Don't Spoil "Avengers: EndGame"

Avengers: EndGame (2019)

Rated PG-13

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Josh Brolin, Brie Larson,

Directed by Joe & Anthony Russo

The Story:

After the conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War, what remains of Earth's Mightiest Heroes attempt to go after Thanos, retrieve the Infinity Stones and snap everyone back to life.

Buckle up for the 22nd installment of the greatest ride in cinema history.

No other franchise, no other studio has been able to do what Marvel Studios has done, 22 movies, 11 years of sustained excellence that have proven to be successful with audiences AND movie critics.

It all culminates here.

Go see it in theaters now, and prepare to have your list of favorite Marvel films be re-ordered.

Again.

:)

R.I.P. Stan "The Man" Lee 1922-2018

I absolutely hate writing these, and for quite some time I have avoided these, and a lot of writing this year for various reasons.

But when I saw the news today that Stan Lee had passed away at the age of 95, well, it's time to dust off the keyboard and get back to my favorite job:

Writing.

I owe that passion for writing to Stanley Martin Lieber, better known to us all as Stan Lee.

I was first introduced to Stan Lee as the creator of Spider-Man with  Amazing Fantasy # 15.

While I wasn't lucky enough to be around when it premiered, through countless reprints, I learned of Spider-Man's origins from the nerdy Peter Parker to the hero with problems, the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

What made Peter Parker or the Fantastic Four so special?

Lee brought the humanity to his characters, the kind of which you never really saw in the Distinguished Competition.  Batman, Superman and the like seemed to perfect in what they did. There wasn't second guessing, joking because they were scared or any of those things. They were godlike, or at the very least, nearly perfect in the way their lives unfolded.

At Marvel, they were humans that were often thrust to do heroic things, even if it terrified them as they were doing it. It was refreshing, it was new... And now it's the model of how it's done.

Through the decades, fans have debated which was better, DC or Marvel. My answer has always been Marvel.

Stan imbued his characters with the best traits that we often aspire to be.

At the end of the day, it wasn't the costume, it was the person that wore the costume that truly mattered.

You take Peter Parker or Steve Rogers or Tony Stark or countless others out of their costume, and they are still as heroic and noble and yes, flawed, as when they are in it.

The man who brought "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" to life on the comic page for a teenaged hero-to-be spoke to us all.  We all have that power within us, we must use that power responsibly.

It is through our actions that we make the world a better place, and Stan gave us a great role model for kids of many generations with Peter Parker.

For those that didn't take the nerd/geek path and follow comic books when they were growing up, well....

Welcome to the 21st Century and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 20 films, and just about as many cameos later, the non-comic book reading world finally got to see what the rest of us already knew:

Marvel Comics are phenomenal!

I get goosebumps and misty eyes when the Marvel Studios banner unfurls... never did I expect to see these films in my lifetime, let alone that they would be so good.

That Stan got to be there when it all gelled into the perfect storm had to be icing on the cake for the man that had a celebrated career, one that will live on because of those very characters that he created/helped create nearly a half century ago.

Stan may have been embarrassed early in his career by what he was doing, and he was never able to be the great American novelist or anything, but I think he had one helluva career.

And if I'm asked who my favorite American author is, it's always Stan Lee, without hesitation.

Go read Amazing Fantasy # 15 again if you don't believe me.

Thank you for shaping my childhood, raising me into adulthood, and letting me share your creations with my children as you shaped yet another generation.

God Speed Stan Lee, you are now, and always will be, THE MAN!

Excelsior!!!

The New Dynamic Duo..."Ant-Man & The Wasp"

Ant-Man & The Wasp (2018)

Rated PG-13

Starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Pena, Laurence Fishburne, Walton Goggins,

Directed by Peyton Reed

The Story:

Scott Lang (Rudd) is almost complete with his 2 years of house arrest following the events of Captain America: Civil War. With just days to go until freedom, he begins having strange visions of Janet Van Dyne (Pfeiffer) in the Quantum Realm. Naturally, Hank Pym (Douglas) and Hope (Lilly) are trying to rescue her from the Quantum Realm, and they realize they need Scott's help to accomplish the mission. The only downside, they aren't the only ones who want to enter the Quantum Realm.

So I have to ask, did you like Ant-Man?

Because if you did, pretty much everything there was to like about that movie gets ample screen time in the sequel.

We've got another heist to accomplish, and the every man charm of Paul Rudd makes the trip worth taking.

Now if you didn't like Ant-Man, then there's really no point in bothering with the sequel.

Though I've yet to find anyone who seriously didn't enjoy that movie, at least just a little.

The sequel highlights what I think most fans of the MCU have come to realize with this franchse:

Ant-Man has, from top to bottom, the best supporting cast in all of these films.

The film itself takes place over roughly a 48-72 hour span, so there's a breakneck energy to it as Peyton Reed dials up the ability to shrink and grow to effective (and many times, hilarious!) results.

