully by Kurt Russell.

We also get more Yondu in this installment. We see him with a more traditional look as well.

GotG2 brings the laughter and some tears. I have not laughed more at a Marvel Studios film. There were multiple instances of someone cutting onions in the theater. Very surprising for the light-hearted franchise in the MCEU.

Ego and Star Lord’s relationship is at the heart of this movie. And all the implications along with it.

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Debicki, Sylvester Stallone, Sean Gunn

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Logan

I caught Logan and it gave a nice cap to the Fox X-Men series and High Jackman’s run as Wolverine.

Logan definitely earns its R rating. Plenty of violence and foul language (some from an unexpected source) with brief nudity. I would not recommend bringing young children to see this movie.

We are introduced to a world 29 years removed from the events of the first X-Men movie. A world seemingly without mutants and a Wolverine showing the effects of aging and a slowed down healing factor. We get introduced to Laura (X-23) at the same time Logan does.

At first Laura seems like a normal if mute little girl. Until she is not. She turns into a little Tasmanian Devil , Whirling Dervish of destruction. Easily more violent and vicious than we have seen Logan before. Then, we get the road trip from Hell with Logan, Laura and Professor X.

This movie leaves the door open for more future films in this series, but also leaves it at a good finishing point. Barring the Deadpool franchise, I would love to see a reboot of the X-Men movies with different people at the helm.

FYI, There are no mid-credit or post-credit scenes.

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant, Jason Genao

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Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange does an excellent job of introducing magic into the Marvel movie universe. Since they treated Asgardians as aliens with technology, I was not sure they were going to get mystical.

Doctor Strange is the story of a highly-skilled, arrogant surgeon who has a terrible injury to his hands. He goes through every conceivable medical treatment possible before turning to … other options. During the course of his training, he has to face off with a sorcerer who has turned his back on the Earth and is welcoming Dormammu – think mystic Galactus.

The special effects are everything you would expect from a Marvel Studios production now. The reality bending effects did make me a tad dizzy at points, but they did their job at disorienting people.

There is a mid-credits scene and an after credits scene you will want to stay for.

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Benjamin Bratt

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X-Men Apocalypse

Trailer:

Official Site: Fox Movies

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Oscar Isaac, Rose Byrne, Evan Peters, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Lucas Till, Olivia Munn, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ben Hardy, Alexandra Shipp, Lana Condor

xmen-one-sheet
The movie opens with Apocalypse getting set to transfer his consciousness into a new host in ancient Egypt. While he styles himself as a God, not everyone follows him blindly. While he is in the middle of the transition and vulnerable, some guards cause the pyramid to collapse on him and his Horsemen. One of the Horsemen are able to shield Apocalypse’s body until he is wakened in the present day.

We cut to 1983 and are introduced to how mutants are viewed in society and where the survivors of the last 2 movies are. Raven is helping our mutants escape from opressors, introducing us to Angel and Nightcrawler in a forced gladiator pit. Charles has renovated his home into a school for mutants. We have Jean Grey and Jubilee attending as well as various others. Alex has gone to help his brother, Scott, deal with the awakening of his powers. Hank is a teacher at the school. Erik has forged a new identity and is married with a child, lying low. Moira is following rumors of an Apocalypse cult in Egypt.

Moira is present when Apocalypse awakens. He goes on a recruiting drive for his 4 Horsemen, Magneto, Storm, Pyslocke & Angel, and abducts Charles for his powers. He has the intention on causing a global catastrophe to “thin the herd” and rule the survivors. Then the race is on for the new X-Men to rescue Charles and stop Apocalypse and his Horsemen.

TL;DR Ok entry. Not the worst of the entire franchise. But nowhere near the best either. Loved the introduction of the young x-men. Quicksilver stole the show.

Spoilers abound if you click the link below:

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Captain America: Civil War

Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Daniel Brühl

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DVD


After a terrible accident in Lagos with civilian casualties (on top of the events in Age of Ultron), Tony Stark and the UN come up with a charter for the Avengers. A charter that would make them answer to the UN and only be deployed where the UN deems necessary. Most of the members sign the form, except Cap, Falcon and Scarlet Witch. When there is a bombing at a UN meeting, the world begins a massive manhunt for the Winter Soldier. We get to see a bit of Winter Soldier’s 90s career with Hydra when he goes after a couple in a car and retrieves something that looks like the Super Soldier formula.

The military going after Bucky are given the orders to shoot to kill. Cap is most definitely against this and attempts to bring him in alive. Firmly putting him against the world governments, Tony Stark, and the other Avengers. Plus Black Panther. Unfortunately, T’Chala’s father was killed in the UN bombing. With this, we get Black Panther also going after Bucky.

We get a nice little chase sequence that ends with Bucky, Cap, Falcon and Black Panther being brought into custody. Zemo makes his way in and activates some Hydra programming left in Bucky. Zemo slips out and Bucky escapes after giving Zemo a debriefing. Cap and Falcon also make it out in pursuit of Bucky.

As a result of this, Iron Man and Cap begin recruiting among their friends for a showdown. Giving us the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduction of Spider-Man.

TL;DR Go see it. This is how you do a superhero movie with a lot of characters in it.

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