Avengers: Age Of Ultron - Marvel's BEST to date.

I'm like a little kid at Christmas when it comes to the anticipation and the arrival of a new Marvel movie. I'm 43 years old and it never ceases to amaze me the excitement level and the energy of a little kid when it comes to these movies! It doesn't seem like 3 years since the last Avengers movie, but alas time has flown by....OK maybe not. It's been a LONG 3 years and the wait has come to an end.

I always prepare myself for a new Marvel movie by number 1: scouring the Internet to find out all about the new movie. Scoops...early reviews...interviews...what's next etc etc. Number 2: I acquire the soundtrack to the movie to get myself ready for the movie. Avengers: Age Of Ultron...of which we call it AOU from here out...the soundtrack is phenomenal! Definitely ramped my excitement and anticipation for the most anticipated movie of the year. Watching the early box office stats, this movie has already broke every record in the book I believe. It's already over $255 million and it opens today (May 1st at this writing). It is expected to rake in over $230 million in the US this weekend! Cannot wait to see the results come Monday morning.

I am calling this Avengers week-weekend...I plan to see the movie everyday this weekend if at all possible. I saw the early screening last night, and I was completely blown away. I am not sure what movie some of the early reviewers saw...but this movie topped every Marvel movie to date. I don't know how they do it. They top every one of their movies! It is unbelievable that Rotten Tomatoes only has AOU at a 76% and the audience rating is a 89%. I think we need to retire some movie critics and bring in a new generation of hip and knowledgeable movie goers to change up the atmosphere and mood in Hollywood. 76%...really?? I read all of the early reviews and have to be honest...I was quite scared and worried about the movie. Me being a complete Marvel geek...I was actually worried. Well...I am not worried anymore. AOU totally blew my mind. Yes, it's a darker movie...yes it's different...hello! Joss Whedon did an incredible job. Marvel and Disney will have a good weekend.

The movie opens with the Avengers doing what the Avengers do best...winning and working together. The wit is still there and it intertwines through the whole movie. You laugh...you gasp...you say YES! This movie definitely has it all. Drama...action...romance...comedy...suspense. Wonderful writing, acting, directing. Awesome. The newcomers were a awesome addition to the MCU. Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor Johnson did a tremendous job. So many of the critics were comparing his Quicksilver to X-Men's DOFP Quicksilver. Get over it...it worked. The dream sequences were well played out. Many of the reviews I read said that they were drawn out and boring. I thought they flowed very well. They were darker in nature, but it helped with the storyline and the plot very well. I was disappointed that Tom Hiddleston's "Loki" did not make the final cut. He was listed on IMDB in the movie as well as confirmed by Idris Elba he filmed a scene with Hiddleston. But, sadly, it was cut. Hopefully a scene we get to see on Bluray.

As long as the movie was..at the end...you were wanting more. I was discouraged at the mid-credits scene..it was Thanos and his Infinity glove, but he had one line. That was it! NO END CREDITS SCENE. THE MOST DISAPPOINTING thing about AOU. It does pave the way for Captain America: Civil War as well as leave it open ended for Avengers: Infinity War. Lots of questions at the end...what happens to Banner...Thor just up and leaves...Hawkeye goes back home to his wife. Hmmmmmmm.

I am interested in how Ant-Man will play into the whole MCU. Why bring him in now. Will he be in Civil War? Avengers: Infinity War? Because after Ant-Man we do not get another MCU til May 6th 2016. That's a LONG wait Marvel fans. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I will give a more in depth review after the weekend is up. I am still taking it all in and compiling notes and thoughts to write a good, complete review. So, until then...that's my side of it. See you at the movies!

Movie Pass...Pass or Plus?

Over the last few years movie ticket prices have skyrocketed as well as concession prices. You almost have to take out a small loan to go see a movie these days. With tickets ranging everywhere from $10 to $15 a ticket and a small drink and popcorn ranging from $4 to $8 a piece...you figure for say a family of four to go see ONE movie, you need the help of ol' Benjamin himself. A $100 dollar movie trip...YIKES! Can't do that very often. Now for a single person, even still...you're looking at the very least $40 for one trip to the movies. Now I know, I could go into the whole reason why ticket prices have skyrocketed...pirating...downloading illegally...yada...yada...yada...but that's a whole nother article in itself.

