#also sorry to be mcu critical on main. it will happen again

[djo]

Okay but do we actually think foggy is dead?

🤷🏼‍♀️

i’m not getting my hopes up since we actually see him take his final breath. if we hadn’t i would be more inclined to believe otherwise because of the classic no body = no death trope. however, we’re also talking about the mcu and the whole thing is equivalent to a circus (that is to say, it’s deeply unserious) so if it turns out he’s alive somehow then sure, whatever. i know it was just announced that elden and deborah are coming back for season two, so we’ll just have to wait and see!

i will also say that i have complicated feelings on the matter in general. as much as i love foggy, i think character death fakeouts are lazy and cheap unless they’re done really well. so even if he is alive, i’m not sure how much i’d actually vibe with it 😵‍💫 that being said, i think if anyone in the mcu could pull it off decently well it would be daredevil but idk! i’m still apprehensive about the whole thing

[wenellyb]

I want to write a long rant and I don’t have the strength hahaha. And also believe it or not but I can’t help but bring Grey’s Anatomy into this. Again😂.

There are two Grey’s anatomy characters: Nico and Levi, who are in an interracial relationship. One day, Nico who’s of Korean origin, made a mistake in the OR and it led to the death of his patient. 

Levi went to see Nico and Nico lashed out at him because he was feeling guilty over his patient’s death. 

After that, the fandom was criticizing Nico and writing posts about how he was awful to lash out at Levi. And even fans of Nico were complaining about how the Grey’s writers were villainizing an Asian character...

But that’s just not what happened??? Nico was written like any other Grey’s character, a character who is flawed, who makes mistakes and sometimes lashes out when he’s frustrated, but it doesn’t translate to making him a villain. What Nico did by lashing out at Levi was nowhere near what some of the other White characters have done on the show, but somehow for the White characters it’s ok, or forgiveable, or it’s part of their character or “it’s good to see a character to have flaws”, but non-White character can’t have the luxury of being flawed without being labelled as evil.

In grey’s anatomy, one of the main characters yelled at his wife that she had killed their baby while at a party, because his wife had gotten an abortion (that he knew about). One of the most beloved characters beat up another surgeon to the point we couldn’t recognize his face, actually this happened twice. One of the surgeons implied his ex-girlfriend was a wh*re because she slept with another man after he broke up with her. The main character yelled at her sister in law, who had lost her brother too, that she was going to kill her for making his brother death about her too when it was only about her (because she was his wife) and her kids. 

Let’s not even talk about all the characters who have cheating on each other.

I’m sorry to say this but most Grey’s anatomy characters are f*cked up and Nico doesn’t even come close to their level of awfulness, but somehow all the characters I mentionned are still really popular in the Grey’s fandom.

But Grey’s fans wanted to make me believe Grey’s writers “villainized” Nico because he lashed out at his boyfriend when he was in pain?? No they didn’t villainize him. The fandom did. Because they can’t stand a character with flaws, when said character is not White.

Fandoms, not only the MCU, have a problem with Non-White characters who are anything but 100% PERFECT. And even when they are perfect, if they don’t coddle the White characters and treat them like they’re the most precious thing on heart, the fandom will paint them as villains anyway (Like people criticizing Sam because he doesn’t cuddle Bucky or Nico because he didn’t cuddle Levi).

This is not an assumption or a guess, it’s an assertion: if Phastos’ character had been White, there wouldn’t be all this drama surrouning that original tweet saying Phastos was somehow responsible for the atomic bomb. The fandom wouldn’t have been so quick to form an opinion... they would have looked for the context or waited until the movie had come out to voice an opinion.

But since Phastos is Black, people see ONE post, or ONE tweet and then are happy to post stuff like “Ugh Phastos is a war criminal blablabla”, without looking further into it.

This fandom is able to shower actual war criminal Tony Stark with love, to the point where critizing him is seen as an overreaction, but the moment a Black or non-White character is anything but perfect... he’s the worst character ever or “not good representation”. 

Kind reminder that the only thing we know for now is that Phastos was sad about the atomic bomb being used... but people are already translating this into “he’s evil”... At least wait until you have seen more reviews no??? Not just one tweet...?

[gavin-plz-call-me]

Tears of Themis Boys and Their Classic Tumblr Fandom

Inspired by this bad boy, go give it some love it made me cry laughing.

Artem: Twilight

I get very much hopeless romantic vibes from Artem, and I feel like that was amplified in his teen years.

He wanted to sweep someone off their feet, he wanted to be swept off his feet, he wanted...vampires?

Something about Bella really wanting to fuck Edward, but Edward not letting her idk I've never read twilight this is just what I think happened? really spoke to Artem, probably because he's a big old virgin that was outta pocket I'm sorry Artem

What I mean to say is he can relate to Bella's plight of wanting someone and being able to have them, so he really liked the books.

Read all the books as soon as they came out, same with the movies.

Has a twilight shirt that he'll never be caught dead wearing, but can't bring himself to throw out.

Is secretly so happy that it's more popular again, definitely takes part in criticizing the shit out of those books now.

Also, one of the summer-breeze questions says that Artem is a part-time movie critic on the weekends. Now I'm not sure how accurate that is cuz those questions are notoriously iffy, but, like, he's definitely done a professional critique of the movies.

Was low-key team Jacob.

Luke: Superwholock

Do I even need to explain this one?

BBCs Sherlock was the shit back in the day, and one of the golden three is a gateway drug into the other two.

Watched that one video where Sherlock meets the 11th doctor at least once a week and, I mean, that video was the shit back in the day so I get it

Had an "I am Sher-locked shirt" that he wore on the daily. Along with a TARDIS hoodie. I never watched supernatural, so insert popular item of merch here

Was always trying to perfect his British accent because of DW and Sherlock

Still indulges in a rewatch of favorite episodes of Supernatural and Doctor Who now and then, but rewatches Sherlock more often than the others.

That part of Supernatural where one of them confesses their love to the other and then immediately goes to super-hell cracks him up to this day.

Realizes that BBC's Sherlock isn't the best portrayal of Sherlock Holmes ever written, but it still holds a special place in his heart.

Had a brief Sherlock Gnomes phase, but that's neither here nor there.

Vyn: Harry Potter

What's more interesting to a studious young boy than a book where the main setting is a magical school?

Nothing is more interesting, that's the answer.

Daydreamed about going to Hogwarts and was always unreasonably mad when Harry or Ron complained about their studies. Like, dudes, you're studying about how to turn a teacup into a rabbit, that's fucking cool

Hermionie was his favorite character, and Vyn is a certified Snape hater.

Also a certified movie hater, I mean, why'd they do Ginny like that? And Ron? And where the hell is Peeves?

Sorting people and other fictional characters into Hogwarts houses was basically his introduction to psychology.

Had a scarf for his house gotta say Slytherin btw, our man is ambitious and a bit shady back in the day and a few other pieces of merch, but has since thrown them out/donated them/repurposed them because he does not support JK Rowling.

Did a full analysis of the books when he grew up to see how her horrible ideologies influenced them and hasn't touched them or the fandom since.

It doesn't feel right to him to even engage in the fandom anymore, so he's distanced himself from it.

Marius: MCU/Marvel Cinematic Universe

As the youngest of the group, I feel like his fandom would have to be a little later than the rest, and since Iron Man came out in 2008 he'd probably love that shit as he grew up.

Nothing screams Marius more than watching shit blow up in superhero movies.

Probably has a love-hate relationship with Tony Stark because he sees himself in Tony. He really hopes he never becomes as arrogant and as much as an asshole as Stark.

Had an Avenger Tower fan-comic going back in the day.

He cried all the way through endgame and is not ashamed to admit it.

That being said, I feel like Marius was more interested in the chaotic side of tumblr than any specific fandom.

Marius was part of every chaotic moment in tumblr history

Yeah, he was like 5 in 2015, but he personally wrote the John Green cock monologue.

[darkshadow90]

A very long Rant about Loki’s nerfed sorcery in the MCU and his show

Hey guys I wanted to make a post about a big issue I had with the Loki show. I still really enjoyed it, but I also wanted to share a major criticism I’ve had with MCU Loki for a long time. All my feelings about this over the years came to roost after the season finale. I know things are really tense in the fandom right now, and I don’t hate the show. I just want to share my criticism. I want to talk about how I’ve had this issue for awhile before I talk about it in the actual show because I’m hoping I’m not the only one who’s kind of pissed, considering I was hoping to finally see it happen in his show, and that would be the fact that Loki’s sorcery is STILL so fucking nerfed. First though, I’m gonna talk about Loki’s nerfed sorcery in the MCU, and oh boy there’s a lot. Get ready for an overly long rant. I’ve really needed to get this off my chest.

I’ve been on the Loki train since the very beginning. I’ve loved him since the first Thor movie. I may have mentioned this before, but a big thing that always irked me about MCU Loki was how nerfed he was in terms of his sorcery. We’re always told how he’s a very powerful sorcerer and he barely uses his magic. He does one awesome thing in each Thor movie. In the first movie, in the end credits scene it’s implied Loki was influencing Selvig while he was in another  dimension. Is it ever mentioned or seen again? No. There’s a scene in Thor: The Dark World where right after he finds out about Frigga’s death, he destroys his cell using telekinesis. Does he ever use it to fight? No, and if he does it’s just to throw his knives at people LOL. Or in Thor: Ragnarok when he looked into Valkyrie’s mind and saw her memories. Odin also mentions that Loki put him under a spell, and Frigga would have been proud because it took Odin a long time to break the spell. It really would have been nice to SEE that happen, but no, we just get to be told about it. Every time I saw Loki use an awesome ability, I would think “Oh wow, that’s so cool! I can’t wait to see more. I can’t wait to see what else Loki can do!” And then the MCU is like, “Yeah Loki can do all these cool things. But were not gonna expand on his abilities, and this is the only time you’ll ever see him use them. You’ll never see them again so just forget you saw anything LOL” God it’s such an aggravating tease. 

This isn’t a new issue I’ve had with Loki being nerfed in the MCU. It’s always bothered me. Yes, I know certain characters being nerfed isn’t new, that Loki isn’t the only one. But to me he’s one of the most nerfed characters in terms of being able to use his magic. I would always mention to people that I didn’t like how nerfed he was. What was the point of telling us he’s one of if not the most powerful sorcerer in Asgard if he BARELY uses it? And they would say, “Well, they can’t make him as powerful as he is in the comics because then he’ll overshadow the heroes.” Okay fine, I can cut them some slack there as we did need to see the Avengers come together. Or they’d say “Not everyone reads the comics, so MCU Loki isn’t gonna be exactly like comic book Loki.” Okay, but people shouldn’t have to read the comics to see how powerful of a sorcerer Loki is. Is there some kind of unspoken rule that says if there are characters who use magic or sorcery in the MCU, only the heroes are allowed to be extremely powerful? Because Wanda and Doctor Strange still get to use their abilities, and in Wandavision, Wanda becomes even more powerful, and it’s amazing. 

Why can’t Loki ever use his powers? Because he’s a “villain?” What would be so bad about allowing Loki be the sorcerer he’s supposed to be? You mean Loki would actually be able to be a powerful villain? Sorry, but I don’t see how that’s a bad thing. I don’t think giving people more of a reason to love Loki is a bad thing. If anything, if they do read the comics, or are at least somewhat familiar with what Loki can do, they might be a little upset about how much the MCU has nerfed him like I was, and still am. Maybe if Loki was actually allowed to use his magic, he wouldn’t get his ass kicked all the time, and he’d actually be a threat to his opponents.

 I don’t think Loki really needed to use the Mind Stone to control people in the Avengers, he probably could've done it using his magic. I actually think it would’ve been cool if Loki used his sorcery to amplify the negative emotions Bruce was feeling to manipulate him. Bruce knows something is wrong, and maybe Thor seeing Bruce struggling, trying to fight whatever is harming him is able to figure out Loki is exploiting Bruce’s negative emotions to manipulate him. Thor knows how powerful Loki is and he’s trying to help Bruce fight off Loki’s influence, but he’s too powerful. Bruce can’t fight the anger Loki is making him feel so he transforms into the Hulk and Loki is able to bend the Hulk to his will. I think that would’ve been a lot cooler than the Mind Stone being the thing that was responsible for amplifying everyone’s negative feelings, but that’s just me. How cool would it be not just to have a master manipulator but an extremely powerful sorcerer to deal with? I thought that was initially what was happening.  I thought at first Loki was using his magic through the scepter, that he was actually using his magic and his skills as a master manipulator. But no, apparently he was just using the Mind Stone. 

