Monday Movie Roundup/Movie First Impressions...5/11/2015

Okay Pepe, let's talk numbers...

Avengers: Age of Ultron made another $77.2 million in the U.S.

bringing the Domestic total to just under $312.6 million.

Internationally, things are even crazier...with $562.4 million in the bank. This puts the worldwide number at almost $875 million.

Now - it's true that this film has made less in two weeks (roughly $60 million) than Marvel's The Avengers did.

And there's panic in the streets...

...but there's no question that this movie's made some cash back. 

In fact, with only two weeks under it's belt, A:AoU is less than $700 million away from beating its predecessor's worldwide numbers. 

And let's not forget - Marvel's The Avengers was in (U.S.) theaters a total of 22 weeks. Meaning it lasted through September.

So relax...it's all good!

Now, let's talk review - 

I gave you all a week. If you haven't seen it yet, but still want to remain spoiler-free (and good luck with that), stop right here. 

There be spoilers ahead.

Movie First Impression: Avengers: Age of Ultron (WTF? Friday...5/1/2015)

So THAT happened...

Just to let you know - this is as SPOILER FREE a review as possible for me. 

You've been warned.

Movie First Impressions - Odd Thomas

Once in a while, I come across a movie that affects me deeply. It could be character, plot, dialogue, setting, or simply timing. This film is not one I would have intentionally chosen to watch on Netflix, but Mrs. Adorkification saw it and suggested it to me...and became one of those films.

Spoilers after the jump.

You've been warned...I mean it.

Movie First Impressions: The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

Spoilers abound...you've been warned.

First Impressions: Captain America The Winter Soldier

 Okay. It's been a few days. I'm gonna talk about it.

It isn't going to be easy...

It isn't going to be pleasant...

There will be spoilers...

You've been warned.

WTF? Fridays...The Hobbit 2 Edition...1/3/2014

My family and I saw The Hobbit: TDoS on New Year's Eve...and we were less than thrilled by it.

WARNING...SPOILERS AHEAD!

Movie First Impressions: Amazing Spider-Man

I finally took the leap and watched The Amazing Spider-Man...

...and I didn't like it at first.

See, I still had Raimi's Spider-Man in my head, and when comparing the two Raimi wins.

But then I started thinking about Man of Steel...

...and remembered what Snyder said to composer Hans Zimmer:

"What if there never was a Superman movie before?"

I'm paraphrasing there, but the jist is that rebooters have to go into their projects with that mantra.

So I asked myself the question - 

"If there never was a Spider-Man, how was Amazing?"

Amazing? No, but I did find a couple of strengths.

The casting.

Gwen.

Richard and Mary Parker.

And most importantly...

WEB SHOOTERS!

But despite these things, I'm still bothered by the lack of the "power/responsibility" phrase...

...and Stacy's death was kinda glossed over...

...and The Lizard.

I don't have a problem with the look of the character,

but the size of the guy!

This is how I remember the character - ferocious, but not gargantuan.

All in all, not a bad film...but if Marvel/Disney bought the rights back and decided to start over again...

...I'd most likely watch it, love it and own it.

Movie First Impressions: The Wolverine

Adorkette and I saw this yesterday afternoon, and she liked it.

I did too...about three/fourths of it.

Without going into spoilers, I felt that this film fell into the same trap that many non-Marvel Studios films featuring comic characters do.

Let me put it this way - remember when The Avengers was being made, and there was a lot of talk about what alien race would be used? Die-hard fans (like me) were convinced it would be the Skrulls. But, not having the list of characters Marvel Studios could use, we didn't know Skrulls were off the table. In the end they used the Chitauri, the alien race responsible for assembling the Avengers in the Ultimate universe.

Well, if any other production company was in charge, they would have given the Chitauri the ability to shape change...for no other reason than because they could. Thus making the Chitauri...essentially...the Skrulls, and pissing off fans everywhere.

