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Post by BigPapaJoe on Aug 19, 2021 4:24:02 GMT -5
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Aug 13, 2021 8:27:36 GMT -5
Both of my daughters really enjoyed this, but I sat it out. I'm just not much of a cartoon guy any more (although I love Lego Batman Movie), so this has limited appeal to me. You should give it a go as it's only 30 minutes. Doesn't feel out of step with the MCU, and it seems like it's going to connect more than I initially thought it would. For the What If premise I think animation would be the only way to go about it anyway. Since would be weird to do a single film on a What If scenario. Which is funny that I say that, because word on the street is that Marvel is staying frosty about potentially making something more out of one of these short stories. BTW, not to make a mountain out of a molehill, but I'm so curious I have to ask...what is it about animation that just isn't your sandbox anymore? You are still into video games and comic books right?
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Aug 11, 2021 19:23:00 GMT -5
Really enjoyed the first episode. Captain Carter is a badass.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 16, 2021 0:48:42 GMT -5
You know what makes my head hurt and makes less sense than time travel? Multiverses. They're essentially a get of out jail free card for plotting. Bad, lazy story telling. They're fine when there's a fun alternate take, but as a main plot, they always suck. Not surprised, of course (it was clear this was the route they are going), but still a little disappointed. Also, that's not any sort of resolution to end a show. Cliffhangers that are going to be answered... some time also suck. The 'big reveal' was not even a little bit of a surprise, unless.... It NOT actually Kang, but that He Who Remains (who was in that Thor TVA story way back when) is actually who he is. That's clearly not what the hints are going for, but they didn't ACTUALLY call him Kang {Spoiler: Click to show}Oh yeah of course that's not him. Pretty sure it was 31st century Richards/Immortus. It's heavily implied. Kang should look different when we see him a little down the road. And not as goofy. Hopefully he has a dope ass helmet. I'm afraid though because of Hollywood needing to show actors faces, actor Johnathan Majors won't look as cool as his comic counterpart. BTW I know multiverses can get confusing, and it can lead to lazy narratives/get out of jail free card usage. And it can really turn off the casual fans that aren't that invested in the MCU, and just show up to watch one every once in a while like my wife. It's going to be a tightrope for the MCU folks to have to navigate. Still, it was the next logical step to raise the stakes after the Thanos escapade, and that's exciting to me. At least this is a way to maybe get Black Panther back.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 16, 2021 0:42:16 GMT -5
Marvel Studios has essentially disavowed anything produced by Marvel Television at this point after the falling out between both companies two or three years ago. Kevin Feige has made it pretty clear that Marvel Studios is moving forward, and any connections now are going to be from shows produced by them directly (the Disney+ shows). So Agents of Shield, Runaways, Cloak and Dagger, Agent Carter, the Netflix shows, etc. have basically been shuffled off to the cornfields. So to answer your question, no, and that's not surprising. ...another major reason why the MCU is so lacking in substance--most of the best modern Marvel output were the Netflix series, most standing head and shoulders above the quip-overdosed, "biggest EVER" explosion fest, especially of the last "phase." Of the Disney+ series, The Falcon/Captain America and the Winter Soldier was strong. Because of its quality, I'm really I looking forward to Captain America 4 (which Malcolm Spellman is writing now). Black Widow: it was an uninspired film, and next pointless, as its not really giving audiences information about Black Widow that was necessary to know for the overall presentation or understanding of her character in the movies. This was more of a set-up for the Yelena character appearing in the forthcoming Hawkeye series more than a Natasha movie, and that was not good for the Black Widow's final appearance.