There is a relatively new service out there called MoviePass. It allows you to see an unlimited amount of movies every month, for a monthly fee. So with the $10 to $15 ticket price in mind, if you see 2 to 3 movies a month, you have paid for the service. A little help at the theater goes a long way. Without paying for that ticket, you save the money for the concession snacks! Now, with any services there are limitations. MoviePass is no exception. They say unlimited, however, after researching and digging for info, I have found that you can see ONE movie within a 24 hour period. I also discovered that you cannot see the same movie twice. I plan to research and find out more, as I have just joined the service and will see what I like or dislike about it. But let's say you go to see The Avengers: Age Of Ultron one day at noon. You cannot see another movie til noon the next day. You can't catch the early matinee, you have to wait til noon. You cannot see the Avengers again with MoviePass. That would come out of your pocket to see it again. Now...I am unsure of whether or not you could see the Avengers the following month with MoviePass. I still have some digging and findings to do. There is a huge downfall...if you terminate your membership early or in  a what they call trial period...they charge you a $75 early termination fee.

The service is $30 a month and they say that is for "unlimited" movies. Yeah, you could go to the movies everyday I suppose, but there are only a certain amount of movies in a theater, you would run out of movies in 18 days or so or less for some theaters. They send you a MoviePass card with a member number, and you MUST have a smartphone to use the app along with the card.
When you arrive at the theater, you login in the app, you check in on the app, choose your movie, and it adds money to your card. You can ONLY see the movie you check in for when you purchase your ticket. You cannot check in to Paul Blart, and then see The Avengers. Very straight forward. The card only works for you. You cannot buy a ticket for a friend etc...etc...unless they have a MoviePass membership too.

If you are a movie buff and you do enjoy movies, or you may be a reviewer, or movie critic, or whatever, this service is perfect for those individuals. If you see one or two movies a month, this service may not be for you. I have suggested to the people at MoviePass to allow to see the same movie more than once, I think it would be very appealing to an avid movie lover to have that knowing, that you are paying $30 a month and can go see as many movies as you want. We will see what happens. Until next time, that's my side of it, and I will see you at the movies!

Movie Pass

Guardians Of The Galaxy (late review)

I never got around to posting a few of my movie reviews...so this is a bit late in the game.
For someone who is not well versed and familar with their story...I had to do my own research and look back at past comics and such. This movie definitely blew all the other Marvel movies out of the water. Even Captain America The Winter Soldier. NOT that the other movies were bad, they just keep getting better and better. The story was solid, special effects were awesome, soundtrack was good, and it was connected to the MCU, but in a distant way. There were no mentions of Stark, Cap, Thor, Loki...etc etc etc. BUT let's flashback to mid-credits scene in the Avengers. Remember that evil looking purple dude Thanos?? Well to my surprise he had a full scene in Guardians of the Galaxy, which was awesome to say the least. Eventually The Avengers as well as Loki will have to deal with Thanos. So that is what we look forward to. Guardians was Marvel's first good shot at a Action/Sci-Fi/Comedy. It had every emotion you could imagine. To me Rocket Raccoon and Groot stole the show. Chris Pratt AKA Star Lord did an amazing job as well as Zoey Zeldana as Gomorrah and Dave Batista as Drax. The characters meshed well and made for an amazing film from Marvel. There is already Guardians of the Galaxy 2 being developed and planned. You really don't have to see any of the other films to see this one. I was expecting a little more connecting but overall the film was great. The only thing I was real disappointed with were the mid and post credits scene. While the mid scene was cute and hilarious, I was hoping for one that would lead into Avengers or another MCU film. The post credits scene was the most disappointing. NOT sure where Marvel was head with that. They say it was just for fun, but why not do one that actually connected it to another upcoming film. Overall though it was awesome and will definitely want to see again. 5 stars from me. And that's my side of it. See you at the movies!

Avengers: Age Of Ultron...a sure fire box office smash1

It's almost like waiting for Christmas. We've seen the television commercials, we've watched the late night shows and we've seen the red carpet premiere. In all of this, our anticipation has heightened and I'm sure some of us have lost sleep in anticipation for this movie. The tickets have been bought, and they are now in a safe place...all that's left is to wait...and wait. Avengers: Age Of Ultron opens nationwide Friday May 1st. The anticipation could not be higher for this long awaited sequel.
Advanced ticket sales are outselling the first Avengers and it is estimated it will track close to if not over $207 million opening weekend.
This fanboy is absolutely beside myself waiting to see this movie! I've bought into all the promotions, and have free tickets waiting to see it more than once or twice. The first Avengers, I probably saw 8 times in the theaters. There's something about Marvel movies, that makes you want to see them again and again. And this new film is no different. I predict it will not only be the number one movie of the year, but will surpass all box office records in just one weekend. The partnership between Disney and Marvel is one not to mess with.
I have not seen the movie, I have only heard critics remarks on the film...and I must say I am disappointed by all of their remarks. The superhero genre of films is such a hot spot right now, the geeks...like myself LOVE these movies and thrive on them! How some critics can take a good movie and tear it to shreds is beyond me. I believe we are in for a fast, action-packed, epic wonder from Joss once again. Here is to the continued excellence and awesomeness of what Marvel brings to their fans!