10 years.

20 films.

Everyone has their favorites, and I have a feeling that this one will land in the first half of many fans favorite listing.

Here's to the next 10 years... and the next Ant-Man sequel!

Final Grade: A

The Man Who Would Be King..."Black Panther"

Black Panther (2018)

Rated PG-13

Starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown, Angela Bassett, Andy Serkis, Forest Whitaker

Directed by Ryan Coogler,

The Story:

T'Challa (Boseman) is crowned the King of Wakanda following the passing of his father. However an outsider (Jordan) threatens the entire fate and kingdom of Wakanda in a bid to release vibranium weapons on a global scale.

Welcome to your spoiler-free review of Black Panther.

It's movie number 18 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe corner of your local movie-plex, and I think it's about time we come to a few facts:

1) These movies aren't going away anytime soon.
2) Fans should be glad of that.
3) Audiences apparently aren't suffering from superhero fatigue like critics seem to think every time a new superhero movie is released.

And I think it's time to start honestly talking about when will the Academy take MCU films seriously and consider them for ...

dare I say it...

Academy Awards.

Last year the big ground swell was Patty Jenkins deserved it because Wonder Woman was "amazing". (Meh...I wouldn't go that far, but still, if it furthers the superhero cause, I'm in) and because she's a woman.

Again, I hate the affirmative action take on it, I would hope it's based on merit, not gender or...

Color. 

Which brings us to Ryan Coogler, who has in the eyes of critics AND fans, yet to deliver a bad movie.

Here, he takes Wakanda and delivers the sum total history of an isolated African nation from the dawn of time to present day and given it the rich backstory it deserves.

He also populates it with some of the best second and third-tier characters in any Marvel Studios franchise.

He also delivers the Wakandan equivalent of a James Bond movie interlaced throughout the film as well.

Pick anyone from the cast, and odds are by the end of the movie, if not long before, you're slightly itching to see that character, or characters, receive their own MCU film from Marvel Studios in the near future.

So if you weren't part of the history-making audience that made Black Panther # 1 at the world-wide box office, smashing all sorts of February records along the way...

Don't delay, you'll want to see this one on the big screen.

Final Grade: A+

The DC Hero We Finally Deserve..."Wonder Woman"

Wonder Woman (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Gal Gadot, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Chris Pine, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, Eugene Brave Rock, Lucy Davis, Elena Anaya,

Directed by Patty Jenkins

The Story:

Bookended by seeing Diana/Wonder Woman (Gadot) in action during modern day, a briefcase delivered by Bruce Wayne allows Diana time to reflect on discovering mankind and embracing the heroic ideal she was born to live.

So, I finally got around to watching Wonder Woman.

I tried not to let the hype surrounding this movie cloud my judgement of it.

While I might be firmly in the camp of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I totally root for DC to get it right and give the audience something worth going to see.

So naturally, I approached this one with cautious optimism.

Is the hype real?

Or is it just clamoring for something, anything from DC to erase the unwatchable bore of Batman vs. Superman or the entertaining in parts but ultimately unsatisfying Suicide Squad?

I suppose it will ultimately depend on who you ask.

I was never blown away by the trailers for Wonder Woman.

It seemed fine enough, but it was missing something for me, and I couldn't put my finger on it.

So the movie has come out, it's made more money this summer than anything else, and I couldn't be happier for the cast, crew, fans and Warner Brothers for finally, finally making a DC movie worth watching.

Depending on your point of view, it's been a long time coming, whether it was Superman: The Movie, Batman (1989) or the Nolan Batman Trilogy.

I finally got around to seeing it...

And much like the trailer, I liked it, but didn't LOVE it.

Again, there's something missing for me, and I can't quite put my finger on it.

I suppose if I have to try and isolate it, perhaps it's the sense of fun, entertainment or enjoyment that I have while watching a Marvel film.

While Wonder Woman is a technically a well made picture, the sense of fun just wasn't quite there. It bubbled under the surface through a lot of the movie.

Now to be fair, there were many, many, many enjoyable scenes and amazing set pieces that oohed and aaahed me as the movie went along.

So again, it's a tough one to judge.

Is it on par with what Marvel is giving me?  No. Close, but no cigar.

If I was given 4 choices of going to see any superhero movie again in theaters, I'd be going back for Guardians or Homecoming before I went back to see Wonder Woman.

That's just me being honest.

Is it better than what DC has been giving me? Absolutely yes.

I love that Wonder Woman has been this successful for DC and for all the little girls around the world that now have a superhero role model on the big screen.

It gives me hope that Captain Marvel and maybe Black Widow will someday headline a film for Marvel or maybe DC will offer up a Catwoman movie that doesn't suck.

: )

Final Grade: B... B+ if I'm really nice. ;)