Category: Movies

Top 10 Classic Christmas Films

Top 10 Classic Christmas Films

Published on by Skye2 Comments

Hello, and Merry Christmas to you. This is Skye once again and thank you for inviting me back to the platform for another holiday update. This time, it’s Christmas, so what better way to celebrate than with movies?  

Trust me, I went through a lot of movies to pick out my favorites. With that being said, this list will also include animated Christmas specials. I know this post is called “Top 10 Classic Christmas Films,” but I wanted to make sure all my bases were covered. Some of those specials deserve praise, too. Now, let’s get on with the list. 

10. The Polar Express

This may be a controversial choice, but bear in mind, it’s number 10 for a reason. I don’t deny this movie has problems. It absolutely does. From the wonky mo-cap animation to the overused action sequences, this movie isn’t perfect. At the same time, it can be beautiful.  

When the girl’s ticket is flying across the winter landscape, it’s genuinely impressive to watch. Also, some of the environments can be grand when shot properly. However, the most enduring part of the film is its message. It’s not the most original message, but they tackle it in such a complex way that it still sticks with me.  

So, while flawed, The Polar Express has earned a spot on this list.

9. Home Alone

Much like The Polar Express, this movie is difficult for me to defend. It often doesn’t know what tone it wants to convey, is awkward at times, and can be overly childish. To that same end, there are some genuinely heartfelt moments.  

There isn’t a single bad performance in the film from any actor (even Macaulay Culkin), plus the chemistry Kevin has with his mother helps ground the film to its holiday roots. Overall, it’s uneven, goofy, and mean, but it also has a John Williams score. That’s the main reason this film beat out The Polar Express. You just can’t beat John Williams. 

I reviewed Home Alone on my blog last Friday, so click here if you’d like to see my more detailed thoughts.

8. The Rankin/Bass Specials

Our first Christmas specials. Yes: specials plural. I’m including both Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town! in this slot, because they’re both of equal value. Why are they so low on the list? They’re still corny and random, y’all.

Both specials are weird and only created to give us the origin behind the songs. Also, both make little sense in hindsight. Some things are thrown in for the sake of padding the runtime, but I can’t help feeling Christmas-y whenever I see them. Despite their flaws, you can’t say they don’t remind you of Christmas. We all watched the Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials as kids, and we’re gonna show them to our kids too. 

Because of that, this list would feel naked without them.

7. A Christmas Carol

I know what you’re thinking: “Which one?” Honestly, all of them. Don’t get me wrong, none of them are perfect, but what I love is the concept. It’s so powerful that everyone wants to give their take on it from the Muppets to Mickey Mouse to Robert Zemeckis. That last one might need some therapy. 

Richard Donner threw his hat in the ring with Scrooged, The Looney Tunes did their own rendition, George C. Scott gave us a subtle Scrooge in 1984, there’s even a Christmas Carol stage show. Basically, what I’m saying is we all have our favorite version. Whichever one you prefer, there’s no doubt it’ll give you that Christmas feeling with a crotchety man changing his ways due to a certain jolly holiday.  

There’s several adaptations and there’ll likely be several more in the years to come which is why A Christmas Carol is on the list.

6. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

With few exceptions, the originals are always better than the remakes. This one, however, is no exception. My favorite aspect of Miracle on 34th Street is how it treats the concept of Santa Claus in such a realistic way. Also, Edmund Gwenn’s performance as Kris Kringle is my favorite cinematic Santa Claus.  

While Christmas is a magical time, here we’re viewing Christmas through the lens of the adult world. Miracle on 34th Street proves that the power of the holiday can transcend even the most uptight/rigid adult institutions, and it does so in spectacular fashion. Miracle on 34th Street left me hooked from beginning to end and represents the season in a way that resonates with both children and adults. 

This is certainly a film I’d call a holiday classic.

5. The Snowman

While not explicitly about Christmas (there is Christmas imagery here and there), The Snowman mostly revels in the wonders of winter. You could probably guess that with the special being called The Snowman. Even though it’s not about Christmas, whenever I see The Snowman, I can’t help but feel Christmas-y.  

The same way “Winter Wonderland” is a Christmas song, The Snowman is a Christmas special. The Snowman is a very dream-like experience. It includes stellar hand-drawn animation, a great musical score, and no dialogue. In a way, watching it feels like an elaborate dream a child could’ve had on the night of Christmas Eve, and that’s what makes it feel Christmas-y. Some parts are drawn out or odd, but The Snowman is definitely worth a look. 

Check out The Snowman. You’ll return to this Christmas classic year after year. 

I put Joyeux Noël above The Snowman, because it’s more outwardly related to Christmas. Much like Miracle on 34th Street, Joyeux Noël focuses on the power of the holiday. In this case, it’s the power of the holiday in the darkest of times. 

Joyeux Noël tackles the Christmas spirit in ways I haven’t seen any other film accomplish. Soldiers in WWI call a truce during the holiday and become friends with their enemy. Each of them goes through complex emotions when the truce ends. They must resume fighting with the friends they just made the day before. Despite the misery and death surrounding them, these people still knew that the Christmas spirit was too great to kill. 

If you’re looking for a great Christmas cry, Joyeux Noël is exactly what you need.

Hear me out. I know Die Hard isn’t really Christmas-y. It doesn’t represent Christmas in the ways that any of the previous films and specials I’ve talked about do. That’s the reason I like it so much. There’s no other Christmas film like Die Hard. 

Die Hard diverges from what you would typically expect in a Christmas movie, but both the film and the holiday are inseparable. It makes sense that John would try to make up with his wife during the season of perpetual love and hope. Also, Hans’ plans likely wouldn’t have worked during any other time of the year with everyone distracted by the holidays. With all of this, Die Hard is still one of the greatest action flicks.  

There’s no other Christmas film like Die Hard, and there likely won’t ever be again. 

2. A Christmas Story

Some people probably see A Christmas Story as annoying at this point. If that’s the case with you, I understand. Although, in my experience, that’s mostly due to the over commercialization of the film with sequels, merchandise, and a live TV musical despite A Christmas Story lampooning those very things. 

Remember when A Christmas Story used to be the small film only you, and a few people you knew watched? That’s when the movie works best. The reason it’s become so heinous is due to people trying to make it bigger. A Christmas Story works the best when it’s just a small family in a small town dealing with small stuff. Oddly enough, when A Christmas Story focuses on the small moments, that’s when it feels the biggest and most personal. 