Marvel's Cinematic Universe...it just keeps getting better!

It began with Tony Stark in a cave....then to bring us to 5 misfits being loosed to run around space, to the soon forthcoming Avengers 2 that a Robot will wreck havoc on the world.
Iron Man...the movie that everyone was scared to make, but ended up being a huge success and the start of Marvel's road to win box offices all over the globe. The Incredible Hulk...Iron Man 2...Thor...Captain America: The First Avenger...The Avengers...Iron Man 3...Thor 2: The Dark World...Captain America: The Winter Soldier...Guardians of The Galaxy...and now we anxiously await Avengers 2: Age Of Ultron.
I have to say Phase 2 for me, was on the shaky side. Didn't quite feel as moving as Phase 1. I absolutely loved that the Phase1 movies flowed well into each other. Iron Man introduced us to Agent Phil Coulson and Pepper Potts and S.H.I.E.L.D...the end of Iron Man we saw Nick Fury, at the end of The Incredible Hulk we saw Tony Stark....as well got to see Fury's name at the intro and that scene that was cut with Cap in the ice. Thor's hammer falling down. Then in Iron Man 2 we were introduced to Black Widow and Nick Fury joined the roster as well as Coulson being there, seeing easter eggs from the MCU intertwined. The end of Iron Man 2 we see Thor's hammer. In Thor we meet the Asgardians...Loki...etc etc etc...the end of Thor Dr. Selvig meets the Tesseracta along with Loki. Captain America; The First Avenger, we meet Peggy Carter, we get to see how Stark's father helped in making Captain America. Now there are a few questions I have with the timeline here after The First Avenger. Stark finds the Tesseract when he is looking for Cap. We don't see the tesseract again until present day The Avengers. Did SHIELD have the Tesseract locked up all this time? What did Howard Stark do with it, until we see it at the end of Thor? A bit shaky there but...it still flowed. Every movie in Phase 1 connected the next movie to the next...which left the fandoms in utter excitement and pure anticipation.
The Avengers introduced us to the fact that a movie COULD be done with all the heroes in it. The genuis work of Joss Whedon and Marvel set the stage pretty high in The Avengers. Now here is where it starts to go off a bit. The beginning of the Avengers, Loki is given the scepter by Thanos.He is told if the Tesseract is kept from Thanos...he will pay. Well we all know the Tesseract goes back to Asgard, and Thanos does not get it. Loki's scepter is kept and tested on. END of that storyline or so it seems. NEXT MOVIE Iron Man 3: Extremis. Now I am an avid Marvel fan. I loved the Phase 2 movies. Awesome as always. HOWEVER...there was not that flowing and continuity like Phase 1. Iron Man 3...solo movie. Yeah it had some connection to The Avengers, but why did Tony not wonder about Coulson...WHY was he not able to call on fellow heroes. It was like they never existed. I know Kevin Feige talked about how they wanted to get the heroes on their own, and it was supposed to be a give in...they could not summon their fellow Avengers. I get that...but the connections of the first movie made that so intriguing and helped the whole universe. Thor 2: Really the only connecting factor was Loki did a bad thing and he was in trouble for New York. Yes we saw a cameo of sorts from Cap...but I don't count that. Take it back to Thanos...Loki is in more trouble than just from Odin...why did we not see something from Thanos angry about Loki not getting the Tesseract to him...?? The end of Thor 2, Loki "dies" or so we thought....it is believed that he has killed Odin and now sits on the Throne of Asgard. Leaves it WAY up in the air. Captain America 2 really starts to bring it all back sort of. It did connect better with the TV Show Agents Of SHIELD, which was cool, but had no connection really to the rest of Phase 2. THEN we shift gears and jump into space for Guardians Of The Galaxy. I guess this was an attempt just to bring them into the MCU. It was a great movie yes! But why now? If you will remember there was a scene supposedly with Tony Stark at the end of Iron Man 3...where he went into space....to meet up with Guardians of the Galaxy. Well that never panned out and came true, thus not really connecting Guardians to the MCU yet. Time will tell. It was good to see Thanos, but no mention of Loki and the Tesseract. Hmmm. Well now we stand at the door of the much very anticipated Avengers 2: Age Of Ultron. This movie is going to be so intense...we get a slew of new characters as well as the ones we have come to love. Too many to list and go through, but there is one thing I am curious about. OK several things....Loki is in this movie. We will see him have to face Thanos? When will the Avengers find out Coulson is alive. Fury knows...Hill knows....Many questions will arise I'm sure...guess we will just have to wait and see when Avengers 2: Age Of Ultron opens in theaters on May 1, 2015.

