Category Superheroes

Nov 7 2016

The Mind-Bending World Of Doctor Strange

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Marvel Studios’ latest foray into the mega-successful Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is Doctor Strange. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the title character, a former brilliant neurosurgeon who becomes a sorcerer after a reluctant personal journey.

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Basically, Doctor Strange is an origin story that introduces audiences to the sorcerer and his world. After a car accident shatters the nerves in his hands, Dr. Stephen Strange is desperate to repair the nerve damage so he can resume his shallow, entitled lifestyle. Think of a less charming version of Tony Stark before he became the heroic Iron Man. His desperation takes him to Nepal where he comes across a secret sect of sorcerers led by the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and her lieutenants Mordo (Chiwetol Ejiofor) and Wong (Benedict Wong). The sorcerers introduce Strange to the mind-bending reality of the multiverse with its indescribable dimensions and its evils. Their mission is one of seeking enlightenment and of guarding the Earth and our dimension from evil. In this case, the extradimensional being Dormammu and its disciple, Kaecillus (Mads Mikkelson) a former student of the Ancient One who embraced the dark side of sorcery and wants to learn the secret of immortality.

Doctor Strange would have been a standard coming-of-age origin story if not for the wildly trippy visuals and the performance by Cumberbatch. Once again Marvel Studios strikes gold with its casting in the pivotal role of the sorcerer, and remarkably enough with Swinton. With the latter, the casting choice is controversial because of the racial and gender-swapping nature being that the Ancient One in the Marvel Comics is an elderly Asian male. But Swinton does nicely in her critical role.

Twisting reality of Dr. Strange

The drawbacks to Doctor Strange have to do with a common complaint about most MCU films, namely the villains. There isn’t any depth to Kaecillus, he’s very one-dimensional and is upstaged late in the film by the gigantic visage of Dormammu, who should’ve had more screen time. Even there, the supposedly powerful foe was handled fairly easily by Strange. Other characters were hit or miss. Mordo had an interesting arc where his fundamental belief system is shaken to the core, while Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) was forgettable and didn’t have any screen presence or chemistry with her former lover Strange.

The story itself was serviceable but on the whole comes off as formulaic for an MCU film. It goes like this; unlikeable or self-centered main character gains super powers and undergoes an emotional journey as a reluctant hero before fully embracing his destiny as a full-fledged hero.

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Still, Doctor Strange is an entertaining MCU film that should be placed in the upper mid tier of the other MCU films thanks to director Scott Derrickson’s vibrant eye for colorful optics. There are many imaginative visuals and effects shots that have never been seen on the large screen. Stephen Strange’s forays into the multidimensional void are alone worth the price of admission, especially in 3D. Many shots perfectly mirror Dr. Strange co-creator Steve Ditko’s unique look, which is astonishing to behold in live action, while unnerving at the same time.

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With this film, Marvel Studios has successfully introduced another novel and spectacular corner of the expanding MCU. Even though the script could have used some more work to match its eye-popping scenery, Doctor Strange is a welcome addition to the MCU and hopefully the good doctor/sorcerer will take an even greater role in it.

José Soto

 

Oct 19 2016

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 Sneak Peak!

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Boy, that was unexpected! Director James Gunn surprised those of us who were led to thinking that a trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 would be out for Christmas. Instead, he released a teaser trailer and poster today.

Seriously, with all the craziness going on right now with this stupid election, seeing the teaser is a tonic for the soul. It had me right at the beginning when “Hooked On a Feeling” started playing as we were re-introduced to our favorite space pirates (sorry Han and Mal).

Compared to the teaser for the first Guardians of the Galaxy, this one doesn’t show as much, but it doesn’t have to since we don’t need to be introduced to the characters. All we had to see was Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax and Yondu! Now he’s part of the gang and supposedly Nebula, but how that comes about should be an interesting story. Let’s not forget Rocket Raccoon and Groot. The duo were the breakout stars from the last film and it looks like the same will happen with the sequel. Come on, no one with a heart can’t help but squeal at the end of the teaser when baby Groot pops up on Rocket’s shoulder! It’s a complete reversal from the last time around when Rocket was often perched on Groot’s wooden shoulders.