A Christmas Story takes place 80 years ago, but it still feels like a family Christmas that could happen today which is why it’s my number two.

1. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Yes, my absolute favorite Christmas special takes the top spot: the original Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. You can’t go wrong with the classics, and there’s a lot to appreciate with this Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  

Everyone knows the story: a mean green man hates seeing people happy around the holidays so he does what he can to put a stop to it. From the brilliant animation heralded by the legendary Chuck Jones to the outstanding vocal talents of Boris Karloff and Thurl Ravenscroft, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas is, without a doubt, synonymous with Christmas. That and the ever-enduring message for kids that Christmas cannot be stolen is one that will live on forever. 

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas is short, sweet, and undoubtedly the best Christmas classic. 

With all that said, I hope you enjoyed my Top 10 Classic Christmas Films. Before I leave you, I’d like to add some honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the list including National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Santa Clause, and the animated Frosty the Snowman special. Each of them, while not great enough to make the list, are still worth a look if you’re interested. 

Also, what are your top 10 Christmas classics? Let us know in the comments and have yourselves a Merry little Christmas now. We’ll see you next year! 

-Skye

Top 5 Horror Tropes

Top 5 Horror Tropes

Published on by Skye2 Comments

Hello, Geekly Community! My name is Skye, and I love movies and TV. You could call me a “Screen Geek.” I make deep dives on TV shows and movies on TGIMovies (here’s the link to my website). Everyone who clicks the link gets a free year-long Netflix subscription (JK, just kidding). I’m excited to write for this site and get to know you all. Thank you for inviting me to this platform, it means a lot to be here. Without further ado, let’s begin my very first post. Woo-hoo!

Happy Halloween! Since it’s that time of year, let’s talk about something scary. But not too scary. (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). While I view myself as a refined connoisseur of visual media (don’t we all?), I’m drawn to certain tropes (whether they’re good or not). Sure, I love killers and dumb idiots dying as much as the next person, but there are other tropes in horror that I just can’t resist. With that said, these are my 5 favorite horror tropes.

5. Creepy/Evil Children

The Evil Children trope has been done to death. Sometimes, literally. Creepy Children show up a lot in horror because children are supposed to be innocent and non-threatening, and this trope flips that expectation on its head. It can be jarring when done well. Unfortunately, I’ve seen far too many poor implementations of Evil Children to put it higher on the list. But let’s focus on good Creepy Children.

4. “Final Girls”

While mostly associated with slasher films, the “Final Girl” trope has experienced an expansion in recent horror media. In the past she was the most moral character of the movie, typically a virgin—and usually white—she suffers more hardship than any other character. She’s always the last to survive, hence the term “Final Girl.” Since Sally Hardesty from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this was the purpose of “Final Girls.” Look pretty, be nice/modest, and maintain innocence throughout her ordeal.

3. The Slow-Burn

The type of horror that scares me the most is the kind that takes its time. Too many movies are desperate to get reactions out of people and blow their load in over-the-top jump scares which only exist to create the illusion of fear. In case you were wondering, jump scares didn‘t make the list. When it comes to legitimate horror, you must get your audience invested in your characters, story, atmosphere, and of course, pacing.

2. Monsters/Practical Effects

Monsters are awesome! I love a good creature feature, and that’s because you can do so much with monsters. My personal favorites are the ones created through practical effects and shot in front of the camera. It makes them more real and horrifying. I’m not entirely against computer-generated effects but considering Hollywood’s overuse of these kinds of effects in the past 30 years, you can’t deny that CGI has become easy to spot. If I had to choose between a bad practical effect and a bad digital effect, I’d choose the former 10 times out of 10.

1. Music/Sound Design

This one is a cheat. Music and sound design are less a trope and more an essential part of filmmaking. But I believe music and sound design are the most important parts of filmmaking when it comes to Horror. Music instills emotions. Horror needs to create specific emotions to get its audience on edge. It’s been scientifically proven that jump scares almost entirely lose their power without the assistance of sound.

Top 5 Horror Tropes Creepy Children

-Skye

 

X-Men Marvel Cinematic Universe Theories

MCU X-Men Theories

Published on by Kyra27 Comments

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. I have some thoughts and theories on what the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) should do with the X-Men. I already shared a few thoughts in a previous post for Deadpool & Wolverine, but let’s dive deeper into what the MCU’s first X-Men movie should look like. There may be some spoilers. Consider yourself warned.

I’ll break this down into two parts: heroes and villains. The stories the first movie could pursue will depend on the characters. I’ll mention some of these potential stories. Hopefully, I don’t ramble too much.


Heroes

The easiest road the MCU could take is using the original X-Men: Professor X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, and Angel. Some comic book fans will rejoice. But I don’t know if casual X-Men fans or fans of the 90s cartoon will get as much out of the original X-Men. And Disney/Marvel promised that the MCU’s X-Men will resemble the X-Men 97 cartoon.

Just because the MCU uses the original X-Men doesn’t mean that they must tell a team origin story. They could, but the story structure that helps most non-comic book X-Men projects revolves around an established X-Men team with a new member joining the group. And that’s what I propose.

And that premise leads me to lump certain members into specific groups: senior members, established members, and the potential conduit character. Senior members are the leaders. Established members have seniority but don’t lead the team. And the conduit character is the new member (not necessarily young) who also functions as the audience’s point of view. The X-Men have a huge roster to pull from. I kept the movie’s cast to nine with one possible inclusion/honorable mention.

So, there are a lot of big names that didn’t make the cut, let’s look at some notable exclusions.

Notable Excluded X-Men

Wolverine

Rip off the Band-Aid. Wolverine sucks the oxygen from every room. The Fox movies depended on Wolverine’s box office draw. Wolverine’s importance to the Fox X-Men movie franchise was even the inciting incident for Deadpool & Wolverine. Wolverine can’t show up in the first X-Men; no one will care about any of the other characters. Wolverine should get a brief, and I mean super brief, cameo or even a teaser. Perhaps in the mid or post credits scene.


Beast

This one hurts. I like Beast a lot, but in the context of the team I’d like to see first, he’s best suited with staying in the lab and getting a cameo.


Colossus

Another fave. Colossus, like Beast and Wolverine, could receive a cameo, but shouldn’t appear in the film for very long.