Daredevil is rumored to make an appearance in the next Spider Man film. The MCU is heading towards the multiverse arena, so anything they put in the closet, they can essentially dust off with that reasoning in their back pocket if they need one. I do agree the Netflix shows were pretty awesome. It's a shame the business side reared it's ugly head, and fans of some of those shows were left at the altar. Hopefully things change, and more harmony is on the horizon.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 14, 2021 21:35:26 GMT -5
Spoilers below. But if you haven't seen the series finale you probably shouldn't be in here. {Spoiler: Click to show}This show was remarkable. It was the least I was excited for, yet ended up being miles better than the other two for me. I was so afraid they were going to have another version of Loki sitting on the throne in the final episode. That would have been so typical/television budget BS. Turns out the initial trailer footage of him being in some golden armor was all a misdirect. Marvel is getting better with the bait and switch in just trailers alone. But Disney actually pulled the trigger and got Majors to appear as Immortus/Kang/Nathaniel Richards. I'm so excited to get one of the best Avengers villains period off the comic book page, and on screen. The time maestro is going to wreck havoc on the MCU, and he's going to definitely be in the public consciousness more like Thanos was after it's all said and done. A++ experience with this series. Even episode 3 won't be a drag on rewatch.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 10, 2021 1:39:02 GMT -5
Didn't mind it was before Infinity-War, but it would have been better if it came directly after Captain America 3. Not sure what the point is to having it showcased now, as it doesn't really add anything important to Natasha, and we already know her ultimate fate. This is actually a good review that sums my feelings perfectly. But "don't make a Black Widow movie" is basically a criticism of the concept of a Black Widow movie, not about the execution of this movie given the constraints of Endgame. I don't really think Civil War added more than Captain America than this movie. Or the last two Thor movies added more to Thor. Or the last two Iron Man movies added more to Tony. I don't think meeting Clint's family in Age of Ultron was more interesting that what this movie gave us about Natasha. I found the dynamic between Natasha and Yelena rewarding and worth the movie. I feel like there's a reason now why Natasha speaks unaccented English. We have more background on Natasha's guilt. Now, granted with her background, I'm sure any number of incidents could be written to fill that in, but you could say that about anyone's backstory. It was interesting to contemplate this particular source. Those movies regardless how you feel about the main character growing or not, at least didn't have the uphill battle of having to try and make an interesting narrative when the audience already knows the character is dead in the near future. Deck just seemed stacked against the filmmakers. I am at least up for watching it again. A couple of days after I didn't feel as bummed as I did with Iron Man 3. My expectations for that film was higher though.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 9, 2021 19:30:15 GMT -5
I liked it. Maybe my perceptions are distorted recent MCU events (feeling lukewarm about The Falcon & The Winter Soldier and feeling unmotivated to watch any Loki episode after the premiere), but I feel like it's an above average Marvel movie. Florence Pugh's performance is better than any character in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. It's got the standard MCU flaws like feeling a bit too manufactured, final action sequences going a little too long, and like 15% too many jokes. But I didn't find the fact that it tells a pre-Infinity War story to be an obstacle to my enjoyment. This is a choice the film makes in deviating from source material that BigPapaJoe criticizes but which I am cool with. I like the post-credit scene. Didn't mind it was before Infinity-War, but it would have been better if it came directly after Captain America 3. Not sure what the point is to having it showcased now, as it doesn't really add anything for Natasha for the greater picture, and we already know her ultimate fate. In a way she plays second fiddle to Pugh's character in her own film, and it's weird that this is the last we'll see of OG Black Widow. This is actually a good review that sums my feelings perfectly. At least you had a good time though. Nice to hear.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 9, 2021 19:27:00 GMT -5
Just out of curiosity, is there any link to the character, Dottie, from Agent Carter and the whole evolution of the Black Widow program? That was what I wanted to see more of, after she was introduced into Agent Carter and the episode they did with Peggy and the Howlers hitting a Russian facility. Marvel Studios has essentially disavowed anything produced by Marvel Television at this point after the falling out between both companies two or three years ago. Kevin Feige has made it pretty clear that Marvel Studios is moving forward, and any connections now are going to be from shows produced by them directly (the Disney+ shows). So Agents of Shield, Runaways, Cloak and Dagger, Agent Carter, the Netflix shows, etc. have basically been shuffled off to the cornfields. So to answer your question, no, and that's not surprising.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 8, 2021 21:32:30 GMT -5
Love The Watcher. Jefferey Wright was a perfect casting, and I hope we actually get to see more of him beyond this series.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 8, 2021 3:34:35 GMT -5
Great episode. I was afraid this was going to be another slow one similar to episode 3, but I was wrong. I ended up liking the other Loki variants more than I thought I would, and they were on screen for about as much as they needed to be. Richard E. Grant was in particular good to watch perform. The Alioth cloud menace is another hint towards the direction of Kang, and at this point if he's not at least referenced by the end I'll be disappointed. They put a lot of easter eggs in here. Didn't notice the statue head of The Living Tribunal the first time around. Rob from Comics Explained had a really good theory about who is probably in the castle at the end, and I'd agree. Probably Loki as a condensed version of Immortus that was able to take control of the TVA, axe the time keepers, and reign supreme at the end of time. I still hope that leads to Kang, and we don't just end on that note. The show is setting up a big finish, and I pray it sticks the landing unlike Falcon/Winter Soldier did.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 8, 2021 3:25:50 GMT -5