Also I know that there was only so much time for that small scene between Loki and Doctor Strange in Ragnarok, and it was really cool to see the two of them on screen, but Loki should’ve been more powerful than Doctor Strange. Don’t get me wrong, I love Doctor Strange. He’s very powerful and could put up a good fight against Loki if the two of them ever had to fight each other. But Loki should be more powerful. He’s a god. He’s lived for thousands of years and studied magic for a very long time. He should have centuries of not a thousand years more knowledge and skills with sorcery. I think he might find Strange’s sorcery impressive for a mortal, but in terms of his skills and abilities, Loki should be much stronger. I think the dialogue should’ve been more like, “Oh, so you went up against Dormammu? That’s cute. I’ve been able to do all the things you can do for centuries, but if it’s any consolation, your sorcery is impressive for a mortal.” But no, instead Loki is once again played for laughs and just takes out those useless daggers again before being yeeted though a portal.

 Also yeah I’m gonna say it. The fight with Valkyrie is a fight Loki should have won. If he used his magic he would’ve won. He wouldn’t even need to use violence. He could’ve just restrained her and put her to sleep and she could wake up from a nice nap or something. I’m so sick of Loki ALWAYS getting his ass kicked by everyone and being treated like a joke. He’s so fucking weak when he doesn’t need to be. He capable of so much more. We know he is because they always trolled us in each Thor movie when Loki would do one awesome thing one time in the movies and then never again, always hinting that he’s much stronger but they’re afraid to show more of it because god forbid he become even more popular. 

And the final part of the nerfing of Loki’s sorcery before I finally get to his show, and that would be his death in Infinity War. Now listen, my issues isn’t that Loki died. I understand the point of his death. They had to sell Thanos as the big bad. Infinity War was Thanos’ movie. Loki died trying to save his brother. Loki probably knew there was a very good chance he would die. My problem is with how it was handled. Loki is supposed to have tons of magical abilities, right? So why didn’t he at least try to use his magic? Why didn’t he cast an illusion, or shapeshift? Why didn’t he use a teleportation ability or something? Was I expecting Loki to beat Thanos? No, but goddam it, anything would’ve been better than those fucking useless butter knives. God, they couldn’t let him use his magic one last time before he died could they? Also I hate that Loki and Thor never got to have that brotherly hug and Loki never had the chance to reconcile with the Avengers. Wouldn’t it have been cool if Loki got the chance to fight along side the Avengers and died, so they could see he really did change for the better? Apparently not, I guess.

And now, we finally come to Loki’s show, which actually pisses me of more than the movies. You know, I would be more forgiving about all the bullshit excuses people have said or tried to give for Loki being so nerfed. I let it slide because the movies weren’t completely about him, and I could see where Loki’s popularity overshadowing Thor, the Avengers, or the heroes in general might be an issue in terms of sales and getting people to care about the other movies. Hell, Loki was the reason I watched the Thor movies in the first place. That was when he wasn’t the main focus. When I heard he had a show coming I had hope that I would finally get to see Loki be the sorcerer he was supposed to be. There’s no other characters to worry about Loki overshadowing, so now there’s really nothing standing in their way of showing how powerful he is right? After 10 years, I’d finally get to see all the focus on a character I love, he’d no longer be nerfed, right? Wrong. I was so excited, practically giddy when Loki fired green magic beams in a fight and used Telekinesis to stop a building from falling on him and Sylvie. I was so happy because it was a taste of what I had been wanting to see from Loki for so long. I was excited to see more.

Unfortunately, that was really all we got from Loki. Well, except for when he used teleportation to try and stop Sylvie from killing He Who Remains. Guys, I’ve loved Loki since the first Thor movie. It always bothered me that he was so nerfed in the movies, but I was able to look past it because he very well may have overshadowed the other characters if he was allowed to have all his powers. I can understand that. But the fact that he’s so nerfed, maybe even more nerfed in his own show than he was in the movies really pisses me off. I think it’s cool to see all the different Loki variants using magic, but there’s absolutely no reason for Tom Hiddleston’s Loki not having the same powers and abilities as the other Loki variants. What really burned my ass was in Episode 5 when Loki said he couldn’t enchant or didn’t know how to enchant. Fucking really? He did it to Valkyrie in Ragnarok. And before you come at me “Loki in Ragnarok was older than 2012 Loki so Loki probably didn’t know how to enchant before Ragnarok.” Okay fair enough. The thing is though Loki is thousands of years old. He should have centuries to at least a few thousand years worth of knowledge about sorcery. And we’re supposed to think after all that time studying it he wouldn’t know how to enchant someone? Bullshit. Loki should’ve had all of these abilities  and more all along in the MCU and especially in his own show. There’s no excuse for why he’s not just as powerful as the other Loki variants.

Look, I really hate that I had to make such a long post about this. I hate being negative. I really appreciate that we got a Loki show. I’m really happy to see Tom Hiddleston so passionate about it. There’s a lot I appreciate about this show. But the fact that Tom’s Loki was always so nerfed and not really allowed to be the powerful sorcerer he was supposed to be always bothered me. I’m not even saying I’m upset that MCU Loki isn’t exactly like Loki in the comics. I’m saying that  I always wanted to see Tom’s Loki kick ass as a sorcerer for the past 10 years. I was upset that I never got to see him do it in the movies. And when his show was announced I was excited to see him finally use his magic particularly in fights, and to see it even more underutilized was really disappointing. I was patient for 10 years and all I got to see was Loki firing green energy balls, and use telekinesis, and teleportation ONE time, and all the other Loki variants are so much more powerful than him. Not to mention he gets knocked around like a ragdoll all the time. Is it too much to ask to see Tom’s Loki actually be allowed to be a powerful sorcerer and be able to hold his own in fights? Can I see him use cool abilities MORE than once? Can I see more than just illusions and daggers? Can Tom’s Loki be allowed to be a threat instead of being used for laughs? If  the writers for the MCU are gonna mention that Loki is a very power sorcerer, then they should stop nerfing him, and let him be a sorcerer.

I know the first season was basically used to set up the multiverse and the next phase of the MCU which is cool, but I really hope they focus more on Loki and his abilities in season 2. I’m really trying to stay hopeful when people say Loki will use more magic in season 2, but I don’t want to get clowned again. But I’m also starting to think when they say Loki will use more magic in season 2, it won’t be Tom’s Loki. If Tom’s Loki isn’t allowed to be the awesome sorcerer he deserves to be in his own show, then at least we still have fanfiction and the comics. By the way, I’m not throwing shade at fanfiction writers a lot of them write great stories and do a far better job showcasing Loki’s sorcery than the MCU. I have a lot of respect for you guys :) Sorry this was so long, but after the finale I had a lot of frustration to get off my chest.

[trainsinanime]

Counterhottake: Saying „actually Wanda is the villain in Wandavision“ is not the interesting deep intellectual analysis some of you think it is. (This will contain spoilers)

The show actually outright admits that Wanda’s actions are bad. People tell it to each other; people tell it to Wanda, people tell it to Vision, Vision tells it to Wanda, even Wanda herself realises it around the midpoint of the story, but can’t bring herself to end it. But the show is not about that; it is trying to be more nuanced, to go past the old „is this good or bad?“ to „why is she doing that? What drove her to this really bad place, and how can she leave it again?“

That is more nuance than usual for Marvel fare, though in the grand scheme of things, not exactly that much nuance. It’s like mid-range Star Trek TNG nuance. But still, to make sure no pop culture critic is left behind, the show adds not one, not two, but three whole characters whose main job is to say, „actually, it’s nuanced“, with Monica, Darcy and Jimmy.

The show is about grief, about grief leading you to unhealthy places, and about grief causing you to hurt others. And it keeps explicitly saying so.

To be fair, some of the critics seem to have realised this, after this has been hammered in for nine episodes. Good job! But then they come up with clever counter-arguments, like: „Wanda should have apologised to the people of Westview“

Yeah, wouldn’t have hurt. Narratively speaking, though, does it matter? Imagine the scene right after she dissolves the Hex, when all the people are looking at her with fear and anger. Now imagine she’d have mumbled „I’m sorry“ a few times. It would have made no difference. Wanda does feel regret, and she expresses it through her actions, by dismantling her illusion and, you know, her entire family. You know, the characters who actually matter.

Alternatively, we get „Wanda should have been punished“. After all, her lashing out is so huge, you’d almost think it was a comic book level exaggeration, right? And we totally need to take this seriously and literally, don’t we?

This is just another attempt to go „must… force… Wanda… in… clear… superhero… or… supervillain… bin“. That’s not insightful, that’s reductive. Punishing Wanda wouldn’t fix anything, it would undermine the whole show.

See, the show has a clear central theme, and because this is the MCU, it explicitly spells it out:

„What is Meme, if not GIF persevering?“

Or something like that anyway. It’s about how grief can make you do horrible things, and stopping to do that. Wanda needs to learn that retreating into her fantasy world to deal with her grief causes actual harm. And she does. In the course of that, she arguably causes herself more grief, when she dissolves her family, but this time she is kind of okay with it.

Putting her in prison would tell her that people who grieve wrong deserve to be punished. Personally, I prefer the message the show gives instead, where it tells us that people who grieve deserve compassion instead.

There’s also some more in-universe arguments against punishment: For one, Wanda doesn’t need time to realise what she’s done is wrong, she already knows that; and even if she were in prison, we all know she could break out whenever she wanted, which would coincidentally happen to be right at the start of the next TV show or movie that needed her.

Maybe it would have satisfied some incredibly literal watchers if in the post-credit scene, Jimmy had issued Wanda a $500 fine and impounded her Scarlet Sedan, but would that have really been a better show?

Well, yes, obviously it would have been.

To clarify, I’m not saying that the people who say „actually Wanda is a villain“ are wrong, I’m saying that they’re boring and that they miss all of what made the show actually interesting, once all the gimmicks are stripped away.

Now, if you want to be more interesting, there are definitely debates to be had about how the show handles its themes. For example, there is definitely an issue where Wanda never actually learns how to deal with her grief in good ways; she just learns that what she’s doing hurts people, and so she… basically stops.

And while I keep saying that Wandavision is more complex than „good vs. bad“, it is still not actually that complex a story at heart. In fact, it seems like a very literal example of what Craig Mazin (writer of Chernobyl) outlines in his „How to Write a Movie“ podcast episode (there’s only a transcript available). Actually, if you compare Wandavision with the examples in that post, you can make a good argument that Wandavision has about the same complexity, similar theme and almost the same structure as Finding Nemo.

And that is fine. Or maybe it isn’t, that’s for you to decide. But if you just ignore that, then your hot takes will lukewarm at best.

[kitcat992]

Some honest responses from other MCU fans regarding Endgame

Because I know I’ve been one hell of a negative Nancy the past 24 hours, but wanted to show that my raw distaste for this film doesn’t go unshared.

particledamage: This entire thing sucks. I’m bitter.

SelenitaLunar: Worst ending ever. God can't believe this is the real deal. As a Tony fan they give us everything: Pepperony married and iron baby and Rescue only to kill him in the end and stab our hearts and tarnish all our memories of the MCU and this 11 years? Sure they are gonna subvert expectations, hope they enjoy it fully. As I'm not enjoying Marvel ever again. Shame on them. The Russos can go to hell, honestly.

greengirlrunning: They did Thor and Loki so dirty. The Loki thing is so obviously forced so that it ties in to his TV series, but it really undermines his entire arc in the MCU films. I'm pissed. Don't even get me started on Thor. It's perfectly believable that he would be depressed and feel hopeless, but to turn him into a joke and make him basically useless while Tony and Cap get epic (if problematic) endings? Bullshit.