Senior Members

Professor X

Charles Xavier began the X-Men. The only way he doesn’t make the MCU film is if the writers explain his absence. Too much work. Just include him.

Cyclops

Scott Summers got a raw deal in Fox’s X-Men film franchise. He unceremoniously died at the beginning of X-Men: The Last Stand and had a limited role in the previous two films. James Marsden could’ve made a great Cyclops; he looked the part. He just didn’t have enough to do. Omitting Wolverine and some other fan favorites could give Cyclops some much needed attention. And the new X-Men film should have plenty of romance.

Jean Grey

Speaking of romance, Jean and Scott’s relationship can have the space to take off with a reduced cast (or at least a focused cast). Complications to this relationship can and should occur, but the 90s cartoon leaned too heavily on the Scott-Jean-Wolverine love triangle. Jean!!! Let’s see some different bumps in the road.

Storm

Ororo Monroe is badass. She also has a link to Marvel’s Black Panther. Canonically, she’s married to T’Challa. Shuri taking her brother’s place could put a wrinkle in that, but Storm has had lesbian lovers in the past (specifically Yukio—yes, the same Yukio Deadpool says hi to in the movies). But the romantic options don’t stop there. Storm has been linked with Doctor Doom, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Forge. There are plenty of options for Storm’s love life to reach soap opera levels.

Established Members

Gambit

I liked Channing Tatum as Gambit; he gave a fun, memetastic performance. But if Gambit intends to romance Rogue, Rogue shouldn’t be in her early to mid-twenties. And if you don’t have Gambit putting the moves on Rogue, why include him? Fans have waited for a proper Gambit to make the big screen, and Tatum didn’t disappoint. If he’s our Gambit, who’s our Rogue.

Rogue

Fans have also wanted a more comically accurate Rogue. Anna Paquin gave a good performance in the Fox films, but Rogue as the conduit character was both good and bad. It was good because Rogue’s power can seem like a curse. But Fox aged her down to the point where she could only have high school love interests.

Oddly enough, Anna Paquin could reprise her role as Rogue. Paquin is more appropriate age for the character now than when she was originally cast. While Tatum’s age could be an issue (for a younger Rogue), Magneto would be an even greater one. A Gambit-Rogue-Magneto love triangle often occurs. We gotta see an ill-fated Rogue-Magneto romance on the big screen at least once.

Possible Conduit Characters

Kitty Pryde

Kitty is the classic X-Men conduit character. Readers saw the futuristic world through her eyes in “Days of Future Past.” She was also the point-of-view character during the 80s cartoon pilot, Pryde of the X-Men. Even if Kitty isn’t the conduit character, she should be included. The same will be true of the other characters in this group.

Elliot Page, like James Marsden, gave a good performance in the Fox movies but had little to do. This version of Kitty should explore her infatuation with Colossus, and Kitty should show her disgust when first meeting Nightcrawler. It takes time, but Kitty discovers that she has more in common with Nightcrawler than Colossus, and the two of them form a deep connection.

Nightcrawler

Kurt Wagner makes this list, too. Nightcrawler is one of the few mainstream X-Men who can’t hide his mutation. As such, humans’ hatred of mutants could play a huge role in any story where Nightcrawler is the conduit character. Non-comic book X-Men project have never done this before (to the best of my knowledge). Nightcrawler also tends to skew toward the religious and that opens the door for so many interesting storylines.

Iceman

If the MCU wanted to make the original X-Men their first X-Men team, Bobby Drake would serve as the conduit character. Iceman represents something else that no other non-comic book X-Men project has done to date: make a member of the LGBT community the conduit character. Iceman is bisexual.

Bobby has had plenty of love interests. Emma Frost could be interesting, likewise with Mystique but in a very different way. But the two that make the most sense are Romeo and Pyro. Romeo is an inhuman. The Inhumans had a short-lived TV series and if the MCU wanted to reintroduce the Inhumans, Romeo could be a good choice. Pyro’s fire abilities could pair well visually and narratively with Bobby’s ice, and it’d be a great way to introduce the Brotherhood.

Honorable Mention

Changeling/Morph

Morph could replace one of the other X-Men or perhaps squeeze in as a tenth member. Professor X may need to be in the movie, but he can have a smaller presence. Morph is another potential conduit character and another member of the LGBT community (nonbinary). Morph can shapeshift, so they give X-Men plenty of chances for cameos.

Villains

Just like the heroes, I have a few notable X-Villains who should probably not show up in the first MCU X-Men Film.

Notable Excluded X-Villains

Magneto

Magneto may be best served as a mention or cameo. Like Wolverine, Magneto can steal focus.

Apocalypse

It’s too soon to include him. Apocalypse makes for a poor first X-villain; he’s someone the MCU should build toward.

Mister Sinister

Likewise for Mister Sinister. Fox teased Mr. Sinister for years. The group running the facility in the New Mutants was named Essex, as in Nathan Essex (Mr. Sinister’s given name). But I’d like Mr. Sinister to get a real build before we see him on the big screen. I do like the idea of Mr. Sinister working behind the scenes. We could, and probably should, catch glimpses of him. Better yet, an Easter egg like the New Mutants.

X-Villains

Humans/Sentinels

So many of these stories and the villains within these stories hinge on who is the movie’s conduit character, but humans can be present with any conduit character. Nightcrawler has the strongest case for humans, but bigotry is something that always plays a role in X-Men stories. But which specific humans should make the list? Let’s talk about a few.

Boliver Trask invented the sentinels. If you include the sentinels, include Trask. Friends of Humanity founder Graydon Creed makes another good starting point. Creed also has a connection with Sabretooth and Wolverine. Religious zealot William Stryker works as a good sounding board for Nightcrawler’s beliefs; it could lead to some great philosophical discourse. And Henry Peter Gyrich has served several government agencies. Gyrich has had connections with SHIELD and could introduce something like a Mutant Registry.

Brotherhood of Evil Mutants

If Bobby Drake dates Pyro, include the Brotherhood. But any other conduit character could work with the Brotherhood as the main villain. The Brotherhood serves as an ethical alternative to the X-Men. Don’t agree with Professor X’s mission statement? Join the Brotherhood. Many characters have been a part of the Brotherhood. Even Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver got their start here.