Marvel Studios doesn't do that, which makes their movies better by staying true to their characters' roots...

...unless the character in question is so unbelievable that they don't even try.

Anyway - The Wolverine was very good up to the last ten minutes or so, and I recommend it to anyone looking to spend a few hours in air-conditioned splendor.

WTF? Fridays...The Justice League: Doom Edition...7/5/2013

It's been clear for over twenty years that DC has dominated the animation medium with their comic-based characters, going all the way back to Batman: The Animated Series.

(Which I loved by the way, and am trying to get Adorkification to watch...unless I can find the Blu-rays for under $20...)

So on a morning before work, I saw this available on Netflix and gave it a shot. (Spoiler Warning!)

It was good...

...really good.

There was Nathan Fillion as Hal, Michael Rosenbaum as Barry, Tim Daly as Kal-El, Carl Lumbly as J'onn, Kevin Conroy as Bruce and Susan Eisenberg as Diana.

Talk about a reunion...

I hadn't read the comics that this was based on, but I knew there were changes - like Ra's al Ghul being replaced here by Vandal Savage. Why this change? I have no idea.

I also knew that in the comics, Batman was voted out of the League, where here Bruce opts to leave before the voting starts...which made sense. There will always be a debate about whether or not Batman should be a Leaguer, and to me he's always seemed like a Reserve Member - someone who can be called in for a given situation but doesn't attend weekly meetings and shift rotations.

The biggest problem I had with this (probably because I've seen more live-action stuff than animation recently) was how things were resolved in the end.

In the beginning, it made sense that each hero faces their given villain when they get trapped based on Batman's plans, and they each find a way out...with Batman's help.

But in the final showdown, Batman faces a pumped-up Bane and gets tossed around, while Superman deals with Metallo and gets weakened by the android's Kyrptonite heart.

Couldn't they just switch?

Batman can easily deal with Metallo, and Bane is no match for Superman. Wonder Woman would wipe the floor with Mirror Master, and Flash can take Cheetah.

And why can't Green Lantern take Ma'alefa'ak while Martian Manhunter go after Star Sapphire?

It was hard for me to see the heroes "bear down" so to speak and defeat their opposite numbers.

As for Superman giving Batman the Kryptonite bullet, that happened in a different comic story altogether. Why would Superman give Batman the means to kill him after he betrayed the league? I don't have a problem with Kal-El trusting Bruce with the thing, but not after all that happened here.

But being animation geared toward younger viewers, I guess having things all tied up in a bow is the way to go.

As for live-action, wouldn't Doom be a great plot for the Justice League film?

WTF? Fridays...The Tourist Edition...6/28/2013

What took me so long to see this film?

I had it in my Netflix cue, and I put it there for two reasons...

...which is what this film is noted for - being the only time these two leading actors shared the screen - but now that I've finally seen it, there was oh so much more.

I mean yeah, the European countryside is beautiful, and Venice as well, but what got to me was the cast:

There's...

...J.A.R.V.I.S. from the Iron Man series...

...the bad guy from A Knight's Tale...

...one of the bad guys from Octopussy, and for good measure...

...one of the Bonds...(and am I the only one who thinks Dalton looks like Patrick Stewart's son? Just imagine Dalton bald...see?)

This film was great. Suspenseful, funny, and classy. Depp made the "Stranger in a Strange Land" thing work, and Jolie still looks like a woman who'd make me feel like a male praying mantis if I ever found myself in a room with her.

...

Have I mentioned that Brad Pitt and I share the same birthday - only I'm 8 years younger?

I won't give away the ending, but that last line of the film was perfect!

Guess I have to add this to my ever-growing Blu-ray list...

First Impressions: Man of Steel

Here's my Spoiler-free review...

Adorkette and I saw this yesterday in IMAX 3-D and while awesome, I can't say it was perfect.

This was a great Father's Day film, and I'm not alone in that way of thinking because the 3:45 showing was basically full...which is a good sign for the movie.