_Mavericks: I’m sorry to say this, but the plot is pure shit. It’s not the case of getting disappointed because we wanted more. It is simply bad as it is. Sad ending.

sawinadream: Honestly Steve not preventing shit/suddenly acting selfishly AFTER being deemed worthy by Mjolnir/ignoring Bucky in Hydra captivity and SHIELD being infiltrated/the timeline somehow not registering these particular alterations IF he did change anything for the better.... OOC and lazy writing at its finest. Also wtf @ Sharon Carter now? Ew

priscillia28: It sounds like a bad fan theory

delta_charlie_2511: So the leaks we were sure were wrong turned out to be right. What they did to Cap is disappointing. It would have made more sense have him sacrifice himself and then wake up in a dream like sequence with Peggy where she is waiting for him to take her to the dance

valhallaorange: I'm upset with many of the main avengers stories, but I'm going to focus on Cap for this one.

It seems completely out of character for him to go back and marry Peggy, knowing in the future she HAD a husband and children, and a well-iived life of accomplishment. To me, it was a focal point of Cap's character to be unselfish and accepting of his new place in time. That included his love for Peggy and respecting that she lived her life fully.

It seems so wrong that he would go back in time to be with her and erase her family (children, possible grandchildren) in the process.

I'm so disappointed. I feel they've done his character so wrong and the only good movie of him was CA:WS. :(

Now that paired with the characterizations and situations of Tony, Thor, and Nat especially make me sad and unhappy.

ALSO, did the Russos just decide to say "Eh, screw it." With Sharon Carter? (Not a fan of her in the movies, but she also deserved way batter.)

valhallaorange: Agreed. A dance and then back to the future would've been acceptable and given more emotion to the pain and letting go Steve is known to experience. Also, Peggy deserves her own storyline and fully lived life without it being erased and her being reduced to only Cap's love interest.

captainamericasgf: This is literally my worst nightmare holy shit

RyuKenBlanka: Iron Man dying and Cap going back to the 1940's to be with Peggy is just lazy writing and closure for the characters and is the reality of Hollywood and not being able to have actors play roles forever. Both in reality should retire and take more advisory roles.

Suedeash: Also Cap's whole nightmare thing in Age of Ultron was dealing with the fact that he can't go back to Peggy, and yet here he just goes back? And knowing all of the horrible shit that happens in the future like 9/11, the Hydra infestation of SHIELD and all that he just sits back and does nothing? This sounds like a character assassination tbh, it would make far more sense for Tony to live with his family and Cap to have the heroic death as a way to bring his whole character arc to a fitting end.

Jedi_Mom: I think people began to think that it was impossible for marvel and Russos to let us down... we learned that they were capable of mistakes... the hard way.

DXGabriel: So.... when thor was becoming cool they just fuck his character? reaaly?

dracogladio1741: This is so convoluted. The ending is weird to say the least. Jeez.

inkwell84: Critics liked it. Audiences said what the eff.

itellteacherstories: This is what I get for overhyping myself: Disappointment.

lovestarkiller: Tony is gone like that?.... And Cap ending is just so...

FreeTanner17: One of the biggest disappointments is they kill off Natasha, don’t even give her a funeral and basically never mention her name again

Hawkguyism: Honestly, I'm severely disappointed

Cap's ending is a disservice to the character and his arc, Thor's ending makes no sense, he literally abandons all his people, Tony's ending is way too cruel, they could just say he went away and stuff like that, would be much better considering all the character's been through, Hulk and Nat are meeeehhhh, and seriously, how many fucking times is Hawkeye gonna retire? And like,we know he's gonna come back in the Disney+ show to train Kate and stuff

Overall, the plot seems too simple and the endings are pretty bad. Of course, in terms of action and entertainment, this movie will be a blast, but when it comes to story and narrative, it's a letdown. Especially considering we waited 11 years for this.

dumbwatercba: I feel like the writers went online and picked the worse theories out there and made a film out of it. Non of this seems right. The reviews were so positive. This seems like a steaming pile of shit. Thanus seems like the only thing missing from this.

msg53: I was hoping Endgame would be a good stopping point anyway. I would have preferred a satisfying ending, but a shitshow that turns me off of the entire genre works too, I guess.

IrishGrouch24: Man I am pissed the F off right now.

raven_rising:...Thanks Marvel, I kind of hate it.

scruk: I have no idea how they managed to fuck up this badly. No idea. It's like a bad fanfiction written by someone who's only watched Infinity War

CactusJackkkk: I feel like I just wasted 11 years of my life watching these movies with no payoff in the end.

eutears:This absolutely makes no sense. I cannot believe how the Russos thought this might be a good finale. Most of the plot crumbles if you put even a little bit of thought into it.

InlineSurfer: Keving Faige and MCU thinks,  that fans will take whatever they give us, but i cant, this so lazy and stupid script.

Griever11422: Notmycap. Notmytony

[lokaneiscanon]

Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder rant

Seeing Natalie Portman returning to reprise her role as Jane Foster, nevertheless wielding Mjolnir, finally getting the treatment this character deserves, was surreal to say the least. I had just started reading Lords of Midgard, the 8th issue of Mighty Thor (2015 - 2018), and had fallen in love already. But I didn't suspect at all that Taika Waititi would pull this card in Thor: Love and Thunder, considering Jane was barely mentioned in Ragnarok. The news about my favorite actress portraying one of my favorite characters coming out of the blue - you can imagine the excitement. Alas, I quickly remembered what the fandom thought of that comic (at least on tumblr) and imagined it now growing tenfold, cuz not everyone in the MCU fandom reads comics but pretty much everyone wants to watch another Thor movie. And yes, many fans weren't ready for this step, still recovering from Sam Wilson getting the shield in Endgame. Which is completely fine. We're not obligated to like everything Marvel throws in our faces, we're allowed to criticize and express our opinion on the internet or wherever. What is not okay is mindlessly hating, and even worse - using false facts to support said opinion.

I have seen some people using the argument that it is one of Marvel's worst selling comics. Which has already been proven wrong by multiple sites, including Comichron, just Google it, as I did myself. I read multiple posts, ones saying how good Jane is doing as Thor in sales, others disproving this, so I checked for myself the numbers at the site mentioned above month by month to be sure. The comic truly had its downfalls as the story progressed but in my opinion it's normal for the 1st issue to have more sales than the 21st. If we compare it to Unworthy Thor, which started running a bit later and followed the now unworthy Odinson, the data shows the latter had more sales. But then again, while Might Thor was at its 17th issue, Unworthy Thor was at its 2nd. Also, they later crossed paths, shared comic issues, it's fair to say they go hand in hand and Jason Aaron, the author, probably doesn't want us to compare them, as they complete and compliment each other's stories. Still I decided to check the comic that made Thor unworthy in the first place - Thor: God of Thunder (2012 - 2014), which seemed to me more "comparable" to Might Thor (2015 - 2018). *I keep putting the years it was being released so as to not be confused with previous Mighty Thor issues, whole Odinson was still Thor, please bear with me* So yes, the numbers were pretty close, but from what I saw, Mighty Thor had the upper hand if we compare first issue to first issue and so on. (In defense of Odinson, we have to take into account that this data is only from the US and does not include digital sales. Also, he's been around since the 50s. We could argue Jane was a breath of fresh air that some Marvel fans were indeed ready for. As a non-American, and also a person without a hint of knowledge in economics I cannot take into account inflation and whatever else has prevented or enabled Americans to get their hands on the comics or has affected prizes through the years. Bear that in mind.) Moreover, from what I saw on Comichron, both comics had much competition - God of thunder was released along with Avengers vs the X-men, the Uncanny X-men, pretty popular at the time, and the Goddess of Thunder faced Civil War 2 and DC Universe Rebirth (yes, DC is in the game too), also dominating with tremendous sales for the longest time. Yet I stick with my original statement - both Thors are valid and shouldn't be put against one another regardless of profit. Because at the end of the day what will matter the most is the story. And boy, what a story it is.

Now, I haven't read the Thor: God of Thunder, but as I was doing research I found one very well written summary and explanation of Thor's arc and his becoming unworthy and I will post a link below, because I honestly feel I wouldn't be doing this comic a favor by describing it without having read it. Which I plan to do in the future, tbh. It's a fantastic prelude to the Mighty Thor (2015 - 2018) that I've come to love. First, I'd like to ask you all to stop hating on the comic without having read it first. It doesn't make any sense and being petty for the sake of being petty won't benefit neither you, nor anyone, really. Now, about the comic itself - the art is magnificent. It's just gorgeous. Mighty Thor isn't , thank all the gods, sexualized, she is pretty buffed and generally looks like a warrior. As it is with the other characters, I dare say. The background truly captures the essence of every world Jane finds herself on. Action scenes are just the right amount and balanced with dialogue well. On a side note, it's pretty funny to read/listen to in your head the Shakespearean English cursive in which Jane talks as Thor. The plot line branches beyond this comic, starting from Thor: God of Thunder and leading to the War of Realms. And it is elaborately built in every issue. You don't know what to expect, yet it makes sense when it happens. Which leads me to the characterizations. My God, what a treat Loki is in this. Clearly, my opinion is kinda biased, since he's my favorite character, but you never know which side he's on. What his motivations are. And it just feels so... Loki. His writing is brilliant. Almost makes me forget what the MCU did to him. Also, he gets some daddy time with Laufey (not as kinky as I make it sound). Frigga/Freyja is just as awesome as in the MCU, even more, at least in the comics she calls Odin out on his shit, who btw is I guess an asshole in every version and universe. Malekith, the main villain, is unbearably despicable, I want to tear every page he is on. He really was mishandled in the Dark World, if you want some true action with the dark elves, you are welcome to enjoy. I saved the best for the end - Jane Foster/ Might Thor. Now, if you think Dr. Foster spends her time boasting about her worthiness and how Odinson is just called Thor, but she is Mighty Thor, you are horribly wrong. She just... does her job. Because the hammer chose her. Because there's no one else to do so. That's it. If you think there's some feminism involved, yes, there sure is, but it certainly isn't the reason Jane became Thor in the first place. It was not the creators going SJW because it's trendy, as such a mindset is honestly offensive to any descent creator with any self respect, but a well thought out story arc, which, I repeat, you have to read the comic to understand. Jane is not at all whiny about the hate she gets in-universe, not only from foes like Odin and who-not, but from Shield and generally people whose asses she's saving. Her having cancer is not something they pulled to provoke sympathy and make her look like a victim - on the contrary, she is a damn hero and a victor. I don't want to give out spoilers, but her being Thor is actually a giant sacrifice that no one really appreciates (both in-universe and in the fandom). She is not Thor to prove she can be, or just to prove "women can be heroes" - she doesn't have to. She is simply needed by the realms and so she does her job, even though she is called a thief, persecuted and generally hated. All that matters is that the hammer finds her worthy - the beauty and simplicity of that fact you will find out, for the last time, if you read the comic.

I'm not making you read the comic or watch Thor: Love and Thunder. I myself don't know what to make of this film yet because there's barely any information about it. I only know it will be based on the comic so that's a reason for my hopes to be up already. On the other hand, since I didn't like Loki's characterization in Ragnarok, I'm not sure what to expect from Taika. There are valid reasons to not like the idea of Jane returning to the MCU as Thor, which you are entitled to. However, reasons such as "why does everything have to be political these days" are not. Because if I had to make a list of everything politically related in the MCU, it would take forever. Steve Rogers kills nazis is the most blatant example. Make of it what you want. But I think we're far enough into the 21st century to realize art and real life are not that separable. It's undeniable that art affects people and that is to say, people everywhere. And they all have different opinions and aren't gonna like everything media is offering to them. And I wish I could simply tell you not to watch the movie but I'm a Marvel fan too and I understand that I can't just take away Thor from you because I want Mighty Thor as well. But none of us can stop Marvel from producing it. So, to quote an image I saw recently, I don't know how to explain to you that you should care about other people. Let the rest of the fandom enjoy what they want to enjoy. Yes, ik I can play around with the tags and avoid posts that unnerve me but, for example, I'm looking up Mighty Thor fanart, which obviously isn't anti-Mighty Thor, yet I get attacked in the comics for anticipating a movie that doesn't even have a full cast yet. Ik I'm not asking for too much when I wish to get the same internet experience (not only tumblr, but also insta, YouTube, Twitter, any site) as the Thor Odison fans, for example. I'm aware I cannot stop all the toxic fans and the trolls but I hope this post has inspired those of you who simply can't envision Jane as Thor, or don't like Natalie Portman in the role, or whatever eles personal preference that doesn't involve political issues and isn't harmful to the community, not to attack every post on your dash with hate. The movie is called LOVE and Thunder, for God's sake. (on a side note, is a franchise that is too afraid to show LGBT characters for more than 1 minute so as to not lose profit from China, THAT politically correct)

Anyway, that was a veeeery long rant, sorry to whoever reads this but, like, please, I put effort into this, hoping this time around I won't be the only positive reviewer of a movie, like I was with Solo: a Star Wars story (yes, I'm still bitter about this), which was boycotted for no apparent reason but was a decent film in reality, and I'm only bringing it up because it has a similar experience to Love and Thunder for getting hate before even being released. I'm not defending a billion dollar company that flopped in box office once, I'm defending the viewer's right to media they are interested in. If you don't like the character, remember - that's your opinion, not a fact that the character sucks. Kudos.