I’d keep the group small with characters who haven’t been used much in recent years: Pyro, Blob, Avalanche, and Toad. The team must have a leader. Mystique could work; she has connections with Nightcrawler and Rogue, but Mystique has also shown up a ton. If Morph does make the X-Men’s first movie, don’t include Mystique at first. Emma Frost hasn’t seen the screen as much and would be my preference. As a telepath, she can give Professor X and Jean a run for their money. And Frost also has ties with the Hellfire Club.

The Hellfire Club

Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost made a great one-two punch in X-Men: First Class. That’s a positive and a negative. The MCU could recapture the magic with the next X-Men film. Or it might be too soon, and they should wait to introduce the Hellfire Club. That said, the MCU can’t introduce the full group. We’re talking an entire chess set of characters. White and black kings and queens and bishops and the like.

Still, the MCU could introduce one or two key members of the Hellfire Club in the first movie and wait to introduce the full roster in a future movie. If the MCU does that and waits to introduce Wolverine, Wolverine could be available in that future movie, and fans could see a big screen adaptation of one of the X-Men’s greatest fight sequences.

This early battle cemented Wolverine’s reputation as “The Best There Is At What I Do.”

Full disclosure: Jean Grey premieres as Dark Phoenix in the story arc that includes this combat sequence, and I don’t think the MCU should touch the Dark Phoenix Saga yet. But the MCU also doesn’t follow the comics beat for beat, so we could see the fight sequence accompany a different story.

If Kitty Pryde is the first movie’s conduit character, the Hellfire Club could make a lot of sense, too. An alternate Kitty (from Astonishing X-Men) strikes Wolverine’s pose before she takes on Emma Frost.

Juggernaut

Keep it simple. If the goal of the first movie is to introduce the X-Men, Juggernaut ties into Professor X’s past and he’s a classic villain. He also has more going on than most casual viewers know. But the reason why I say to keep it simple is that casual viewers know Juggernaut and the story doesn’t have to venture too far beyond the X-Mansion. Juggernaut has a knack of seeking out the X-Men.

Marvel Background Image

Closing Thoughts

The next leg of the MCU is titled The Mutant Saga. A lot rides on the MCU’s first X-Men movie succeeding. And Marvel could do with a little going back to basics. That could mean the Original X-Men team or using the formula that’s worked in several previous X-Men projects. But those are my thoughts on the X-Men. Feel free to share yours in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Deadpool Wallpaper

Deadpool and the Future of the MCU

Published on by Kyra2 Comments

Hey, hey! Kyra here. I’m still figuring out what kind of content a rebooted JK Geekly should include. If you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments. I’m also working my through older content, but we’ll run out of that soon enough. Lastly, I’m late with a reaction to Deadpool and Wolverine. Instead of writing a review (I’d rather not get back into traditional reviews), I’m doing more of a reaction and what I think of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s future.

Deadpool 3 and Its Place in the MCU

I enjoyed Deadpool and Wolverine. Was it perfect? No. It dragged in parts and that’s something with which the MCU during the Multiverse Saga has struggled, but Deadpool and Wolverine did what a Deadpool movie was meant to do. It made fun of the MCU, particularly the maligned Multiverse Saga. Deadpool and Wolverine served as a good penultimate film for the Multiverse. The Multiverse isn’t yet finished but there aren’t that many movies/TV shows remaining before it wraps. So, I’m calling it a penultimate movie. Deadpool 3 also acted like a Monty Python’s “this is getting too silly” and signaled an abrupt turn that the MCU intends to make: the Mutant Saga.

Right. Before we get too much further, I’m going to try and avoid spoilers. But the nature of posts like this makes that impossible. Consider this a spoiler warning.

Wow! I took this long to say spoiler alert. I am rusty.

Not only was Deadpool and Wolverine the penultimate Multiverse Saga film, it also said farewell to the 20th Century Fox Era X-Men and the Fantastic Four (to a lesser extent). I’ll echo other critics and express concern about Disney/Marvel relying on nostalgia to make a quick buck. I dislike the idea of the MCU using nostalgia as much as it has lately. Disney has worn out their nostalgia button. Did anyone ask for live-action versions of every Disney animated classic?

It’s true that Spider-Man: No Way Home tapped into nostalgia big time, but not necessarily in a bad way. With its proximity to the latest Spider-Man film, one could view Deadpool and Wolverine as nostalgia porn. But Deadpool and Wolverine hits different.

Legally, Disney/Marvel cannot cast their own X-Men actors until 2025. Most of the X-Men, including Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) are under contract to play these characters until the end of 2024. It makes sense for Disney/Marvel to say “Bye, Bye, Bye” to these actors before the end of their contracts.

That said, I hope Disney/Marvel does something new with these characters. They had best cast their own actors for these roles after these contracts expire. I’d also like to see the MCU cover different X-Men stories. The world doesn’t need three Dark Phoenix Sagas in two decades. I’d love it if Disney/Marvel puts that storyline to rest for a good decade or more and concentrate on other great X-Men stories. It’s not like the X-Men have decades of great stories.

We’ll get into some of these potential storylines with the Wolverine montage. Oops! We’re heading into definite spoilers for Deadpool and Wolverine. Anyone who hasn’t yet watched the movie should turn away for the next section. You can pick back up in the MCU’s future section.

Wolverine Montage

The Wolverine montage at the beginning of Deadpool and Wolverine was not only fun but showcased the various worlds in which Wolverine/Logan existed. Most of the scenes depicted during this montage could make for a good movie or movie series. Let’s cover each one as quickly as possible and in the order in which they first appeared.

Short Wolvie
This is the 5′ 3″ Hugh Jackman Wolverine. There isn’t much to say except this Wolverine is the most accurate to the comics, and he was the most eager of the bunch to join Deadpool. Too bad Deadpool went in a different direction.

Brown And Tan Wolvie
Deadpool references John Byrne (X-Men artist during the late 70s and early 80s) and Wolverine’s classic brown and tan outfit that Byrne designed. The scene they chose for this one comes from Incredible Hulk #340 (drawn by Seth MacFarlane) where Wolverine and the Hulk throw down. There have been plenty of instances of this happening. In fact, Wolverine was first introduced in an Incredible Hulk comic (#180 in a cameo and #181 in full), where the two fought each other. This may not be the only time the MCU will depict this fight.

One-Handed Wolvie
The one-handed Wolverine in the dilapidated city comes from Age of Apocalypse. I don’t think the MCU will dive headfirst into this storyline but if they did choose to cover it, I’d like to see Marvel characters not mentioned in this world. The original Age of Apocalypse run mostly affected the X-Men. Other characters were mentioned and a few made appearances, but it could be fun watching alternate versions of The Avengers. But we’ve had enough of the Multiverse and this could be more of the same.