The highlight for me was the big scene shown where Drax consoles Peter Quill over his love woes. Apparently, Peter’s lovestruck over Gamora and can’t connect. Drax just tells it like it is when he advises his friend that there are two kinds of beings in the universe. “Those who dance, and those who do not.” he adds that Peter needs to find a woman as pathetic as him before giving him an unwanted hug. It still brings a smile to my face as I think about the scene.

Looks like Marvel Studios has another winner with Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. I’m already eagerly anticipating the release of the full trailer for this sequel. Anyway, here’s the teaser for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. It’s already on my must-see list for 2017.

Waldermann Rivera

 

Oct 6 2016

Luke Cage Is a Solid, But Uneven Entry in the MCU

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The newest Marvel superhero TV show to premiere on Netflix, Luke Cage, is a notable departure for the standard superhero TV fare. The question is does Luke Cage deliver the goods? Sort of, to be honest.

In trying to be different, the show falters in some important areas. Namely, in keeping up the momentum, the villains aren’t as compelling or as interesting as the other foes featured in Daredevil and Jessica Jones, and rarely does it feel as if Luke Cage (Michael Colter) is ever in real danger.

That is a problem with a superhero like Cage who is nearly invulnerable. Bullets bounce off him, his skin is impenetrable and he can shrug off attempted beatdowns from local thugs. Sure, it’s cool to watch Cage being all badass in his hoodie and walking in slow-mo as punks try mowing him down, but after awhile these scenes lack any sense of peril or urgency. luke-cage-and-popLater in the show’s run, the criminals start to up the ante with him and finally put him in danger, but it takes too long to get there. The show tries to get around this by putting people that he cares about in danger and that has mixed results. Sometimes we care about what happens to them, like with Pop (Henry Faison), a local barber who offers sage advice. Other times, we don’t.

Luke Cage is smothered with many colorful characters who are there to add mood and atmosphere, but the show goes overboard in trying to establish a so-called gritty tone that seems inauthentic at times despite the location shots and the constant use of 70s style background funk music. It tries too hard to set up a street-level atmosphere with callbacks to blaxpoitation films instead of providing a reason to keep watching the show. The other Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) shows on Netflix can be binge-watched without a thought, with Luke Cage, there isn’t that compulsion to find out what happens next. It all depends on how invested you are in the characters and Luke Cage should have been front and center the main focus and at times he isn’t so that is a concern.

cottonmouthA lot of screentime is spent on the show’s main adversary Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes (Mahershala Ali), a Harlem crime boss that crosses path with Luke Cage. The problem with Cottonmouth is that he just doesn’t come across as particularly menacing. He is weak and inept at times, always being concerned with another crime lord, his superior Willis “Diamondback” Stryker (Erik LaRay Harvey). Cottonmouth lacks the amoral sociopathic verve of Jessica Jones’ Kilgrave or the volcanic brutality of Daredevil’s Wilson Fisk. Then there is Shades (Theo Rossi), an annoying lackey for Diamondback that is always around Cottonmouth to remind him of what he has to do. Shades tries to come off as intimidating, but looks like a poser with these stupid sunglasses.

The show’s other characters were more interesting like Detective Misty Knight (Simone Missick), who nearly steals the thunder from Cage and is deserving of her own TV show. Hopefully we’ll see more of her in next year’s Iron Fist. Rosario Dawson reprises her role as the cage-and-night-nursenurse Claire Temple and is a welcome presence as she reminds us that this show is part of the MCU. Speaking of the MCU, to this show’s credit, it does not hit viewers over the head that it is part of the MCU even though there are tons of Easter eggs. Interestingly, the events from The Avengers still have an impact even though it is more subtle. The references do not feel intrusive nor give the impression that someone has to go and watch all the MCU films and TV shows.

As for Cage himself, Colter does a terrific job playing the title hero. He exudes a quiet nobility and steel fortitude and never descends into a cliché. His back story is actually different and fresh. Once a lawman named Carl Lucas, he was framed and sent to prison where he got his powers from a lab experiment. After escaping prison, he adopted the Luke Cage identity and tries to live a low-key life. But his powers call out a responsibility and duty to his community that he cannot ignore. The moments when he becomes a local legend were pleasing highlights.