Not very easy to navigate, I advice you to do the research month by month individually for comics you'd like to compare. Also, if you happen to find more reliable data, pls say so in the comments.

Here you have the summary and explanation of the greatness of Thor: God of Thunder, Jesus, I'll go bankrupt if I buy this one too.

Yes, I want to end the sales dispute once and for all, I'm tired of seeing it on my dash. This guy probably explains it better than I did.

@awesomejenlawrence you said you'd like to read this and I delivered

[thesydneyfeminists]

A Feminist’s Review of Avengers: Endgame

** Warning: Contains Major Spoilers **

 I want to preface this review with another warning: while I am a self-confessed nerd who has long enjoyed comic book movies and geeky pop culture, I was quite disappointed in this film. In my criticisms, I'm going to be honest as to why. If you are on a high from the film and just want to enjoy it without having somebody rain on your parade, then it is probably best to skip this review. However, if you’re curious about this feminist’s perspective on why Endgame fell flat for her, please read on.

Image Description: Film poster for Avengers: Endgame. It shows all the main characters, including Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Thor and Thanos (among others) in their full battle gear against a dark night sky. At the bottom of the poster, the title of the film is written in large, blue and gold letters. The Marvel Studios logo is just above the title. There is undiscernable text at the top and bottom of the poster. The release date (April 26th) is written in white at the very bottom center. The “a” in “April” is the Avengers symbol. Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avengers:_Endgame

When my partner asked me for my first impressions, I said the movie should’ve been called “Iron Man 4 (and Some of the Avengers”). The entire film felt like a swan song for him, a requiem for the character who started it all. It was made clear that Iron Man was the film’s emotional centre, the person whose stakes viewers are most meant to care about. While I don't mind Iron Man as a character, I am aware he is the favourite of most of the franchise’s fanboys. It really felt like that was the crowd this movie was aimed at. In contrast, women and other minority groups did not fare so well in terms of representation or importance in this film.

The writers had choices on who do they decided to turn to dust at the end of Infinity War. There was ample opportunity to leave behind a more diverse group of heroes to carry out the tasks in Endgame. For example, instead of Antman, we could have had Wasp. In the comics, Wasp is the female avenger, not Black Widow. It would have been such a nice nod to the canon and added an additional female character to the core cast. Instead, we ended up with a majority-white team of mostly men. The two women who were involved were treated in a frustrating manner. 

While Black Widow essentially leads the Avengers at the beginning of Endgame, she (nobly) throws herself off a cliff halfway through the film, essentially ending her story. This plot point was vexing for a few reasons. First, the writers/directors got rid of one of the only women on the team, turning most of the rest of the film into a sausage fest. Second, Black Widow’s sacrifice was not given the same weight or gravitas as Tony Stark’s. At the end of the film, we see a beautiful funeral for Tony. But there are no moments of remembrance for the other characters who gave their lives (Black Widow, Vision, even Loki). They are only briefly (and quietly) mentioned by Clint and Wanda. Outside Endgame’s main storyline, the timing of Natasha’s death is also awkward sinceMarvel is supposed to be making a Black Widow movie in the next few years.

Image Description: Close up photo of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) from the neck up. She is looking above and to the left of the camera with a serious expression on her face. Right above her eyebrows, the words “avenge the fallen” are written in a white to light-purple gradient. The “a” in “fallen” is the Avengers symbol. At the bottom of the photo, in the center, is the Marvel Studios logo. The release date for Endgame (April 26th) is written in bold, white letters beneath the logo. Image source: http://collider.com/endgame-black-widow-death-explained/

As for the remaining female character, Nebula, she proves to be the “weak link”. While all members of the team had their struggles in trying to obtain the infinity stones, it is Nebula who gets captured and ends up compromising the entire plan. While I don’t have an issue with Natasha and Nebula’s scenes in and of themselves, they do come across as problematic in a film that gives little limelight to its female superheroes in general. Right from the beginning, Captain Marvel is sent off-screen for most of the film, a major disappointment for those who were hoping to see her involved. I suspected this would happen and sadly I was right.

As I mentioned before, at the end of Infinity War the writers could have kept some key figures to make a more diverse remaining team. However, even with the characters they chose to leave behind, there were missed opportunities. One of the biggest missteps for me was Valkyrie.

When Bruce visits the village of New Asgard to find Thor, he first encounters Valkyrie. In the film Thor: Ragnarok, Valkyrie had a drinking problem which she overcame by the end of the story. This time around, it is Thor who is battling alcoholism. She tells them about his drinking, and, rather than asking her to come along and help on their mission, they bypass her completely. I was really upset Valkyrie did not feature in Infinity War and felt doubly irritated that she was sidelined yet again in this instalment, for no good reason. Had they included her, she could have been the one to rescue Thor and use his hammer, instead of Captain America. Given that she is an elite Asgardian warrior, this decision would have made much more sense and been a great moment for her fans. She is also one of the very few openly LGBTQ+ characters in the MCU. Including her would have given the filmmakers opportunities to better represent this marginalized group, rather than their paltry attempt at the film’s beginning.

Then there’s Thor, who, in my opinion, was treated so poorly in the film. Other feminist writers have already explained why the fat jokes and cruelty directed towards Thor’s substance abuse and mental illness were extremely problematic. They turned one of the most damaged characters into mean-spirited comic relief, rather than addressing the serious issues he was contending with. I really felt sorry for Thor the character, but I feel worse for the real-life people who were triggered by his horrid treatment.

Image Description: Photo of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) from the waist up sitting in a chair. He is looking to the left of the camera with a serious/ angry expression on his face. He is wearing a light-blue t-shirt and dark grey, zip up hoodie. With his right hand, he is picking up what appears to be a donut from a wooden bowl. Next to the bowl is a can of soda. The background is mostly wooden walls and one hallway table with decorative vases. Image Source: https://www.screengeek.net/2019/05/02/avengers-endgame-thor-changes-explained/

Given so much needed to happen in this movie, I was also annoyed by how much time the directors dedicated to trivial things like Captain America’s ass and Thor’s beer gut. I’m all for comedic moments in a heavy film, but I wanted to hear some more speaking lines from characters who appeared toward the end, ones we had not seen for the last 2 1/2 hours. The final battle scene felt bloated and confused as writers tried to squeeze in nods here or a glance there to the rest of the crew. At least, however, the greater ensemble was back, fighting together side-by-side. That is until Captain Marvel showed up.

Now, I am a fan of Captain Marvel. I enjoyed her origin story and was excited to see her in this movie, even if it was late in the game (no pun intended). When she made her arrival and took down that ship, it was the first time I cheered during the whole movie. And then it all went pear-shaped. When Captain Marvel was given the gauntlet by Spiderman there were so many creative choices they could have made. Anyone who knows the canon would be aware Captain Marvel is more than capable of handling the power of the infinity gauntlet and could have done what the Hulk and, ultimately, Tony Stark did. Instead, they came up with this convoluted plan for her to fly into Antman’s quantum machine. I mean, the woman can fly at the speed of light so she could have done that in the blink of an eye. But, somehow, Thanos stopped her by flinging a heavy metal object towards the machine faster than Captain Marvel can fly.

Image Description: Two photos laid side by side. The one on the left is a close up of Captain Marvel from the chest up. The one on the left is a close up of Thanos from the neck up. Captain Marvel is looking below and to the right of the camera with a serious expression on her face. The star on her chest is glowing. Thanos is looking slightly above the camera, also with a serious expression on his face. Both backgrounds are cloudy skies. Image Source: https://mashable.com/article/captain-marvel-avengers-endgame-theories/

While that act alone was infuriating, it’s not the scene that most annoyed me. It was the moment when, for no apparent reason, many of the female superheroes crowd around Captain Marvel stating she had their help. I didn’t like the scene for two reasons. One, it felt unnatural and contrived. Many of these characters didn’t even know each other and were all preoccupied fighting on an enormous battlefield. There was no reason why they would all suddenly have a 90s girl power moment and gather around one woman at that particular moment in what was an incredibly chaotic struggle. And two, even with the backing of all Marvel’s strong heroines, they could not get the job done. No, that glory was saved solely for one man: Tony Stark. The takeaway seemed to be, even combined, women can’t do the job properly; they need the men to step in and show them how it’s done. Maybe this sounds like a stretch or too harsh a criticism, but this was the very visceral reaction I had during the film. Marvel’s filmmakers have a long history of utterly depowering their female characters and this scene just seemed to follow in those footsteps.

I was also very disappointed by how small a role T’Challa and many of the amazing Wakandan characters had in this movie. As the leading tech hub in the world, I don’t know why the Avengers weren’t going there to ask for help in creating a time travel machine, or why they couldn’t have made it the new HQ, given Tony Stark had retreated to a log cabin somewhere in the woods. There were so many ways the writers/directors could have included these fantastic and important characters.

Image Description: The Marvel Studios logo set against a blurry, close up shot of a comic panel. The panel is blurry and undiscernable. It is tinted entirely red. Image Source: https://marvelstudiosnews.com/2017/12/10/marvel-studios-highest-grossing-superhero-movie-8th-consecutive-year/

The only glimmer for me at the end of the film was that it established the old guard were retiring or moving on to other things. We had something of a handing of the baton moment: Captain America gives his shield to Falcon, making him his successor, and Thor finally, officially makes Valkyrie the leader of Asgard (or what’s left of it). It is my hope that in future Marvel films, the creators will focus more on their characters of colour, female characters, and LGBTQ+ characters. They have an opportunity now to start a fresh wave that will resonate with so many more people than the classic, white, fanboy nerd. After all, you don’t make $1.2 billion in one weekend just because white millennial guys went to see a film. Many people love superhero films for a variety of reasons. It’s time we started serving them, too.

By: Tessa Barratt 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sydney Feminists. Our Blogger and Tumblr serve as platforms for a diverse array of women to put forth their ideas and explore topics. To learn more about the philosophy behind TSF’s Blogger/ Tumblr, please read our statement here: https://www.sydneyfeminists.org/a

[geek-gem]

My Thoughts on the Bumblebee 2018 movie

Well got tags done beware a long post, no spoilers, this is me talking about the film, and my experience with the franchise. All copied from my latest DeviantArt journal.

I think the best thing to just straight up say this is the best Transformers movie ever made like so many other folks have said. Unless we get another film that beats them. It's truly one of the best ranking above the 2007 live action film, and the 1986 animated film.

Especially I have quite a bit to say but no spoilers. How I saw this my brother seriously invited me along with his two friends who live in our neighborhood. Basically their my friends too but mostly my brothers. It was like one of those early showings but not midnight but yeah it was a 5:15 pm showing.

But yeah being invited kind of came out of the blue. Yet I'm grateful I've seen it because their seriously other films a lot or it seems like more I wanna see. So Bumblebee gets checked off.

Let me tell you this I literally looked on Wikipedia before this because theirs a some what mid credits scene or gonna spoil the surprise it's before the credits fully start or whatever. Because I was worried I missed anything. But seriously quite some stuff to talk about. Especially on Wikipedia I really wanted to know if this was honestly a reboot. Because my brother even called this out of how it's so different.