BTW there is a post credits scene.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 8, 2021 3:23:50 GMT -5
Not what I wanted to hear/read about the film. My daughters have been pestering me to take them this weekend to see it, but I'm honestly not really feeling this like I am Shang-Chi or the next Spidey movie, so this does nothing to build my excitement level. {Spoiler: Click to show} Don't think you'll experience the lows like with this film. At least Shang Chi is something fresh, instead of backtracking filler. Spider Man will be a huge crossover event. Black Widow is partly a victim of circumstance. If this had come out around phase two it wouldn't seem like such a yawn. Hopefully your experience with your kids is better than mine was.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 7, 2021 8:15:33 GMT -5
General thoughts. No major spoilers. {Spoiler: Click to show} The movie was ok, but I'm disappointed in that I feel it's arguably the weakest MCU film. Some cool action scenes, but I guess I left wanting more of the story. Just didn't seem that invested. Sadly, the film really comes off as a filler segment in the MCU that really wasn't necessary. It feels like it really should have been released around Phase 2, and the movie just has this aura of being made due to fans continuing to badger Marvel about it. That's why while watching the narrative comes off as an uphill battle maybe with everything working against it. But I guess for the future it opens the door for one of the characters, and it's pretty obvious who that is by the post credits scene. Oh and Taskmaster was a joke. Almost had Iron Man 3 Mandarin flashbacks. I'm honestly debating if this is worse than Thor 2.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jun 30, 2021 1:20:36 GMT -5
The creators probably weren't going to adapt the original premise of Shang Chi working with British Intelligence to take down his father i.e. The West taking out big bad China. That just wasn't going to fly in today's age. I don't know about that. That premise could easily appeal to a modern audience, provided the characters are well written and played. Classic Bond holds up, classic Bruce Lee holds up; you mix the two and you have Master of Kung Fu. Now, you modernize the Fu Manchu character (cut out Fu as a character, period or remove the purely racist elements) and the same with Shang Chi (kind of hard to sell the idea that some is raised in that much isolation, in the modern world) and the basic plots and storylines of the Moench/Gulacy run fit in pretty well. Heck, you could even throw in the twist that the evil father is a Westerner and the mother is Chinese and you can even make subtle critiques of the exploitation of China by the West, in the Colonial years (a take that would likely appeal to an Asian audience). You make the villain less of a caricature and give him a believable mindset and the audience will go along, even if the story gets fantastic, so long as there is a logic to things and the audience is entertained and identifies with the characters. But, no, Hollywood isn't going to adapt the classic work, because Marvel has spent to many years since trying to turn Shang-Chi into whatever was en vogue in Martial Arts films or Hong Kong action cinema. That is part of why the character has not been a major figure at Marvel, since Moench, because everyone since just sees him as a martial arts character while Doug saw him as a spiritual character, in a pulp world, who just happened to be extensively trained in martial arts. Marvel pitched this as aping Hong Kong from the moment it started, when it was announced that Yeun Woo Ping had been attached to direct, since he was hot, thanks to Quentin Tarantino promoting Iron Monkey, and the popularity of the films he choreographed that had become big rentals in video stores, like Tai Chi Master and Wing Chun. They didn't want Bruce Lee, they wanted Jet Li, which just shows how much time has passed since Shang Chi was a popular character, headlining his own series. Marvel Studios sees this as a character that can be sold well to Asian audiences, who have become more important than American audiences, which is fair enough. No one says America should have a monopoly on cinema. I hope it does well enough that maybe they can bring in some of those classic elements, in future films. I'll watch this, eventually, just as I did the others that didn't wow me with their trailers; just not in a theater. Still, I have watched enough Hong Kong cinema to tick off the stuff they have swiped in that trailer, from 36th Chamber of Shaolin, to Police Story, to John Woo and Tsui Hark to wonder if anyone in Hollywood can establish their own style anymore or are they just mimicking their influences. A lot like modern superhero comics, really. But first impressions are important. Even if the original premise was adapted more accurately, but there is a bait/switch in the plot where Shang Chi's father isn't a stereotypical Chinese boogeyman, and is a Westerner instead it still would be a dice roll with Chinese audiences. Especially if the idea of a cast out Chinese son joins a western power to take out China in the trailers. China is obviously a huge part of Marvel's movie revenue, and this is really the only Chinese superhero they have with some history in which they can spotlight for a movie. A lot of people now whether they are Chinese citizens are not, aren't familiar with Shang Chi who has been a D list character for Marvel since the 1970s, so Marvel has enough leeway to adapt the character for the times, and not risk alienating maybe the most important demographic for their movie. And yeah, it will take inspiration from Hong Kong cinema. Don't see why that's bad. It's not like every other MCU film, hell Marvel in general hasn't had their inspiration from other stories. We shall see. I'll be interested to hear what Engelhart, Moench, and Starlin think of the movie if they do indeed see it.
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