The special effects were great, but where it lost me a bit was with the 3-D aspect. This film was converted in post-production - like The Avengers - and along with that movie, there were some points where it was unnecessary...and some points where it could have been done more.

It's so hard for me not to go into detail, thus revealing spoilers, but I will say that this is a worthy successor to the classic Superman: The Movie.

Let's look at how it did financially:

To start with, it set a record for the highest (domestic) opening weekend for the month of June with $125.1 million (including Thursday's showings). This puts MoS right behind IM3 for top grossing films of 2013 so far.

When we add in the Foreign grosses, MoS made almost $196.7 worldwide.

Putting it in perspective, 2006's Superman Returns made just shy of $200.1 million in the States...in it's entire run.

MoS had a budget of $225 million, so it has a ways to go to break even...but we're only talking about $29 million give or take, which I can easily see it doing over the course of this week.

Hopefully, this will mark the beginning of a DC Movie Universe...which we sorely need.

First Impressions - Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 2

Going with the "utter frustration due to lack of understanding/satisfaction" theme, I present the final conclusion to the ongoing saga that is Harry Potter...

I got the premise...

Good...

Bad...

and

both...

Allies...

But what killed it for me was Voldemort's death.

Two words: Anti. Climatic.

The main characters have been hiding and fighting and dying for seven books and eight movies.

I wanted to see Voldemort's body ripped into little pieces while his head shot off into the distance screaming in intense agony and defeat.

Denied.

How about Bellatrix Lestrange's body being slowly dissolved into a puddle of mud?

No.

Sigh...why do we have to deal with many...many...sequels about a Big Bad Coming only to be given a cheap ending?

The Death Star exploding...

Hans Gruber falling to his death...

Jabba's tongue hanging out...

Johnny Lawrence losing to the Crane Technique...

Biff getting knocked out by George McFly...

Kal-El crushing Zod's hand...

Bill falling down after the Five point Palm Exploding Heart...

These are what I call satisfying defeats of the bad guys...

Try it sometime Rowling, Martin and anyone else willing to follow in their footsteps.

It doesn't have to be about the villain dying in the first film or the hero dying in the first act, just that when the time comes for audiences to cheer...let...them...cheer!

First Impressions...Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Pt 1

I have to say that I liked this series of novels as much as The Lord of the Rings.

What I mean by that is: I loved the first book, but could never get myself through the others...to the point where I just read the last chapter/few pages of the final book to see how it all ended.

Yeah, I'm that guy...

Mrs. Adorkification, on the other hand, reads voraciously, and never skips a page.

I'm not against the whole "Harry Potter" thing, it's just not my thing.

So I totally missed this film when it came to theaters, and my wife (who's read all the books) wanted to see the film version, so she put the thing in our Netflix cue and sat me down to watch it.

I knew going in that Part One was - in essence - the build up. The Empire to Part 2's Jedi if you will...

...but it was at least 30 minutes too long, and left me frustrated as all get out.

See, in Iron Man 3, Tony gets knocked down...repeatedly...and after the fall he works his way back up. He fights some bad guys, gets help from friends (new and old) and comes out better than he was at the beginning of the film.

It's a classic theme, but watching RDJ as Tony picking himself up carried the film.

In HP7 P1, Harry gets knocked down. Hermione gets knocked down. Ron gets knocked down. Everyone Harry knows from Hogwarts gets knocked down.

And we wait...and wait...and wait as the trio hide, sneak, regroup, recoup, learn some stuff, get betrayed, get captured, get rescued, run away, suffer loss, suffer more loss and bury their dead.

W...T...F...?

Even at their darkest moments, Empire had Artoo and Threepio, IM3 had Tony, Two Towers had the Battle at Helm's Deep.

They all had something to laugh at, laugh with, or cheer about despite being "the downer".

HP7 P1 had none of that. There was no sense of hope. No feeling of "yeah, things suck right now, but at least we've got or done this."