Sorry to ramble I'm gonna get into the movie first, then some personal feelings.

Really because it wasn't in my plans it was out of the blue. But I really did enjoy it a whole lot. I really liked the simple story especially the interactions between Bumblebee and Charlie played by Hailee Steinfeld. Also seriously all the characters are very nice some are just jerks or whatever. A lot of the characters are enjoyable.

Especially Charlie Watson as a main human protagonist is wonderful better then the likes or Sam and Cade from the other previous films. Including Hailee Steinfeld is honestly adorable. But just some personal thoughts. Especially John Cena as Agent Burns is another nice character and really I don't mind John Cena as a actor or a person and yeah I liked him another good part of this movie.

But okay the Autobots and Decepticons let me say Bumblebee isn't my favorite Transformers character but he's great in this. Especially our Decepticon antagonists.

The action was great as while like one of the better or as of now best action in the live action film series. It's not shot like how Michael Bay did it.

Including it was honestly quite humorous like generally funny. Especially emotional in parts because your invested in these characters. Along with the fact of how it feels like the lightest in the live action film series. But it's still very serious especially with our Decepticon antagonists when they show up, and even other stuff.

Also love those references just all that 80's stuff especially those Transformers references like G1. Including that entire beginning.

Let me talk about Blitzwing and that whole shit that happened with everyone thought he was Starscream but it wasn't Starscream it was Blitzwing.

I don't wanna spoil anything but he not in the movie very long. While I enjoyed his appearance his role is well....short but he is quite a threat.

Other then that I really enjoyed the film. It's just it's amazing I wasn't so emotional over it because it wasn't in my plans today. But I'm glad my brother invited me to see it with his friends.

Especially another thing I wanna talk about is me as a fan or ex fan of this franchise. Including on DeviantArt was where I talked more about it and Tumblr not so much.

I'll be honest the first live action film was the reason I became a fan. I saw that film four times especially with the Imax rerelease that was the fourth time. That film kind of I don't wanna say changed my life. But it was something amazing. Because of that film I became a fan of the franchise.

Over the years trying to stay a fan of the films despite the reception. It wasn't until the fourth film and I watched Nostalgia Critic's thoughts on that film where he basically took over Bum Reviews. I saw the fourth film twice just like the 2nd and 3rd. I was following Ragin Nation on the news of the film.

I tried to ignore Nostalgia Critic's video but that video changed me. So over time I became less of a fan or just I hated the Bayformers franchise basically the live action films. To a point and it still stands I took down all of my Transformers collections.

Including extreme stuff like I would disown people if they prefer the fourth film over the first three films. Because I even said Age Of Extinction broke me or something like that. I was weirdly depressed until I saw Guardians Of The Galaxy which I was surprised by and the MCU is a whole other story. But also Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks made me happy.

I didn't see the 5th film The Last Knight. It felt weird of not seeing it and still haven't watched it. Despite I've heard and read stuff of folks saying stuff like Ragin Nation, Shartimus Prime, Jeremy Jahns, and others. I felt grateful I didn't see the 5th film and more people didn't see it. Including the fact the 5th I don't know if I'm very sure but it's the lowest grossing of the live action films. I felt that gave Paramount and Hasbro the message the fact they stalled on the 6th film was because of that.

Especially why I say this feels like a reboot and I weirdly want it to be that. Because it's set so apart from the Bayformers despite some easter eggs and other stuff it wouldn't make sense in the Bayformers timeline like previous films in the series. Including what I've heard or whatever The Last Knight seems or looks like the true final film of that version of Transformers.

Including I feel and the attitude towards the films back in the day of how certain folks just accepted it and just we're in different times now. We deserve better and that might sound hypocritical of me.

But I'm just glad this Bumblebee movie exists and I'm really excited of what happens next.

Or something because I'm gonna be honest....can we see Charlie and Burns again? Might sound weird as hell just.....I wouldn't mind a sequel to this film which sounds stupid as hell. But also wouldn't mind if we get a older version of Charlie and Burns too probably.

Because seriously I enjoyed this film a lot. It's in the right direction. I recommend to any Transformers fan but also people wanting to see a good film but also giving this film franchise a chance now.

Really interested in that Cybertron movie even more now by the Ant Man writers or something.

[cherry-interlude]

Things I Expected To Happen During Infinity War That Didn’t Happen (SPOILERS)

Despite being a predominantly Lana Del Rey blog, I still wanted to write something on Infinity War. I love the MCU and, after watching the latest movie today, I had a few thoughts on the things that would happen throughout the film. Weirdly, none of them did happen. The resulting movie still blew me away and the emotion and action completely filled this movie in perfect manner, but I can’t help but wonder what would it be like if one of the ideas I had made it into the film. I won’t go into too much detail about the movie itself or my ideas using the existing Marvel universe. This is also NOT a criticism:

1. Steve Rogers Dies

People had said how emotional the movie was and I was seriously expecting the death of Steve Rogers throughout the entire movie. Since he dies in the comic books and there were rumours about it a few years ago, I thought the leader of the Avengers was going to leave in a dramatic yet heroic way. Instead, he remained alive until the end of the movie, but I still don’t feel Steve is going to be spared. I thought he would die in battle sacrificing himself, but no, luckily Steve is here to stay.

2. Tony Stark Dies

Once again, I assumed one of the main Avengers would die dramatically during the battle against Thanos. There is a moment when it seems like he really is going to die - getting a blade shoved into him - but Doctor Strange gets Tony spared, thus ensuring Iron Man lives another battle. It feels a bit pointless that he got stabbed in the first place and threw my emotions in the bin but the great plot needed it I suppose.

3. Bruce and Natasha

They haven’t seen each other for years. We all knew they wanted each other. Bruce even changed out of Hulk finally when Natasha’s recording played in Thor: Ragnarok. Yet all we got was a small hello and a bit of lingering hope - not the reunion I expected. Yes, the world is close to destruction but it would have been interesting to see Bruce sweep Natasha into his arms and put them both together properly.

4. Loki Does Survive

It’s doubtful of course because he really was dead, but the amount of times they’ve bought Loki back from the dead has made me almost expectant for his return.

5. Wanda Saves Everyone

Wanda is forced to kill Vision to stop Thanos from getting the stone. With her witchcraft she has the power to destroy the stone - which made me assume she could do it for all of them. I expected Thanos to take it and then Wanda, in her grief, would be the one to fight back and destroy Thanos - with some assistance.

6. Thanos Isn’t Interesting

From the moments in the movies before, I assumed Thanos would be just a purple alien who sits around and lazily gets the stones without personality. I was pleasantly surprised that Thanos was actually a great villain and well worth the wait. Thanos had enough charisma, emotion and power for him to be someone to fear and hate yet almost feel sorry for all at once whilst enjoying his presence throughout the entirety of the movie.

7. The Post-Credits

The hint in the post-credits turned out to be Captain Marvel’s symbol, but before I realised it I was speculating that it was the Nova Corps, which would not be the most interesting choice, or the Inhumans, proving I need to remember the symbols properly. They chose perfectly.

8. More Original Avengers

I expected more from the original Avengers, meaning more scenes and interactions, yet most of the action was in space where they were not, except for Tony Stark. The movies leading up to this has always shown the original Avengers together, more or less, and I thought they would be. Instead it was mostly not on Earth. It’s not a problem but the ‘Avengers’ title led me to think they would feature more.

I like requests; none of this is hate on the movie; it’s not my best writing but I wanted to be brief

[zenosanalytic]

Doom-Broom Looms; Assumes Costumed Groom will Fume in Tomb-Gloom: The Tune-Presumed Consumes

Yes I did it; No I’m not sorry; Shutup it’s a Gr8 Headline; Mild Spoilers below cut:

So I really liked this one, I’d say it’s at least as good as the first Avengers and probably better, making it the best of the Avenger films so far. As per tradition, I will start with what I didn’t like first and, aside from the first two, they’re mostly Quibbles:

The Bads

So:

Labeling the cruelty of an abusive guardian -who murdered his child’s family, surgically altered and experimented on her without her consent, forced her to kill, forced her to fight and sometimes kill her siblings to protect her body and her life from that parent- as love is some Buuuullshit >:( I can easily accept that Thanos would think he loved her, abusers tell themselves all sort of garbage to justify what they do, but that some omnipotent universe-stone would judge that situation and those feelings sincere is, again, Buuuuuullsheeeeiiiit >:( >:( Attaching that execrable nonsense to the killing of Gamora makes it so much worse, and then connecting that to how Thanos “wins” through Quill’s anger, makes it even, even worse. 

Their choices on who to “kill” were fucked up and bad. Bucky dealing with a world without Steve is interesting. T’Challa traumatized by the loss of his closest friends and torn between healing/protecting his people and helping bring Thanos to justice and potentially undoing what he did is interesting(not to mention how loved the character is. Though I’m p sure we’ll see a BP Shuri as a result, which I’m very much looking forward to). Scarlet Witch given the chance to grow on her own, instead of being tethered to a guy, is Interesting. Groot dealing with the death of their “parent”/Confidant/translator is Interesting. Having Banner “die” so that only The Hulk is left would have been interesting. Going with what they did was stupid. Killing off Fury and Hill was Stupid. Wiping out, to a duo(!), the Guardians of the Galaxy was Stupid. Killing Drax and Mantis is some Galaxy-Brained Criminal Ignorance! Killing Heimdall I understand BUT(!!!), at the same time, Elba’s a great actor and Ragnarok’s the only film to make even decent use of him, so I’d have liked to see him live through this one and into the next one, at least, before he was killed. And, as others have said, the general race&gender balance of the killings was, charitably, Iffy.

These are some seriously flawed ethical/political choices they made for this film, and they didn’t have to make them. Totally could have handled all of this differently, and better, than they did. So on to the Quibbles!

Having Gamora and Peter’s relationship, which had, so well and realistically to two folks working through trauma and immaturity, been cooking low and slow over the two GoG movies, suddenly be physically and emotionally intimate and vulnerable, and having her saying things like “I love you more than anything” to him, when they live on a tiny ship with zero privacy with four(?) other people, and doing all of that purely for plot-convenience, was dumb and lazy and Lame. Character dev should serve the characters first and plot second; this complaint kinda dovetails with my issues with SW and Vision in the next para.  

There really should have been one more movie, and maybe two or three, before this one. The character writing was great and all, but Scarlet Witch and Vision just haven’t had the time to be developed enough as characters for their(rather central) place in the movie to be emotionally meaningful enough. A movie focusing on them, or maybe on Steve’s “unofficial” Avengers, would have really helped add some more depth and impact to Infinity War. The other movies I think would have helped are another Dr. Strange(I didn’t like the first one much at all and he didn’t really come off as all that capable to me in the first one and really seemed to just fall into the role of Sorcerer-Supreme by dint of being the last one standing), and Definitely another Black Panther. There are obvious scheduling reasons for not holding off for a second Black Panther(which are totally Marvisny’s fault, of course; for instance, if they’d just introduced the character earlier, so that CW would have been the 2nd BP movie and BP the 3rd), but Dr. Strange was 2016 and they could have totally gotten another one out, with some significant crew and writing changes, before this to flesh out, build up, and actually render interesting/likeable, the character. Though, I suppose maybe there were equally obvious financial reasons why not to roll the dice on that franchise again(though though, looking it up just now it topped Captain America: The First Avenger on box office, which is Insane).

Dispensing with Nova off-screen. I Mean: WTH. That should, at the least, have been an in-credit sequence(in GoG 2 or T:R). Something as simple as showing Thanos with the Power Gem, then panning out to show a devastated Nova Command or him taunting Nova Prime before killing her, would have been fine(though, the GoG movies gave me the impression the Nova Corps would have been a tough nut for Thanos to crack).