In case you’re wondering, this reality’s Cyclops severed Wolverine’s missing hand.

Old Man Logan
The Wolverine who looks like he’s cosplaying as Joe from the Dollars Trilogy comes from the Old Man Logan storyline. This is another post-apocalyptic story, and I doubt the MCU will go in this direction.

Oddly enough, Deadpool and Wolverine borrows a major set piece from Old Man Logan.  Giant Man’s skeletal remains–the ones in which Cassandra Nova has established a lair–makes an appearance in this comic book story. And technically, we’ve already seen a variation of the Old Man Logan story in the movie Logan.

Crucified Wolvie
The Uncanny X-Men #251’s famous comic book cover features Wolverine on an X-shaped crucifix. I don’t think the MCU will go in this direction, because the Siege Perilous (a crystal that opens doors to other dimensions) features heavily. The MCU won’t want to go back into the Multiverse too soon. However, this Siege Perilous could be one of the many ways the MCU could “fix” the Multiverse and catapult the MCU into the Mutant Saga.

I won’t go into too much detail because there’s a lot going on, but the people who placed Wolverine on the crucifix were the Reavers. The Reavers were the main antagonists in the movie Logan. Reavers have cybernetic implants but in this universe, most Reavers have them because Wolverine cut off their biological limbs. The Reavers hate all mutants, but especially Wolverine, which is why they placed Wolvie on a crucifix.

Patch
This one could easily happen, and there are two prominent storylines with Patch Wolverine. The above with Hulk’s alternate identity Joe Fixit pits Patch Wolverine as a casino bouncer. This could happen, but it might be a bit silly and would most likely be a cameo like we saw during Deadpool and Wolverine. If Patch Wolverine made an extended appearance in the MCU, the story they’d most likely use would come from the 2022 Patch Wolverine mini series.

This Patch is an alternate Wolverine who hides his mutant identity. He has a knack for gambling and espionage. He even teams up with Nick Fury; two patches for the price of one. This could be another way the MCU could bridge the current timeline with a mutant heavy one. They’d have to change a lot of the story, but that wouldn’t be the first time the MCU did so. Age of Ultron didn’t resemble its comic book counterpart.

The Cavillrine
One might think, this is just Henry Cavill as Wolverine, and one would be correct. It is just Henry Cavill as Wolverine, but let’s add a little context. Cavill portrayed Superman in the DC Extended Universe and Geralt in the Witcher Netflix series. Many comic fans love him. Cavill is the leading fan-casting for the next Wolverine, and many ardent fans of this casting insist that Cavill IS the Wolverine of Earth-199999, also known as Earth-616, which is the world in which the MCU takes place. Who knows? These fans could be right. Deadpool and Wolverine could’ve introduced the next actor to portray Wolverine.

The MCU’s Future

We’ve discussed some of the directions in which the X-Men could go or more specifically Wolverine. The above Wolverine Montage by no means covers all stories for Marvel’s mutants, but it’s a good start.

I’ll reiterate, wherever Disney/Marvel goes with these characters, I hope they go in a direction not yet explored. And they should cast their own actors in these roles. Channing Tatum as Gambit is fine; he never had the chance to portray Gambit in a full-length feature before his cameo, and he’s meme gold. Wesley Snipes as Blade might be fun, but he can’t play the character until he’s 90. Can he?

The next thing the MCU should do is contract the number of shows and movies they release; they’re already doing this to some extent, so that’s good. Additionally, they should reduce the number of characters in their active slate of characters. What do I mean? The Infinity Saga focused on the core six Avengers: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye. It added a few here and there over time like Falcon, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man, and Vision, but the core six were in most–if not all– the team-up films, and prominent members Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor received a trilogy of films in a short timeframe. Go back to that.

It’s difficult to grow attached to a character when you haven’t seen said character in half a decade. I’m looking at you, Shang-Chi (his first movie released in 2021 and 2026 may be the soonest he’ll get a follow-up–the soonest is 2026, yikes!). There have been issues outside the MCU’s control. The pandemic didn’t help. I still get choked up over Chadwick Bosman’s passing. Jonathan (Kang) Majors’ domestic assault and harassment case derailed the Multiverse’s story. And navigating the Spider-Man license and other licenses haven’t been easy.

A lot has happened outside Disney/Marvel’s control, but the MCU hasn’t helped itself by making some questionable choices. It concerns me that the two highest grossing films during the Multiverse Saga are the two (Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool and Wolverine) that lean heavily on nostalgia. It’s too easy to learn the wrong lesson.

Those two movies succeeded because one didn’t need to do as much homework (watching a gagillion hours of content before watching the movies) and both films were the third part of movie trilogies that took five years (for Spider-Man) and eight years (for Deadpool) to complete. These two factors may have done more for these movies’ success than nostalgia alone. But hey, hit the nostalgia button.

Okay. I’m done ranting about Disney’s overuse of nostalgia. For now. Let’s discuss some other developments, beginning with everyone’s favorite Marvel character trapped in license hell.

Spider-Man and His Villains

There’s a tentative agreement between Sony and Disney/Marvel for Peter Parker Spider-Man . The Spider-Verse films may prevent Disney/Marvel from using Miles Morales. I haven’t read the terms of the contract as it pertains to Sony animation, but another series of talks may need to be had for Miles entering the MCU. I’d imagine that will come to fruition. Eventually. It’s going to take a fleet of Brink’s truck cash.

Spider-Man Noir will not appear in the MCU because Nicholas Cage will portray him in a live-action TV series. I’m okay with that. I’ll be watching the show after it drops on Amazon Prime. Any Spider-Man character who receives a Sony-led live-action movie or TV series is ineligible to be included in the MCU. That’s why we’ve seen a Venom trilogy (that includes characters like Carnage and Rhino), Morbius, Madame Web (with at least a half dozen other Spider-Man characters), and the upcoming Kraven films. Sony is playing keep away from Disney/Marvel.

I don’t blame Sony too much. Disney/Marvel has countless intellectual properties and makes several movies annually. Sony produces far fewer movies and their largest IP is Spider-Man. Spidey and Spidey related films account for over half of Sony’s major film releases each year. They’re forced to make Spider-Man content, even if that content isn’t the best. And with the exception of the Spider-Verse franchise, Sony Spidey content hasn’t been good.