Marvel vs DC...the war continues

OK, so the good thing about a blog is that you can give your opinion and not be ridiculed for it. And being a geek in this century certainly has changed quite a bit and there are new rules when it comes to speaking geek...talking nerdy and just having a good time talking about the one that that we are all passionate about....comics and comic book movies and superheroes.

The long question remains who is better. Marvel or DC. Well really for any comic book fan, that's an unfair question. UNLESS you are a Marvel or DC fan. Being both makes it even more difficult. I grew up on DC characters. Superman, Batman, Robin, etc. etc....The only Marvel characters I knew of were Spiderman and the Hulk. But to tell me whether one was DC or Marvel, I had no clue. I just knew they were superheroes and that's all that mattered to me. Now with that said, I was never into the comics growing up. Yeah I read a few had a few in my possession at one time or another, but never really got into the collecting and being the "geek" I am today about it. I am kicking myself in the butt for NOT being into it very much, but I can't go back. All I can do is enjoy what is there today and savor every moment, gain all the knowledge I can, get every toy I can and just have fun with it. And that I am. VERY much so. Now as I said I am a late bloomer to the whole comicbook world and era. YES we are living in a comicbook era. Being a geek and a comicbook fan is probably the more popular thing to be today, cause its EVERYWHERE! We have toys, lego, movies, games, shops, online stores, clubs, groups, you name it, if it has anything to do with comics, they probably make it. BUT with all of that we still have our two giants Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Which is better? Well I am here with my simple opinion on which one I think reigns supreme and is the better of the two.

As I said I said I grew up liking DC characters. BUT today, I have to say that Marvel Comics is by far the better universe of the two. Now all of the DC fans seeing this just threw their hands up or slammed their computer closed and said NO WAY!
Fine you are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine.

First let's take it from the movie aspect of it shall we. Now as I said I am a late bloomer and I came into the MCU lineup at the Avengers. I had to go back and do my homework. I watched Iron Man, The Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and then I was ready for The Avengers. I even went to the all day marathon where they showed every movie in Phase 1 before the events of The Avengers. Never before was I so hooked and addicted to the films, I still today watch them over and over and over again. They are great movies.
I look back to the Christopher Reeve Superman movies. No disrespect to Reeve and his efforts, but the movies were just OK. I saw em once, and that was enough. Superman 3 NEVER should have happened. NOR should have Superman 4. They were good movies, but not great. There was several years in there where DC had no major thing going, until the Michael Keaton Batman movies. Now keep in mind there is NOTHING from Marvel going on here, yeah there were some attempts at movies, TV shows, but nothing really took off. The Tim Burton Batman movies were OK..but not great. Yes Jack NIcholson I thought was the best Joker ever, but again my opinion. They tried to keep the Batman franchise alive year after year, never heard anything from Superman after Reeve injuring himself. The Superman franchise pretty much dies until Superman Returns. Which I will admit I thought it was a really good movie. Let's jump to 2008. MARVEL on the scene with Iron Man. Breaks records at the box office and is a HUGE hit. DC still trying to find there way...rumors of a universe coming...Wonder Woman....Justice League...but nothing. The Incredible Hulk...Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America...AWESOME MOVIES. The Batman franchise kind of going along The Dark Knight did strike a good point for DC. But, they are just now getting their bearings. Marvel has been killing the box office and DC is fighting to catch up. We have Batman Vs Superman coming out. Frankly, if it is as long and as dark as Man Of Steel was...I think it will bomb. Marvel has setup an entire universe and it works. The movies flow. They are entertaining. They make excellent casting choices. There are still folks up in arms, myself included about Ben Affleck as Batman. Really?