Probably my most niche opinion: they should have, FINALLY, done a movie crossover with the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. cast here, especially given the in-credit sequence. Marvel and Disney have been promising Chloe Bennet that AoS was going to be her vehicle into film work since the series started and this is, like, the third or fourth frigging times they’ve either reneged or passed on a chance to boost her up into the big leagues, and frankly it’s annoying. She’s a good actress, The Inhumans should have stayed a movie and been that vehicle(with the characters they made protags the villains S.H.I.E.L.D. was fighting), and, given the stakes and the nature of the conflict, it’d have been easy to ameliorate that mistake by bringing her, the rest of the AoS cast, and Fury in on this one as secondary characters. I mean, it’d have been better if they’d had two or three SHIELD movies spread out over the MCU by now, or always included them in the Avengers films to give also-rans like the show cast and Hawkeye places to shine, but barring that and given Disnal’s fuckup with Inhumans, they should have made a go of it here. Ming-Na Wen also deserves more time on the Big Screen and, while Johannson’s Fine in the films, Wen does her character-type Better u_u u_u u_u

Like I said, Quibbles, they don’t really detract from the movie. The main problems with Infinity War, to me, are it’s screwy plot-ethics.

The Goods

Not really much to say here other than “I liked it and had fun”. The character writing was good, the dialogue was funny, the fight choreography was, given the logistics of multicharacter combat, Fine, the fights were engaging, the camerawork was(mostly) clear, the costume design was great, the side characters(especially the Black Order) all got good beats of their own, the Heroes(except Black Panther and maybe SW, since she was restricted to just moving things and blasting things) all got opportunities to show off their abilities. IW really validated the “Comics=Wrestling” critical lens I was introduced to by @some-triangles, as it felt like a Wrestlemania or Battle Royale more than anything else to me. Related to that there were some really dumb moments, like when Scarlet Witch left the lab to enter the rin-, er, battlefield, but you basically knew that was going to happen the instant they told her to stay in the room because Tropes, and the Forms must be Honored u_u u_u The Russos are genuinely competent movie-makers, who seem to have that all-important skill of recruiting and keeping a talented crew around them, and they made a genuinely competent movie, despite the questionable plotting.

The Judgements

So that’s my opinion on the thing. Infinity War includes some highly fucked up ethical messages for the sake of plot convenience, and confirms the MCU’s refusal to make even basic use of some really top-notch acting talent, which just happens to be mostly non-white people, that they’re (presumably)paying fortunes to have access to; if you feel that sort of ish isn’t something you can sit-through or abide giving your money to, then don’t see the film. But it’s a technically competent film, 90% of the time the writing is wonderful, and overall it’s an engaging and entertaining film so, if you can tolerate that ish in some fashion, maybe you’ll enjoy it like I did.

Oh, and it’s really long(2h40m, and there were, like, 30mins of previews before it. Seriously >:| >:| >:| They played TWO[!!!!!!] flipping Jurassic World trailers, as if anyone wants to see that junk), so I’d rec you not get any drinks if you’re going to go see it(though it’s not a big deal as there are some nice-sized lulls, reasonably spaced, to take breaks in).

[fiftytwotwenty]

Movie Monday - June 8th, 2020

"Best Superhero Movie"

Spider-Man 2 (2004):

Spider-Man 2? Best Superhero Movie?

That's right, Spiderman 2!

There are Eight Spider-Man films in the Spider-Man lore (Maguire x 3; Webb/Garfield x 2; Holland x2; and an Animated Feature) - What makes Spider-Man 2 better than all other renditions?

The first Raimi Spider-Man (2002) film was excellent and in my opinion more ground breaking to comic/pop culture film than it's Origin Story predecessors, X-Men (2000) and Blade (1998). Spider-Man 2 tops Spiderman because it gets to swing right into action. The First Film in the franchise had to check-off the Origin Story Boxes: Kill off Uncle Ben, Learn to Use Powers, and Establish Social Class & Hierarchy with Peers all before Battling the Baddie, Green Goblin. The first half of the film makes Peter Parker/Spider-Man a Passive Protagonist.

The Second Film we are well versed with Spidey's background and built off the excellent installment which bred a more Active Protagonist with a More Grandiose Action and Sharper graphics.

Then we have Spider-Man 3 (2007)... Out of the Raimi triology it grossed the most money but toppled the franchise. The World Still Doesn't Know How...

Then we had the Webb/Garfield The Amazing Spider-Mans (2012 & 2014) reboots which had the advantage of better technology and a large sample base of what comic book fans and movie goers were looking for in a superhero film (there were 6 MCU films - Iron Man to Avengers - before Amazing Spider-Man's July 3rd release - 9 by the time we got to Amazing Spider-Man2), but The Amazing Spider-Man managed to dismantle the charm of the Raimi franchise. The Amazing Spider-Man produced lesser plots, villians, and protagonist.

Then we have the Watts/Holland's Spiderman: Homecoming (2017) and Far From Home (2019) which are fabulous. Both films coming off the momentum of the MCU franchise are packed with powerful punches in a John Hughes fashion - Great Villians and Refreshing take on Peter Parker/Spidey, but as standalone films they seem to stand in the shadows of the MCU's Iron Man. Both Villians are birthed through hatred of Tony Stark and The Avengers which turns Spider-Man movies into a spinoff rather than a solo film.

Also with the Stark/Parker dynamic - Holland's Spidey comes off as a people pleaser who is trying to live up to someone else's standards compared to Raimi/ Maguire's version where we get a Spider-Man who makes his own conscious decision to stand up to injustice and learns how to be a superhero along the way making for a greater story arc.

Now Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse is another tough contender - An absolutely fresh superhero movie which shows how much you can play with a Superhero Universe by giving us multiple perspectives from different Spideys. Perfect Characters mixed with humor and action - not just a Great Animated movie but a Straight-Up Excellent Movie, period.

I still have to choose Spider-Man 2 over Spiderverse as the latter is essentially an Origin Story which gets caught up more in self reflections than battles. If they make a sequel my tune could very well change.

Don't cry Spiderverse...Be Proud... You won an Oscar:

Now... Let's Machete through the MCU.

What makes Spider-Man compelling is Peter Parker did not choose to have Super Powers - he was bitten by a radioactive spider and made a conscious decision to use his newly gained abilities to fight evil.

Iron, Capt America, Thor, and Black Panther sought out their fights. They wanted their powers and abilities. The internal struggle with Parker/Spidey is he wants a normal life but cannot have one as it will bring harm amongst his loved ones - in Spider-Man 2 we see Parker try to give up Superhero antics for a life of normalcy where he can have a relationship and go to school, but in the end Parker realizes his responsibilities and decides it's best to live in secrecy. Stark, Rogers, Thor's lives are their Superhero identities in the film - They have nothing to hide - they are open books to the public.

Then you have The Hulk and Ant-Man:

Ant-Man/Lang is just aloof - just falling into plots and action haphazardly. Portrayed as more of a Slapstick Hero.

The Hulk/Banner does have a compelling story kind of like Spider-Man in a sense he to did not want his "powers".

Where they differ is Banner sulks way too much - We get it - You have no control - whereas Parker is more of a trooper who plays with the cards he is dealt. In Spider-Man 2 we see multiple times that Parker tries to do the right thing but can't please the ones closest to him: Let's down his boss, his professor/studies, his aunt, friends, and his crush Mary Jane - the struggle is real.

But what about the Team Ups? Avengers, Infinity War, End Game... even Guardians of the Galaxy... Surely they rival Spider-Man 2...

Well, They are Excellent and well crafted films - they effortlessly did what hardly any X-Men film could which is make an ensemble picture - multiple egos sharing screen time, Bravo.

Where I think they lose out is most of the stories draw conflict from internal bouts with other teammates. The stories will have the big baddies on the horizon ready for a battle, but the audience is taken on a side-bar to figure out the Heroes petty squabbles with their coworkers - Trust me - if they were real grown ass adults Capt America: Civil War could have been avoided.

Heck, Loki's first/main tatic in Avengers was to pit the team against each other - c'mon - same team guys...

So... We are done with Spider-Man 2 versus Marvel Universe...

Up Next... The DCU.

And There is Only One True Contender:

Through my research 95% of the time The Dark Knight comes up as the #1 Best Superhero Movie of All Time.

Claims that it was ahead of its time and that it is more than a Superhero Movie - It's a Crime Movie - No, no, it's a Cinematic Masterpiece.

A film that was able to capture a gritty darkness set in a realistic world.

The Joker steals the show - No other villian performance can rival.

And I agree. It is a well layed out Crime Drama which was nominated for multiple Oscars (with Ledger picking up one for his Joker performance) and Nolan did make a very plausible world.

But does that make it the Best Superhero Movie?

You already know my answer is "No".

For all the reasons why it is so reverred is what holds it back.

We are talking Superhero Movies - who wants to see a story played out in a super realistic world. Plus the Camp and Cheese of Comic Book movies is part of the appeal. And if we are talking Dark/Grittiness we got that with the Burton Batmans (excellent films as well) - Nolanites, I am sorry to tell you Christopher didn't invent style.

You want a Crime Drama - watch Heat (1995) . So many critics paired The Dark Knight to Heat ( a great movie) but again we are talking Superhero movies.

Finally, Heath Ledger's Joker launched multitude of character studies for years to come and it is well deserved... but the funny thing is he is the Villian... The Villian is more compelling than the Protagonist!

No one talks about Christain Bale's Bruce/Batman when they talk Dark Knight. Our hero is overshadowed! This is why Michael Keaton is my Batman.

We no longer have a Superhero Movie...We have a Villian Flick.

It's almost as if Nolan tried so hard to make a movie that appeals to a wider pretentious audience beyond the comic book crowd that he put too much emphasis on the baddie and not enough on the hero. The Joker drives Batman that entire film making him a passive protagonist.

Spider-Man 2 is a perfect mix/balance of all of the above...

We have a hero that constantly sacrifices.

A man who just wants to deliver pizzas and go on dates but is busy taking on a Megalomaniac with Mechanical Arms - who by the way Spider-Man inadvertently creates by trying to do the right thing - while also trying to transverse a rocky relationship with his best friend - who happens to be the Son of The Green Goblin - The Villian who died during battle with the Protagonist.

Alfred Molina's Doc Ock is excellent. His villian mission is plausible and his hatred for Spider-Man is justified making for epic battles.

Lastly, the humor/comedy lands just when it should and when action takes place it is on Fire!

Here's to You, Spider-Man 2:

[gladioluuss]

So the endgame is really the end...

My dad is actually a fan, of course he is a guy! (sorry not sorry for this sexist comment) and he has drag me into his stuff like the Star Wars and this MCU which I don’t really have interest in being a fan but I appreciate it. 

This post contains rants, critics, spoilers and biased opinions so read at your own risk. Click that keep reading button.

btw. Disclaimer, don’t judge me and this post because I have a moderate amount of knowledge about the MCU (because I’m not really an avid fan alright so those who will bash me please stay away) and I’ll be stating only the things that I know (corrections are welcome of course).

AGAIN this post contains SPOILERS about the Avengers: Endgame so please leave if you don’t wanna get spoiled 

Before I begin, All I want to say is wow I just started this freakin MCU craziness with the Avengers and now the original team is not gonna do a comeback anymore. Yahh you read it right because it is really the end. Tony Stark died, Steve Rogers gave the title to Falcon making him the next Captain America (which I heard that it should be Bucky but nevermind there might be surprises in the future), Black widow died, Thor joining the Guardians of the Galaxy (idk if permanently but in the end of endgame he is with the squad), Spiderman continuing his life  (He has a new movie of course cause Tom Holand is the new Peter Parker and  he need movies to go through before retiring yah know) and I don’t really know about Hulk. But I gotta say this last 2 installment of the franchise.. harsh.  

So why is it the end?

So Marvel had a lot of movie starting with Iron Man continuing with Captain America which was shown in the early 2010s then the new set was introduced starting with Black Panther (with the solo movies of course). And this seemed likely a new path for the Avengers. We had tons of superheroes in the Avengers but started with Captain America, Iron Man etc. and this epic conclusion says that its time, after years of being a lead to this superhero squad, its time that they should be passing the title to the new squad. Take Captain Marvel for example, she’s new right? new girl in town. But when you watch endgame she is just a supporting like literally appeared in the beginning and the ending of the movie, same with Doctor strange and Black Panther because they have future movies to be in that’s why they’re not present entirely in the movie (endgame and infinity war). And this suggest that they may be the future leads of the Avengers. 