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By no means does this criticism mean that Luke Cage is a bad show; it’s a good, solid effort and isn’t unwatchable like Agent Carter or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It’s just with all the talent behind and in front of the screen, it could have and should have been much better. Still, there is the hope that the next season, which is coming, no doubt, will work out the kinks and give us a better show.

T. Rod Jones

Aug 6 2016

Suicide Squad: An Energetically Wild Entry In The DCEU

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Suicide Squad is the latest DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film and continues the story of a world coming to terms with people possessing extraordinary powers or meta humans as they are called. The U.S. government responds to Superman’s status (not going there with spoilers!)  by creating a task force of super criminals to combat any paranormal events that team suicide squadoccur with meta humans at the root of it. This task force led by government official Amanda Waller (played well by Viola Davis) is sent to combat a group of creatures created by a mystical witch named Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) who double crosses the government as she was meant to be a part of the squad. We follow this group as they trek across Midway City, which is under attack by these beings. During their journey, we see their motivations and interactions with each other, which I found to be enjoyable.

As the latest DCEU entry, this film is much different in tone than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with its energetic visuals and soundtrack. Also, it focuses on a large number of characters who are villains in the DC universe. What this movie shares with its predecessor is negative reviews from film critics, but as with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I think these reviewers are off base.

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn

 

Suicide Squad works in showcasing the crazy side of the DCEU, with fan favorites like Harley Quinn, who is played very well by Margot Robbie as a psychotic bad girl. She is the Joker’s girlfriend, but also carries her own weight as a truly crazy villain that is also highly unpredictable. Speaking of the Joker, while his screen time is on the short side, Jared Leto does a great job as a Joker who is a sadistic gangster determined to get his girl out of prison and back on his side. The glimpses we get of him will definitely whet the appetite of fans and create a big anticipation for his next appearance in the DCEU, which will hopefully be in the forthcoming Batman solo movie. Other well known characters include Batman villain Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and Deadshot (Will Smith), who emerges as the de facto leader of the group. Rounding out the group are Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), who has an encounter with The Flash which was nice to see, and Diablo (Jay Hernandez) who plays a pivotal role in the group later in the film. Non-Squad characters include U.S. Special Forces agent Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), who escorts the villains on their mission and ensures their loyalty, and his bodyguard Katana (Karen Fukuhara).

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We see in interesting flashbacks the background of each of the villains and how they ended up in prison . The best one featured Harley and the Joker being chased by Batman (Ben Affleck), which is something that fans have wanted to experience on the big screen for ages. Batman’s brief encounter with Deadshot is also a thrill and serves to show an expanding shared universe that these movies are creating. While the action scenes can get hectic, the movie also doesn’t take itself too seriously with musical montages appearing when different characters get their screen time. This is also different from the somewhat somber tone of both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and it is not a bad thing. While I enjoyed the serious take on superhero stories from the previous films, the fact that this universe also has an irreverent side to it makes it seem larger and more varied which is just like the real world. Different places have different people and will not feel the same. This should be the case in a shared universe as well.

Jared Leto as JokerI would like to have seen more of the Joker and what he was doing while the Suicide Squad was rampaging through the city. Leto’s performance was that good, comparable to Heath Ledger’s take of the Clown Prince of Crime. He was advertised a lot for the film and is the most interesting of all the DC villains. Interesting enough, he displayed more affection for Harley Quinn than he did in the animated series. I also wanted to see some interaction between Killer Croc and Batman, but the two did not cross paths in this movie. It is mentioned that Batman chased Croc out of Gotham but sadly that is not shown. I think they may be saving all of this for Batman’s solo film, which is rumored to take place in Arkham Asylum and include all of the Caped Crusader’s foes.

Suicide Squad lineup

Overall, I had a good time watching this film and would definitely like to see a followup that expands on this group of DC baddies taking on whatever is thrown their way. The ending does seem to imply that their adventures will continue in some fashion, and the mid-credits scene helps to set up the Justice League movie as well as hint that the two groups will have some interaction in the future. Here’s hoping that will happen. Regardless, Suicide Squad is another solid entry in the growing DCEU lineup and I continue to look forward to the next films coming out next year. They include Wonder Woman and Justice League, both of which had interesting trailers in Comic-Con and will hopefully add more pieces to the DC movie universe. Suicide Squad is indeed a unique piece of it.