Why oh why couldn't just one of the baddies have been killed in this movie?

Again, I haven't read the books so I have no idea how far the film deviates, but I will say that I have even less desire to read the thing after seeing this movie.

As for Mrs. Adorkification, she loved it...crazy Harry Potter fans...

Speaking of which...

...let me submit my First Impression about the trailer:

The premise seems to be about a new "recruit" learning about S.H.I.E.L.D. as she joins the team,

which - by the way - is a "bottled up" representation of the entire organization. This reminds me of another version of S.H.I.E.L.D. from my youth...

...which is fine. But now we must talk about the elephant in the room:

How the heck does he live?

My answer? Remember in The Avengers when we see Coulson heading to a door that requires a retina scan? We thought he was accessing the weapons room where he got the gun based on the Destroyer technology. In actuality, he was accessing the LMD room...which all Level 7 agents have access to, and Fury kept secret from not just the Avengers but all non-Level 7 personnel.

So the Coulson Loki killed in the movie was really the LMD. 

The only other possibility I can think of is that Coulson accessed the LMD room and activated his LMD to take his place upon his death. Fury would still have known this, and kept secret from all non-Level 7 personnel. 

Which means that Loki did in fact kill Coulson, and the LMD is running the show...literally.

Then there's the other rumor started by the trailer...

...where Luke Cage is the first Marvel hero to appear on the show.

See, here's my fear: not only will the agents have...well, not generic names, but "non-canonical" names like Clay Quartermain and Alexander Pierce...but that the "character of the week" will also be a knock-off version of true Marvel characters.

And as much as I don't want that to happen, that's the feeling I get when I see this guy.

Everyone's saying that the man saving that woman from the burning building is Luke Cage, but Luke Cage got his powers while in prison, and I think this actor is simply too young to play that character.

Now, it's possible that he's just a young Luke Cage, but for someone that young to have powers like that, he'd have to be a mutant...

...and I don't think ABC/Disney/Marvel Studios can use that word.

So we'll see what's released throughout the Summer (and yes, I truly believe we've only seen the first of many trailers to come) to either prove or disprove my theories.

I did warn you about this show though...did I not?

Joss may be Boss, but In Marvel Studios I Trust

First Impressions...Iron Man 3...Spoiler Free

This is my Official Spoiler Free review...

My insight on the film based on the trailers were roughly 93.5% TOTALLY WRONG!!!

I will say that this is a much (dare I say it...) darker film. It is more violent and more serious than I thought it would be, and more violent and serious than the first two films.

Parents should understand this. I strongly recommend that they see it first, and then decide if it's suitable for their kids.

Having said that, it is less bloody than say Punisher, and there is humor throughout.

I could not tell what part was filmed in China.

But there are some significant changes in terms of character development and character introduction, some of which was cool, some I found confusing, some I downright dislike...

...but I'll get into that in my Offiicial Spoiler Filled review - which I'll wait until next week to do.

I'm not sure where Phase II is headed, but...as always...

In Marvel Studios I Trust

First Impressions...Monsters University Trailer

Here's the latest trailer. I knew this was coming, and was looking forward to it, but...

...it's set in the past.

WTF?

I understand that they wanted to explore how Mike and Sully met.

Okay. I get that.

I also LOVE the idea of setting this film on a college campus.

Brilliant.

But by the end of Monsters Inc., we learned...
...laughter is more powerful than scream...
...Waternoose and Randall were arrested...
...Roz' affiliation with the CDA was revealed...
...Sully was put in charge...
...and most importantly, Sully got back to see Boo again.

I thought Monsters U was going to be a new thing, set up by Mike, Sully and a now grown-up Boo, to get the next generation of monsters to learn how to make kids laugh. Sort of a blend of Animal House and Second City stand-up, where we'd learn about Mike and Sully's history through flashbacks.

Instead, it looks like a blend of Animal House and...dare I say it...Phantom Menace.