The Incredible Hulk

But Spidey isn’t the only character who’s had licensing issues. Universal’s deal with the Hulk concluded this year (2024 if you happen to be reading this after the new year; happy new year btw). According to the previous deal, the Hulk could be in MCU films but only as a supporting character. Thor: Ragnarok touched on Planet Hulk themes (namely Gladiator Hulk), and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law laid the ground work for a potential full-fledged Planet Hulk movie (Hulk traveled the cosmos and found his son Skaar). I don’t know if we’ll ever see another movie with Hulk as the title character, but it’s a possibility. I wouldn’t mind at least one with Mark Ruffalo.

Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom

Is this casting odd? Yes. But Downey Jr. as Doom could’ve been the plan from the beginning, but only as a cameo. The MCU could easily combine Earth-11029’s Doom (who mind swapped with Tony Stark) and the Doctor Doom from Secret Wars. The MCU was always headed toward Secret Wars, and toward the end of that story, Doom assumed the Beyonder’s powers and ruled Battleworld. The MCU probably intended an homage to the source material with a quick look at an alternate Doom (perhaps Downey), much like the alternate Reed Richards (John Krasinski) in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Kang was the original big bad for the MCU’s Secret Wars, but Majors’ legal troubles thrusted Doom to the forefront. Will it work? I’m unsure. We’ll have to wait and see. A Downey Doom would’ve worked better as a cameo or teaser for the next leg of the Fantastic Four’s story. But the MCU is trying to salvage what’s left of the Multiverse Saga. I guess it’s worth a shot, but this reeks of desperation and hitting the nostalgia button. Remember when RDJ was in Avengers movies? Here he is again. Wait. We haven’t had an Avengers movie without RDJ yet. He’s got to maintain his Avengers streak.

Fantastic Four and X-Men

The MCU is barreling toward the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. These two teams will feature heavily in the upcoming MCU. That’s a great thing and a bad thing. The MCU already has a bloated roster and now it’s adding two massive teams. These two teams could delay the third film of major MCU characters.

Going back to my point that the MCU should return to a tighter character roster, the three main Avengers during the Infinity Saga had a small window for their film trilogies. Cap’s original trilogy took five years in total. Iron Man’s also took five years. And Thor’s original trilogy took six years. Six years passed between Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Strange continues to wait for the third movie in his trilogy. That’s way too long. There’s also the aforementioned Shang-Chi and his five year wait for a second film. And is Captain Marvel getting a third movie? Rewatching older films in a film series becomes part of an MCU movie’s homework.

What were talking about? Deadpool. Right.

Deadpool needed eight years to conclude its trilogy. That’s impressive considering that Fox was bought out between the second and third films. A tighter release window for movies in a series and a smaller cast of recurring characters are the lessons Disney/Marvel should take from Deadpool and Wolverine’s success. That and R rated films can rake in money. We’ll have to see which lessons the MCU takes to heart.

That’s all I have for now. Let me know your thoughts on what the MCU should do going forward. See you soon. Bye, bye, bye.

~ Kyra

 

3 Lists of 3 Faithful and Unfaithful Comic Book and Manga Movies

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Cause it takes a strong man, baby, but I’m showing you the door. Cause I gotta have faith. I gotta have faith. Or do you?

Your uncle Geekly is back with more comic book movie magic and a three list of three. This week we’ll concentrate on comic book movies that are the most and least faithful adaptations to their source material and throw in a third, fun list for kicks.

Usually, a faithful adaptation is better than one that isn’t, but that’s not always the case. 2011’s Green Lantern made the short list for faithful adaptations, and it stunk. Regardless, the following lists will let you know which ones have geek cred, and which ones don’t.

Most Faithful Comic Book or Manga Movies (so far)

IronManMovie

Iron Man (2008)

All the main points for Tony’s character are present in 2008’s Iron Man, except that he’s more of a social drinker than an alcoholic. That may be the one part that I’ve never liked about the movie version, but I get it. Marvel/Disney wants to make Iron Man more accessible for a greater audience. But alcoholism is a common problem and that’s one of the things that makes Tony accessible for people.

Oh well, like I said, the main character points are there: billionaire playboy, womanizer, purveyor of the best weapons, regrets the creation of such weapons, and needs a suit to stay alive. One must take the omission of alcoholism with stride. The cinematic Iron Man deals with his alcoholism as much as cinematic versions of Batman deal with the loss of his parents. It’s a peripheral thing.

CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Yes. This is the second Marvel movie in a row, but it’s a good one that’s very faithful to its source material. The only things the movie Winter Soldier changes are plot points that wouldn’t fit within the confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Sharon Carter wasn’t introduced until this movie, so Black Widow is part of Cap’s team) and some of the more fantastic or mystical elements (sorry, no Cosmic Cube, this version is more grounded).

Again, the main points are there. Cap’s team investigate the mysterious Winter Soldier, who turns out to be Cap’s former sidekick Bucky. At the end, Bucky sneaks away to find himself. The few deviations make sense and don’t detract from the movie capturing the characters and the feel of the comics.

ScottPilgrimVsTheWorldMovie.jpg

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)

Some source material was cut or condensed to fit a two-hour runtime, but Scott Pilgrim vs. The World captures the original story perfectly. Over-the-top video game battles? Check. A frenetic pace? Check. Extremely expressive characters? Have you seen Michael Cera’s face? He may have eyes as large as the title character in the manga. The supporting characters are equally over-the-top and animated—but in the best possible way.

Edgar Wright did a fantastic job translating the Canadian manga into a cult classic. Unfortunately, cult classic means that it didn’t do as well as it should have in theaters.

Least Faithful Comic Book or Manga Movies (so far)

CatwomanMovie

Catwoman (2004)

Catwoman. Ugh, Catwoman! It’s so different from the source material that I wouldn’t be surprised if a film distributor other than Warner Brothers released this one. The anti-hero’s moniker and character appearance (sort of) are the only commonalities between the two entities.

Patience Philips is Catwoman’s real name instead of Selina Kyle. Patience drowns and comes back to life with the help of a magical cat instead of being a world-class cat burglar. There’s an Egyptian goddess Bastet angle that’s just awful. Who wrote this? How could the actors read the script and think this would be a good movie? Who allowed this to exist?