Another point is, the actors are tired (want to retire) or the writers just want to finish it off and maybe the characters won’t be having a major role in the next few movies that’s why they died. Maybe they’ll cameo or have special appearance as different characters. Take Chris Evans for example, he appeared as torch guy in Fantastic Four (which is a marvel movie) and He became Captain America! (coincidence? nahh) So there might be possibilities but chances are low with the lead characters who just died although the actors can appear again with different role that they’ll be taking. 

Some characters died? 

Sad to say but there are tons of original leads who died. First is Loki at the beginning of Infinity War. Then Vision, since Thanos is claiming the Mind stone to him. We’ve got Gamora and Black Widow who died with the same reason, Iron Man who sacrificed himself and I am so mad because whyy he died  Captain America.. who didn’t really die however he just grew old and doesn’t fit to be a superhero anymore because duh he is old. So this clarifies that there won’t be a next after the endgame because they took out the major characters. And I’m not impressed about that. I haven’t read the comics and I think that some characters won’t really die and they just killed these characters in the movies because of certain reasons. 

Story time? 

I actually am not a fan of MCU. True that I know bits and pieces of the stories of some marvel movies like Spiderman (which I really know because I watched the movies of the original Spiderman  ehem Tobey Maguire) and Iron Man (all I know is he makes suit and wears them..) and Captain America (idk .. he is handsome?). I also watched some bits of Civil War, which where Cap and Iron Man build up their own teams to fight. And the Infinity War where I witnessed Loki dying (meh) and Thor which has a rough relationship with his brother. I witnessed these things even when I was a kid but you know I’m a girl and girls doesn’t have interest with these kind of things. Well yeah I do like super heroes when I was a kid (ehem Adventure Time ehem Teen Titans /which is in dc btw xD) but I was not focusing on these stuff because I’m busy with Barbie and stuff, can you blame me? Now the main thing is I’m not a fan like totally and before I don’t even know which heroes belong to DC / Marvel. But yesterday my dad is like we’re watching endgame and I don’t know what’s already happening in the timeline (though I know that Loki died meh) so yeah I watched Infinity War (about the infinity stones and the gauntlet) and did some research like the relationships and the backstories. I also watched some videos on youtube that explains 20 movies in one video. And it helped!

Some remarks..

If I were to rate Avengers: Endgame I would give it a  3.5 / 5

Reason: Well 3.5 isn’t bad right? Well I gotta say I’m too old for superheroes and it doesn’t give me that wow factor but I really like the fighting scenes. Especially the part where all the girl heroes assemble (without black widow :/) and fight those creepy gross monsters that Thanos brought to the future. I’m on the neutral side because I’ve expected more something like one of the superhero will be able to defeat Thanos or like its a one big fight between Thanos and the Avengers but that didn’t happen because Thanos himself destroyed the stone how stupid of that   and yeah I’ve expected that really but that would be a generic and lame ending (cliche like). But they should’ve done something more witty, unexpected not a time travel :/ which made me more confused. SO yeah they did a time travel and mess things up but Doctor Strange did something (idk about that I might read about that more when there’s more info about endgame that comes out) to bring back the vanished heroes and yay they win. But Iron Man died so no happy ending. They should’ve let the man live (in the comics he lived) and be with his family. One message that Marvel let people know, it’s not always about happy ending, sometimes it’s about reality even if we live in our fantasies, we still need to accept the truth about that. That sucks

One more remark, marvel movies isn’t for kids. I know that’s lame but yeah I feel like it’s for more mature audience than kids who doesn’t see things that much. But at lest they enjoy the cool stuff right?

If only Star- Lord did good life choices and resisted the angry feeling when he knew that Gamora was gone, Infinity War would be the last and there will be a happy ending.

This is a long stuff but I hope you enjoyed this long post :D

- Nabi

[thejohncamp3ablog]

DCEU for the win beyond Justice League

Why you probably are wrong when you say the DCU is not successful.

I have been tormented as a fan of DC films since the Man of Steel days by both DC and Marvel fans, the reason for those attacks is the notion that they are a failure. I have been thinking lately, what is the definition of failure and when I really thought about it, I came to the conclusion, that its mainly facts twisting in one’s mind.

DC films is considered a failure when it is directly compared to the Disney owned Marvel Cinematic Universe, but have in mind that this comes mainly from the facts that its movies are critically panned. If we assume that these critics are the ultimate source for knowledge on all things movies than, yes DC is a failure based on a Rotten Tomatoes score, but to be very precise, that score is the big flashy one with a % behind it. That % shows the number of critics that were included in the tomato-meter, meaning their reviews were imported on the RT site and taken into consideration for the final score. It represents the number of critics that said yes or no to a movie to speak generally. In a more in depth look, there is a second number, which represents the actual score given which is 1 out of 10 metric system, in the reviews itself, some assign a 1 out of 5 other out of 10 scores, and some haven’t even assigned one. So, if you grab all these scores for each MCU and DCEU movie and combine for an average, the difference would be 5.85 for DCU vs 6.9 for MCU. To me, calling a product, that is scored in the high 6 being called AMAZING vs the low 6 being called terrible is laughable and stupid on so many levels, that I will skip debating that what so ever. When you go to fan driven score sites like iMDB, things are looking similar , no big difference there too.

So, I ask myself, if the product is similar in that respective, then for DC to be called bad and MCU called amazing, there must be another metric, that shows that clearly, I turned to Box Office numbers, but since DC has released only 5 movies, vs MCU’s 17 movies, we can’t really compare as DC is 12 movies short. I can’t add non DCU DC movies, because the template is different, and it wouldn’t be really accurate, so I compared phase 1 Marvel movies to DCEU’s first 5. Now for the MCU I am leaving The Avengers as part of Phase 1, as realistically it is the culmination of these solo movies and its canon, that makes 6 MCU movies vs 5 DCU movies.

First off, I will look at the rough numbers and then shad some super insight as to what it means, MCU has managed from Iron Man all the way up to The Avengers to gross worldwide a total of 3,811,244 Billion [USD], where DC Films, one movie short of 6, has accumulated, 3,761,566 Billion [USD]. Now the main thing that a diehard MCU fan will point out here is the following, ticket prices were different in the period 2008 to 2012, then they were 2013 to 2017. That would be correct to assume, so to be even more precise, we would check those prices and based on the year, the price of the ticket and the total amount accumulated we would get the number of seats sold. In that perspective MCU has managed for 6 movies to sell an astonishing 491,466 Million seats to its fans vs DCU’s 434,457 Million seats, there you go, with one movie down DC has sold approximately 60 Million seats sold. But what does that mean in terms of 6vs 6 movies, well it means that in order for DC to be at the same seat number, its next movie Aquaman needs to sell 60 Million seats for the tie. Here is an example of a Superhero movie that sold 60 million seats – Thor [56 Million seats sold], so if Aquaman sells as much as Thor, DC ties up with Marvel phase for Phase in that field.

Now from a more non-monetary perspective, DCU has managed to act like the MCU in its origin, while having all their movies trashed by bloggers, critics, movie press, fans of other franchises and in some cases like Justice League, even its own hard-core fan base. Bad articles have flying around on a daily, if not weekly base, mostly negative about its shape and performance. All your favorite YouTube talk shows discussing super hero movies 365 24/7 aren’t there to praise DC, but to make it seems like a big flop, in some cases, as big DCU fan, I have been made to believe this is fact too. Many MCU fans will point out that while, DC has been financially stable, the quality is not on par with Marvel’s based on what critics say. Well, honestly Rotten Tomatoes is the last place I look for any sort of validation for that, as many of my favorite movies live around the 60-85 % on that site, but have cult status in the cinema junkie world. I see also a lot of these 100 % movies, where I would never ever see again. Anyway, it’s a very debatable theme to argue, where you have to take very seriously the opinion of a 300-500 journalist and others, that have accounts there, and do not always have any formal film degree. Many of these movie critics today are self-made YouTube starts with absolutely 0 credentials and are expressing the “every man’s opinion” rather than some in depth look at the actual movie work.

Another criticism of the MCU fan is that, while Phase 1 was critically loved, but not Super Successful financially, DC has ridden on the merits of that later MCU success to make that sort of cash with bad movies and that the characters included are simply more popular. Well that is both true and a lie. While Batman and Superman seem like the obvious choice for the title “Worldwide most recognized” brands in the CBM genre, the actual king by a lot that is, is Spider-man, who has a IP worth Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman combined, but based on that math, no one expected Spider-man Homecoming to make 2.8 Billion, did they? Also by that logic with Iron Man in the movie [who made 1.3 B alone], then that should have been a 4.1 Billion movie then?? So, what happened? Sorry , I can’t hear you? You mean to say that logic isn’t accurate, well ok then.  If it isn’t accurate then Justice League and Batman V Superman then aren’t a guaranteed Billion dollar movies, right? Sure, we can agree on that.

When Batman Forever and Batman and Robin ruined the franchise, Batman Begins came and made very little compared to TDK and TDKR, that is the effect of a bad movie. Same with Superman, who had Superman 3,4 and Returns, before Man of Steel came out, 3 in a row, so making 668 Million is not a flop, but a great start. Superman 78, adjusted to 2017 numbers and considering it came out in a decade with 0 piracy, is worth around 1.2 Billion in the BO now, Batman 89 adjusted is an 850 M movie, even Batman Forever adjusted for 2017 has outsold each MCU phase 1 solo, minus The Avengers.

Most DC fans know that, but try to live in modern times, DC’s strength is solo adventures and stories, while Marvel has always been better so to say at assemble type of books and characters.

Then comes the last MCU die hard nail, which is but DC’s movies budget is bigger compared to the cheap budgets MCU phase 1 had, so even with the same money/sold seats, MCU has made a bigger profit. This however only affects the studio’s profits, doesn’t affect me as a fan, actually to be honest, I would want the studio to spend more money and make them visually better, better props and FX. This isn’t a knock-on quality. With Justice League, money spent did not help and the main enemy was the studio itself, that took advantage of a sad situation on a personal level, and used it to again [3rd time] chop a movie even worse than the 2 times prior. This time they brought a director that has 0 in common with the original one in terms of tone and vision, approved horrible CGI looking fake moustache scenes that were visible from the moon and inserted humor that was never the type of humor DCU fans liked.

That was pushed as some of them, really wanted to get bonuses and duplicate a formula used by their competitor successfully amongst their own fan base. I wasn’t happy with the total annihilation of the movie and the brand following both the critical and financial failure of Justice League, but I think it needed to happen, so WB finally understands that cutting movies by a committee, changing tones mid film, removing pivotal scenes will not go unnoticed by the fan community.

If Aquaman performs like Thor in 2018, depending on the increase in ticket sales it will end with a box office come between 510-521 Million, a failure in the eyes of “bloggers”, but a financial win on a 150 M budget and will put the DCU phase 1 at about 4.3 Billion, if it performs like:

Man of Steel – BO between 739-756 Million, DCU total 4.5 B ~

Batman V Superman – BO between 908-929 Million, DCU total 4.7 B ~

Wonder Woman – BO between 828-847 Million, DCU total 4.6 B ~

Suicide Squad – BO between 775 – 793 Million, DCU total 4.5 B ~

 So, based on the above, I can assure you, this franchise with new blood and exciting Directors like Wan, Reeves, Jenkins, O Connor, Sandberg etc., will be in great hands and if Hamada is what everyone says he is, a very smart producer, then call me crazy, but DCU bout to kick some major ass.

If Suicide Squad 2 doesn’t feature a CGI unknown and uninteresting villain, is not put together by a trailer FX company, and has the tone of the animated features, with Margot/Harley’s star power, Will Smith’s name, Jared focused Joker performance and a good score, then I can see it doing 800 M plus, Shazam can be DC while appealing to MCU fans with humor and do something brand new, The Batman might be the return to form for the character with Reeves attached, and we all know Batman alone, with 0 cameos can do these Billion dollar numbers, something not many characters can do, and with a trilogy on Reeves’s hands, I can see a BO number around the 2.8-3 Billion in that alone. Man of Steel 2 needs the right balance between MOS/Snyder tone and what was built and a little nostalgia for these 50-70 year old critics that trashed MOS, then we have a 700 + Million movie. Wonder Woman 2 is already looking like females kick ass power play of the decade, I expect nothing less of 900 M for her.