Adorkette and I will see it, she was just the right age when Monsters Inc. came out, but I'll do so with a little bit of a heavy heart. Sort of a "what the heck were they thinking?" kind of thing.

First Impressions: The Hunger Games

I'll admit that I was the last person in my house to see this film.

My wife and daughter saw it in the theater, and now that Netflix has it streamable, I decided to see what the hype was about.

I liked the film. I got the social commentary, like the class struggle and the references to Nazi Germany.

I knew Woody Harrelson was in this film, along with Mystique. But no one...I mean NO ONE...told me that Dr. Erskine and Arnim Zola were in it, and at one point sitting right next to each other. Mind Blown.

But what I didn't get was the hulabaloo. All I saw was Red Dawn, Twilight, and The Running Game.

I understand that every generation gets (and in many cases deserves) a re-telling of the same themes, where "everything old is new again".

Coming from a youth spent on comics, where everything new was old before, I'm okay with it.

What's new about it (to me anyways) is that Girls Need Heroes.

Which they do.

So if girls like Adorkette (who never got past the first Twilight novel) get hooked on Katniss and read the Games books (which Adorkette not only read, but owns -sitting on a shelf right next to Harry Potter) all the better.

As for me, I'll leave movies and books like this to the younguns, and stick to my numerous comics and comic-based films.

'Nuff Said.

On a side note, I'm taking Adorkette to CT to visit my sister and her family for a few days. If all goes well, I'll be posting again on Sunday so you'll be spared my WTF? Friday this week.

Have a good weekend!

First Impressions: G. I. Joe: Retaliation

I saw this a few days ago in 3-D. While 3-D wasn't my first choice (I just missed the 2-D version), I paid the extra $2.50 for a matinee.

First – there was the IM3 trailer…in 3-D…THAT was cool.

As for the film itself, I liked it. There wasn't too much Magic Mike in there, and the overall plot didn't change from what I read last year when this movie was supposed to come out.

There’s three stories, presented here as spoiler free as possible:

1) The Joes capture a nuclear warhead, get demolished, and regroup.

2) Snake-Eyes and Jinx (also a cool character, but one I know less about) go after Storm-Shadow.

3) Zartan impersonates the President and with Cobra Commander and Firefly works on eliminating all nuclear weapons on Earth to put something even more dangerous in play.

Far and away, the stealer of this film was Byung-hun Lee, who played Storm Shadow. He owned that role and took every scene he was in.

Snake-Eyes is always cool to see too, but the remaining Joes look pretty much like any other military team. There’s no cohesion. Yeah, they all work for the same country, but they don’t look like they’re on the same team.

I understand that the costumes from the comics and action figures can’t directly translate to film, but one of the challenges in making movies like this is that fans see something recognizable, like giving Flint his beret, or having Lady Jaye with short hair. She looked more like Cover Girl to me. At least they gave Roadblock his gun…

I will say that Cobra Commander looked like Cobra Commander, and Storm Shadow came fresh out of the box. As for Firefly, he’s another character I don’t know well, so I honestly can’t tell how true-to-the-source he was.

But my biggest complaint has to be the ending. I got the message they were sending, but would it have hurt anyone to add another five minutes to the film as the Joes start looking for more members? Like Shipwreck? Torpedo? Wild Bill? Dusty? Footloose? Gung-Ho? Beachhead? Cover Girl? Or maybe…I don’t know…Scarlett?

As for the actors (aside from Lee), they did a good job with what they had. Bruce Willis will always be cool. D. J. Cotrona and Adrianne Palicki did get to play a little with the relationship history between Flint and Lady Jaye. Dwayne Johnson kicked it as Roadblock, and while Ray Stevenson will always be Volstagg to me, he did a good job as well.

All in all, a good matinee and will most likely show up on my Blu-ray shelf at some point. A far cry better than the first film, and (I hope) the beginning of another film franchise.