C.S. Link

Jul 25 2016

Comic-Con 2016 Highlights

The San Diego Comic-Con for 2016 has come and gone and we’re all the more hyped up after the event. Unlike previous Comic-Cons most of the film studios were all too eager to share the trailers for their upcoming films and TV shows. That is except for 20th Century Fox who took their marbles and went home…actually didn’t even present. They wanted to avoid having their presentations pirated. Nice way to promote Alien: Covenant and the third Wolverine flick, people. Result: DC and Marvel ruled the event by bringing their A game.

Justice League

TV Stuff

The other studios made their announcements and presentations. For TV shows, the third season teaser for The Flash got everyone up in arms in anticipation at seeing the live-action version of Flashpoint. For those in the dark, that’s the comic book event where the Flash saved his mom in the past and created a dark reality. This adaptation won’t be literal but more like what we saw with the Marvel Comics Civil War event in Captain America: Civil War. But it still looks awesome. The other DC shows on the CW also had interesting presentations and announcement, the best of those being that the Legends of Tomorrow will be facing the Legion of Doom and meet the rest of the Justice Society of America.

Marvel Studios raised some eyebrows with the revelation that Ghost Rider will be appearing in the fourth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and this should be interesting. As for their Netflix stuff, we got teasers of The Defenders (check out our Twitter account with a link to it), Iron Fist, and Luke Cage. The last show looked undeniably badass and thankfully we only have to wait a couple more months.

The biggest TV announcement had to be for Star Trek: Discovery. We saw a glorious 2001: A Space Odyssey-like opener with a starship launching out of a hollowed-out asteroid. What was most intriguing was that the ship’s design is based on one of Ralph McQuarrie’s unused Enterprise designs for the lost Star Trek film Planet of the Titans.

starship Discovery

As cool as it was to see one of McQuarrie’s design come to life, what is sure to get everyone even more excited is that Bryan Fuller, one of the showrunners, confirmed the show will take place in the Star Trek Prime universe! No reboots, people! The real Star Trek has indeed returned! Ahem, apologies to those that love nuTrek, Star Trek Beyond is a fun film that redeems the Star Trek reboots.

Film Stuff

DC Comics and Warner Bros. are still smarting over the lukewarm reception to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. So they didn’t hold back anything in Comic-Con 2016. Amidst the flood of trailers for Suicide Squad, which makes us feel already as if we’ve seen the entire film, came trailers for Wonder Woman and Justice League. The Justice League trailer was very enticing and actually sold us on the Snyderverse version of the Flash. Sure, Grant Gustin rules as Barry Allen but it’s undeniable that Ezra Miller had a lot of charm as the new Flash. The trailer had much more humor than anything seen in Batman v Superman, but where’s Superman? Meanwhile, Gal Gadot clearly shines in the footage shown in both the Justice League and in the trailer of Wonder Woman kicking ass in World War I.

As for DC’s rival Marvel, well they had their goodies as well. Unlike DC, most of the trailers for their upcoming movies are still under lock and key being they are “exclusives” for Comic-Con. There’s no point in trying to scrounge the Internet for pirate footage of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 or Spider-Man: Homecoming, it will look like crap and be taken down anyway. But here’s a quick look at Thor: Ragnarok, which will be gone soon:

Marvel should take a cue from DC and present their goods to the larger world who could not attend. The one trailer they released was the second one for Doctor Strange. Make all the snarky remarks that it looks like Inception, but this movie looks astounding! If it works, it will take the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a whole new direction and that is how you keep the superhero film genre afloat. The highlights of Marvel Studios reveals were Brie Larson’s casting as Captain Marvel, the Vulture will be the villain in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Kurt Russell will play Peter Quill’s dad, aka Ego the Living Planet, in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2!

Spidey fights Vulture

In closing, Comic-Con 2016 had a lot more to show for the general public than in recent years. A lot of the announcements and trailers were ho hum like Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. But more than a few were quite enticing like the one for the return of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (to be shown on Netflix), a Blair Witch sequel and this one for Kong: Skull Island.

It’s great to see the big ape back on the screen! On the whole, we have plenty of fun things to watch in the coming months and into 2017.