TheSpiritMovie

The Spirit (2008)

The Spirit comic may have had some issues with Ebony White (it’s a product of its age), but the story is a great blend of crime and humor with strong characterization. I like how Will Eisner portrayed The Spirit as an everyman. It made him relatable and accessible.

The movie strips the characters of their personality and clothes. Comic book fans have known for years that Frank Miller (the movie’s director) doesn’t have the most enlightened opinion of women, and it shows here. I would say that 2008’s The Spirit should only be aired on Skinamax, but soft-core porn has more story and does more with their characters. Also, The Spirit can heal like Wolverine, so that everyman quality is lost.

DeathNoteNetflix.jpg

Death Note (2017)

Fans didn’t like the announcement that Netflix would release a live action Death Note and set it in the United States. While I agree that changing the setting and other cosmetic alterations damaged the movie, Death Note’s biggest sin is that the characters are dumb. It’s not that they’re dumb as in they make little sense or have limited characterization, which they do make little sense and have limited characterization, but the main characters have a collected IQ of 30. That’s not ideal for a series that’s main draw is that it plays out like a high-stakes Chess match.

Instead of schemes becoming more complex throughout the movie, they get dumb and dumber and dumberer and dumberest. This movie is so stupid that I’m making up words.

Awesome Animated Comic Book Movies

AllStarSupermanMovie

All-Star Superman (2011)

It helps when the source material is excellent, but 2011’s All-Star Superman is amazing. It captures the essence of the character in a way other Superman films haven’t been able to. It shows what Superman would do if he knew he didn’t have much time left on this planet. He continues to protect the Earth and his loved ones because that’s who he is. There’s even a great Lex Luthor character moment when he sees the world as Superman does, ever the optimist. All-Star Superman is a must watch.

BatmanUnderTheRedHood

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

Batman: Under the Red Hood was released early in DC’s animated line, but it may be the best animated Batman film ever. Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) is Jason Todd and he may own the role for some time to come. Bruce Greenwood’s Dark Knight and John DiMaggio’s Joker are almost as good as Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, and that’s saying a lot.

This film explores the complex relationship Batman has with killing and with the Robins who have joined him in his crusade. Yes. Under the Red Hood has the prerequisite action and crime fighting, but it’s a surprisingly deep movie.

BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

I could’ve gone with a lot of other DC animated films with this final move—DC Animated movies are far better than most Marvel ones, they’re the inverse of the live action films—but I had to go with one of the first Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. To me, Kevin Conroy is Batman. Mark Hamill has given one of the most memorable performances as The Joker. There’s a reason the pair have been playing these characters for over two decades.

The original characters in this film are well done too, and Batman: Mask of the Phantasm holds the distinction of being the first Batman: The Animated Series film. Any Batman newbie should watch at least the first season of Batman: The Animated Series, followed by Mask of the Phantasm.

I can only list 9 movies in this 3 lists of 3, so I’m sure some readers will differ in their opinions. Turn on the Geek Signal and I may come running if you leave within a fifty-mile radius or leave a comment.

3 Lists of 3 Movie Marathons

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

It’s Friday night, and you have no plans—or your plan options are limited. Why not try a movie marathon? But which movie marathon should you choose? Old uncle Geekly doesn’t know for sure, I don’t know what type of movies you like, but the following three lists of three could help narrow the search.

Short and Sweet Marathons Most People Could Finish

three-flavours-cornetto-trilogy.jpg

Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (5 Hours and 29 Minutes)

The shortest of the movie marathons on this list is the one named after the various flavors of Cornetto ice cream treats featured in each film: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg make a dynamic duo in these three comedies. The different themes and characters also make the Cornetto Trilogy feel like it isn’t a trilogy and perhaps, the easiest one to watch.

I may not be The World’s End’s biggest fan, but it’s still a good movie and the trilogy doesn’t come close to overstaying its welcome.

TheDarkKnightTrilogy

The Dark Knight Trilogy (7 Hours and 37 Minutes)

Jim might slap the back of my wrist with a classroom ruler for including Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy: it’s overrated. To be fair, I agree with him, but it’s still a quick watch, and the films have their moments—Heath Ledger’s Joker alone is worth the price of admission. While Kevin Conroy will always be my Batman, Christian Bale does a good job, despite hyperventilating through half the movies, and many of the villains are satisfyingly menaces.

BackToTheFutureTrilogy

Back to the Future (5 Hours and 42 Minutes)

I had to go with the film series that has pervaded pop culture so much that there was a Back to Future Day on October 21, 2015. Universal Pictures created a trailer for Jaws 19, Mattel manufactured a hoverboard as seen in the film, Pepsi produced a limited run of “Pepsi Perfect,” Nintendo released the Wild Gunman game Marty played in the Café ‘80s scene, and many more including Nike recreating the Nike Mag shoes Michael J. Fox wore. The Back to the Future franchise begets Rick and Morty. ‘Nuff said.

Ridiculously Long Marathons I Might Be Crazy Enough to Try One Day

JamesBondMovieMarathon

James Bond (2 Days, 4 Hours, and 56 Minutes)

He’s the world’s best/worst secret agent—he’s given his real name to how many people?—and along with Sherlock Holmes, one of the most successful and recognizable fictional characters of all time. James Bond also has 26 movies (before the one that’s due in 2019) with six actors portraying the titular character. Sure, the early films are dated. Daniel Craig’s turn is a modern retelling of Connery’s and if one is looking for a more relatable Bond, one should turn there. I also wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to blow an entire long weekend. We’re talking days. Days!

MarvelMovieMarathon

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (1 Day, 18 Hours, and 44 Minutes—and counting)

While DC continues to flounder (I hope that changes soon), Marvel consistently produces strong movie-going experiences. The trick was to start with solid individual movies before expanding and crossing the various franchises. The only problem is that there are too many Marvel movies. This marathon only includes the films, not the Netflix originals and other TV shows. I’m crazy; I’m not that crazy.

You may not be able to finish every film over a standard weekend. You may have to call in sick from work. If I’m being honest, I’d have to be a little sick to attempt this movie marathon that gets longer every other month. So, I wouldn’t be lying. I am sick. Cough. Cough.

MiyazakiMarathon

Miyazaki Marathon (1 Day and 10 Minutes)

Miyazaki’s marathon is the shortest of the full day ones, and it happens to be the most likely one I’ll try to make happen. Season squeed after hearing that. I’ll have to track down his shorts (that make up about an hour of this runtime) and make sure we have all the animated features he’s ever written and directed. We’ve got to do this right.