I leave it at that. No need to go on. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is by far the better of the two. yes there are LOTS of points not brought out, it would take me a week to type EVERY detail and every account and every point, but just keep in mind...no matter who you are. Its a great time to be a geek. Just enjoy it, savor it while you can. Who knows when the whole train will come to a ceasing halt. I hope not in my lifetime. Geek on!

Marvel's Star Wars #1

It's been 30 years since the release of "Star Wars" # 107 in 1986. Now THE GREATEST SPACE ADVENTURE OF ALL TIME RETURNS TO MARVEL! Luke Skywalker and the ragtag band of rebels fighting against the Galactic Empire are fresh off their biggest victory yet—the destruction of the massive battle station known as the Death Star. But the Empire’s not toppled yet! Join Luke along with Princess Leia, smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca, droids C-3PO and R2-D2 and the rest of the Rebel Alliance as they strike out for freedom against the evil forces of Darth Vader and his master, the Emperor. Written by Jason Aaron (Original Sin, Thor: God of Thunder) and with art by John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men, Uncanny Avengers), this is the Star Wars saga as only Marvel Comics could make it!

The comic is set between Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. As with any Star Wars movie, well comic in this case, it starts with...A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....cue the music, but in this case, you have to supply the music. The next pages are the iconic Star Wars logo spread out on both pages. Then you turn the page, and it's "the crawl." This fanboy appreciated that and actually loved they did that. I had not seen  any of the previous Star Wars comics, so if they did it in those...awesome! But bringing it back, what a way to grab any Star Wars fans attention. 

Next page, top....space...then pan to a spaceship, classic beginning. The comic does a good job of holding your attention all the way through. You see some stormtroopers and some commanders talking and watching as this ship lands...next thing you know...it's Han Solo! He along with Luke, Chewy, Princess Lea, R2-D2, and 3-PO have come to talk with "the negotiator." Of course there is a scuffle...it's Han Solo. 

After a few pages, you find out that the "negotiator" is none other than Darth Vader. Without giving too much away from anyone who hasn't read it yet (and if you haven't...where have you been?) You do get to see the Millenium Falcon, the portion of the comic ends with Luke standing face to face with Vader...and Like hears a voice which is Obi-Won that says...run. That's it. Then the remainder of the comic is previews of more Star Wars themed comics from Marvel, which include Darth Vader and Princess Lea. Overall the comic was outstanding and I cannot wait for the next issue which is set to arrive February 4th. The pricepoint on this was a little steep. At $4.99 that's a bit much,, when we are used to at least $3.99 for comics. But again well worth it and looking forward to what Marvel does with this series. Not sure how long they will carry on this storyline, before they would have to make the jump to lightspeed to AFTER Empire Striks Back and before Return Of The Jedi. Guess we will find out. Ok that's my side of it. Enjoy Star Wars #1 from Marvel. I give it definitely 5 stars.

May 1, 2015 brings us the long awaited and very highly anticipated sequel to Marvel's 2012 huge big screen success of Joss Whedon's "The Avengers." Avengers: Age Of Ultron hits movies theaters May 1st and the hype and the excitement could not be higher and stronger. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown and introduced us to characters we love and characters that we have longed to see join the MCU. We have had Marvel TV that has brought us Agents of SHIELD and the recently huge success of Agent Carter, of whom we met in Captain America:The First Avenger. I remember seeing Iron Man for the very first time, and from that I was hooked. I have to admit I was a late bloomer to the MCU. I jumped in at The Avengers. But, I did my homework. I went back and watched every movie. Iron Man, The Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and then Captain America:The First Avenger. Marvel and Disney proved to the world that you could take a group of superheroes, put them in one movie and it would work. The Avengers scored the top spot, and the top grossing movie of 2012. The Avengers brought in a total of $1,518,594,910 at the worldwide box office totals. Marvel had done it. After the Avengers Marvel and Disney continued to break records with it's movies from the MCU. We now stand on the threshold of what could be the biggest movie of the year. Avengers:Age Of Ultron is going to be one for the record books. Not only is it highly anticipated, we get to see some new characters that we have longed to see. We have Falcon, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Dr. Strange (rumored to have been added). We get to see the return of Loki in this film. This flm will begin to take the MCU in a direction we have never seen, but only in the comics.

This fanboy predicts that Avengers:Age Of Ultron will be the biggest movie of 2015. Marvel and Disney once again taking the top spots at the box office. Then we have Ant Man to look forward to.....it's gonna be a good year!