So please tell me, how DCU is a failure. Will be here!!!

[bexical]

Black Panther: plot

Alright, let’s talk about the actual plot of the movie. There will be spoilers.

A friend of mine compared the movie to The Lion King, and the comparison certainly has its merits on a surface level. But The Lion King is about Simba and his journey and what he learns, and I would not say the same about Black Panther and T’Challa.

Let’s go back to the discussion on science fiction from my earlier post on Annihilation. I was discussing The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (TMiaHM), a scifi novel about lunar colonization and AI. It’s not about Mannie (the main character) or any individual. Similarly, I might actually classify Black Panther as a science fiction movie that proposes the country of Wakanda, or more generally, a hidden but advanced African nation. The movie explores the motivations behind the isolation and the people’s feelings on the plight of black people around the world, and it uses this exploration to form a political commentary. Using the fictional country of Wakanda, the movie actually criticizes stringent immigration and refugee policies in countries like the US by condemning Wakanda’s past for keeping to themselves and hiding their technological wealth. At the same time though, it condemns reverse racism pretty heavily; Killmonger is repeatedly deemed mad for bloodthirsty plans.

Note that none of this is at all subtle. In fact, if there is one complaint I have regarding this, it’s that there doesn’t really feel like there is much to discuss afterwards, because it’s all stated pretty clearly. Wakanda is not doing the right thing with its isolationist policies. Killmonger is right about that, but his ideas are also quite awful. T’Challa learns (from Killmonger and Nakia) and incorporates his learning into a new vision for Wakanda. I suppose one could debate the merits of the first statement more - is it really wrong for Wakanda to isolate itself? But the movie itself doesn’t lend much credence to the other side, in my opinion, nor does it seem like people are debating it; if anything, people are questioning whether or not Killmonger, who wants to overthrow the world in bloody conquest, is actually a villain... hm.

Nonetheless, it is still impressive that they were brave enough to discuss such ideas in what could have otherwise been a standard action superhero film. I’ll take a brief sidetrack in to a discussion on the MCU; I just want to say, I think they have been very brave in tackling aspects of American politics and really elevating the superhero film genre (even as DC tries to drag it down...). I posted this link a while back, which says pretty much the same thing: https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/2/26/17029572/black-panther-marvel-politics.

However, also as noted in the article, Black Panther gets distracted in the end from its message, much like many of the other MCU movies. The brawl at the climax basically ignores the main political debate of the movie, and I honestly felt a little uninvested in the fight.

Admittedly, there were a number of minor script flaws that led to that feeling. Let me list some of those flaws (not all of which are related to the climax): 1) It’s unclear why W’Kabi attacks T’Challa at the end. It’s clear that the ritual is not yet complete (”I did not yield, and as you can see, I am not dead!”), so Killmonger is not the rightful king, but W’Kabi still likes him more because he... brought Klaue’s body in? Even though he was the one who freed him..? 2) “Would you really kill me, my love?” (W’Kabi to Okoye) - uhh, you just tried to kill T’Challa, did you not? 3) “Wakanda needs a king! It does not need a warrior right now.” There is no evidence that points either way, so the statement just kind of sits in a vacuum. Is she right? I don’t know. 4) “It’s hard for a good man to be a king.” What does he mean by that? Hearing this in the trailer, I thought T’Challa was going to have to face more difficult decisions where he has to choose the good of the country, but nothing like that happened for him that I can think of. I did wonder if perhaps the movie was saying that T’Chaka was wrong, and one must actually be a good man to be a good king. I feel like some ideas were wasted here. 5) Did Killmonger really commit the cardinal sin of villainy of not killing the protagonist when he had the chance? I mean, really. The script could’ve even avoided this by choreographing the fight a little differently so T’Chaka fell off the cliffside and Killmonger didn’t actually have the chance to kill him, for example.

Sorry, I’m nitpicking again. But that’s the thing with this movie: I feel like it’s so good in so many ways, but it’s really held back by these details here and there. Still, I have to state once again that I am impressed with how this movie continues to elevate the idea of what a superhero film can be and their bravery in tackling these ideas in such a prominent pop culture movie. Overall, it really is an amazing movie.

Note: I said I would be talking about the characters, but I realized I didn’t actually have much to say. The characters are all interesting and fun, but there’s nothing subtle to discuss there really. I think I’ll be doing one more on the fights though.

[geek-gem]

So Disney Bought Fox

Well basically it's not 20th Century Fox anymore it's 21st Century Fox....okay I'm gonna be honest and will tag this. I had found out about this information on Tumblr and liked some posts that I'll reblog after this. But I didn't wanna talk about it because of a therapist also even at one point told her Disney are slowly taking over everything and I think Disney bought Fox that's what I told her.

Yet I wanted to see a video by TheFilmJunkee and it's just fucking hilarious. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dQN6aZdNgC4 I watched the video twice and well before the 2nd time I looked at some comments. Including before hand spoilers before I watched video I pressed the back button then I heard a song and clicked on the video again.

Including what's amazing the image seen in the video it's on Tumblr and it just makes me laugh now. Including rewinded just that part of him drinking and the song. Even after that I went didn't wanna watch videos but comments below a Hybrid Network video but not the biggest fan these days. Including trying to find out who wrote that Simpsons episode almost left the word Disney.

Turns out the guy who wrote the episode it's named, "When You Dish Upon A Star". The guy is still alive because seriously how in the hell are these predictions just what the fuck. I'm hearing Dave's voice from TheFilmJunkee reading this.

Yet okay I'll get to the main topic. But I wanna mention this and forgot to mention as the first thing. But I feel the other stuff is important. That joke yet actual concern from one of my posts. I said to myself twice the fear of Disney buying the rights to the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise in a way relates to this crap.

But just forgot stuff and.... basically I'll be more detailed and talk about my opinions on this.

Also seriously those comments trolls just can't let people fucking enjoy other shit that isn't the God damn MCU. I even yell at the comments and say you would be doing the same thing is Marvel was in DC's place. Just saying I like the DCEU while disappointed at Justice League because some shit done to the film just shook some seconds.

Also I remembered writing that paragraph now remember again. I was seriously thinking why was this December 14th date to buy Fox so close to Star Wars The Last Jedi close....listen contracts are different. Including this stupid idea I mean Disney has a lot of money so Star Wars can't make the amount of money if possible to pay I mean it's already payed. Yet read on those Tumblr posts it will be finalized.

Also the net neutrality guys I'll still talk about this too don't worry. I honestly wanna talk about this now I will get to the main subject of it.

I did not like the idea of Disney buying Fox. While I'm not the biggest fan of Fox. I've talked about stuff like competition and diversity in films like different genres. But basically competition I've heard helps.

But what sucks my friend okay I'll mention him @fatpinkraccoon423 just it seems like I couldn't word it right or be very meaningful about the idea. Yet he seems I forgot to like it or not care okay I forgot. Because I wanna be honest. Yet he said quite some critical things on the comic book movie genre.

Including I've had mention at times I seriously don't like Disney. This mainly started last year and increased this year. Because of Gravity Falls ending but it's creator choose to end the series but I never watched the finale.

Yet over time with Wander Over Yonder being cancelled before a season 3. My dislike towards Disney increased. While I enjoyed films like Zootopia, The Jungle Book, Moana, and the new Beauty And The Beast these two years or some shit.

Also my disliking towards the MCU and how it was handled. While just I sound stupid saying this about the DCEU but now I understand. It had problems including Warner Bros fucking up some of the films with Justice League being a very big case of that. Yet I like what those films are doing. Still haven't seen Suicide Squad have the movie and Justice League should have the Snyder cut.

I mean seriously the MCU films can be quite enjoyable. I'll say this I saw Spider-Man Homecoming three times this year and that was a MCU film but released under Sony's stuff.

Including all the shit people some MCU fans or just trolls can't just fucking accept some people don't like the MCU and how they approach their films. I will say they are doing a more safe route but I'm not on board with that shit.

Seriously I haven't gave a shit about cartoons like Star Vs The Forces Of Evil because I don't care sometimes after season 1 and possibly this happened close to Gravity Falls ending. While I enjoyed Milo Murphy's Law because of a post I've decided to not watch any Disney related channel unless it's on TV somewhere and I don't care, or when my cousin T's baby girl my niece basically is here.

I even haven't seen the new DuckTales reboot because I'm still pissed off and my thing of not watching any Disney related.

Even though I have thought a times should I watch it but no yet at times I think I forgot. I've even thought maybe liking the custom character in Sonic Forces might help me with that but no. Along with the other time I'll watch a Disney related channel if Wander Over Yonder is on. It only happened on a weekend and that sucks okay oh head I mean I should be grateful the fact we had three nights of episodes with Sunday basically being almost all day. But it just sucks I missed the first night.

But now to more important things. Despite I've seen thumbnails and read comments. I don't fucking want Disney to even try to mess certain properties.

The biggest ones being well I'm not the biggest fan of the X-Men franchise. Yet I did like Deadpool but any film that Marvel and is R rated don't mess with that crap.

But I did support the idea of Fantastic Four being in the MCU because after all the shit that happened. They need a better movie and I think the Fantastic Four are cool. Including they be better probably in the MCU.

Now wanna say before I talk about other franchises. I've thought to myself why bought Fox then I thought of that Streaming service they wanna do after departing from Netflix and shit. To own some tv shows and shit.

So now I'll talk about the other franchises. We have Avatar now. As in the film from 2009 and just a little note for Disney Infinity sorry to mention some concept art or something their were plans for some Avatar figures. Yet the franchise wasn't bought. Honestly I'm not the biggest fan. Really it's a franchise I don't care and Disney can have it possibly.

Then we have the Planet Of The Apes franchise, again not the biggest fan. Yet with the recent films I've haven't seen Dawn or War but seen Rise. I thought Rise was a good film saw that film three times yet well yeah with friends and shit. The other two sound great but haven't seen much of the originals but I guess some of the original film or I don't know if I've seen all of it. Honestly just it has it's fans and I don't know what to say. In fact I feel kind of bad about saying that Avatar just does it still have a fanbase. Seriously again I don't like the film much sorry okay I wanna get to this part.

The Alien and Predator franchises. Including yesterday I had talked about that gameplay video from Ghost Recon Wild Lands and that Predator stuff they added. I seriously praised it.

But it's those two I worry about and I haven't seen AVPGalaxy as of now. I looked on it some days ago. Their were no news about the Fox and Disney merging thing. I'm wondering if now they will talk about it.

These are two film franchises I like. I'm excited for the Predator film next year. But I'm worried and even saw a Hybrid Network video on this. My worst fears were they would cancel both series of films. I'm gonna say both franchises have their ups and downs. Yet just the addition of new films is sometimes nice. Including video games and such.

I'm gonna mention this the thumbnails and comments I mentioned I forgot saying they will still do R rated stuff okay now I looked I didn't mention it at that one part.

Including I don't know just if this official Fox has a lot of stuff. Is that they have DreamWorks which I was very surprised by. Unless I'm wrong correct me please. Also Blue Sky now I remember. Including was thinking of talking about this in a status update on Deviantart.

Looked at my last paragraph. Honestly I was thinking if it's the way I think and that God damn Simpsons prediction and shit. Is that 20th Century Fox or 21st Century Fox I wanna call them 20th Century instead of this weird shit I'm being stupid or whatever.

But if the films release under their banner yet their still connected to Disney also this talk about Touchstone films and some shit and others. I'm some what fine or....I don't want Disney interfering with this shit.

Including I just don't wanna everything to be God damn jokes and whatever. Sorry I just wanna make this and sometimes hear my own voice and now TheFilmJunkee's or whatever.

I'm just seriously don't want Disney to fuck shit up. Just thought Disney should of bought Sony yet thought oh shit PlayStation and shit.

Got tags done and they still have a 20th Century Fox tag nice I mean it wouldn't be gone. Also almost left tags as rags.

Just Disney don't fuck shit up. I mean okay these are my random opinions and I wanted to share these