To date Miyazaki is the only anime director to have ever won an Academy award. It’s shocking that he’s only won one. He’s a director who I’m always on the lookout for his next release.

Classic Geekly Movie Marathons

Lord-of-the-rings-Hobbit-Movie-Marathons

The Middle-Earth Anthology (20 Hours, 13 Minutes)

You could be forgiven if you wanted to cut the showtime in half and watch only The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Uncle Geekly won’t judge, but even at 10 hours or so, The Lord of the Rings will occupy a large portion of your day. No regrets. Miss Geekly has me beat as she’s seen it at least five or six times with all the bonus features.

Any way you slice it, the Middle-Earth Anthology is cinematic magic and worth your time. Peter Jackson and company do a phenomenal job of bringing to life the series that birthed epic fantasy.

StarWarsMovieMarathon.png

Star Wars (22 Hours, 27 Minutes)

This runtime includes the anthology films (Solo and Rogue One) and that may turn off several fans. It also doesn’t include the upcoming ninth main film, but I had to include Star Wars somewhere on this list. It’s too good. It transformed people’s lives. Some other fill-in-the-blank hyperbolic statement that somehow doesn’t seem like enough.

There are so many ways to watch the films: in order of release, chronological order, and many, many others. I won’t go into the virtues of how to watch these films, you do you, but with a runtime of just under a day one could watch a Star Wars marathon on a day like May the Fourth.

StarTrekMovieMarathon

Star Trek (1 Day, 1 Hour, and 17 Minutes)

Okay. This one may be the other more than a day marathon I’ll have to try at some point and that’s why it’s on the lists of classics. Star Trek may not get the same recognition as the other two titles on this list of three, but it’s every bit as iconic. I’m also required to say something like “iconic” because Jim would put me in a sleeper hold if I didn’t. Zzzz.

Where was I? Yes. Some of Sci-Fi films’ greatest moments have come from Star Trek movies, and it deserves to be on our classic Geekly movie marathons.

That’s my list. I’m sure you guys have more marathons you’d like to add. Tell me how wrong I am in the comments.

3 Lists of 3 Movies

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Your uncle Geekly kicked off these 3 Lists of 3 with TV so it’s only fair that we cover a few movies as well. Uncle Geekly doesn’t agree with critics most of the time and it might be a good idea to put on my psychic cap and see which upcoming movies will be better or worse than most critics think.

Upcoming movies that’ll be better than critics think they’ll be

Dark Phoenix (February 14, 2019)

I’m most likely wrong with this one. Heck, I may be wrong for countless reasons and if I am, I’ll owe Jim a lap dance from Jean Gray—How’s that for passing the buck to a fictional character? You’re welcome, Jim—but I want a well-done Dark Phoenix Saga live action film. It’s one of the X-Men’s most iconic storylines and X-Men: The Last Stand did a poor job of adapting it. Who knows what critics will think of this one? We’ll have to see what happens with Dark Phoenix, but I’m sure I’ll watch it no matter what and hope for the best.

Dumbo

Dumbo (March 29, 2019)

The Disney live-action movies are mixed bag and Tim Burton has been in a slump for some time, so Dumbo may or may not receive favorable reviews. I’m leaning toward fewer favorable reviews, since Burton tends to go odd with his interpretations. Even so, Dumbo has me intrigued. If there was any live-action Disney film Burton was perfect for, it’d be Dumbo and the director is reunited with Eva Green and Michael Keaton. This is the first time Burton and Keaton will have worked together since Batman Returns. I’m in.

Shazam

Shazam! (April 5, 2019)

I could go with Aquaman here because critics typically dock movies 10-15% on Rotten Tomatoes when they see DC is attached to a project, but I’m not as confident with Aquaman—something about a live action movie under the sea that may not land—so I’m going with the action-comedy Shazam!. About the only thing I know at this point is that Dawyne “The Rock” Johnson’s Black Adam won’t be the antagonist of this film, his movie should be even better, but I have faith that Shazam! will build on the momentum of Justice League’s second half—and I hope Aquaman does the same.

Upcoming movies that’ll won’t be as good than critics think they’ll be

FantasticBeastsTheCrimesOfGrindelwald

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (November 16, 2018)

The first movie of this series was an abomination and it received 76% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and while I believe the sequel can mostly go up from the first film, I don’t think it’ll be much better than a 40-50% and I won’t be surprised if it receives higher than the previous 76%. If you can’t tell, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a hard pass for me.

CaptainMarvel

Captain Marvel (March 8, 2019)

This one might be a little surprising. I like the Marvel cinematic universe, and this film should build on the events of Infinity War, even though it’s set in the 1990s. I also like the 90s, many of my formative years were spent in the 90s, but Captain Marvel reeks of a film dangerous with replacing many characters with Skrulls. If half of the characters have been Skrulls all along, Disney-Marvel can easily recast those characters to keep the universe going and that irritates me. Even if Disney-Marvel doesn’t do that, Captain Marvel is a prequel and I downgrade prequels because they seldom push a story forward.

JokerMovie

Untitled Joker Origin Movie (October 4, 2019)

While I think DC movies receive too much hate, something tells me that the Untitled Joker Origin Movie will get plenty of high marks by critics, based on the involvement of Martin Scorsese and Joaquin Phoenix. I have heard that the movie plans to use The Killing Joke as source material, too, but DC Animation didn’t do a good job with the story a few years ago. The early trailers look promising, but The Joker tends to work best when no one knows much about him: case in point Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.

Surprise hit movies

WelcomeToMarwen

Welcome to Marwen (December 21, 2018)

This Steve Carrell engine deals with a man overcoming a traumatic experience. Welcome to Marwen is being released at the time when Oscar darlings tend to get released and while I’m sure the academy may consider the film, the direction of Robert Zemeckis usually leads to a well-received hit.

GlassMovie

Glass (January 18, 2019)

The third movie of the surprising Unbreakable trilogy should make more money than the previous two films. The first set up the world, the second shocked many, and the third Glass should receive enough buzz to put M. Night Shyamalan back in the limelight—at least for a while. I’m not sure if Glass will be any good, but it should make plenty of money and should be intriguing.

ChaosWalking

Chaos Walking (March 1, 2019)

Dystopian worlds are overdone, but the premise of Chaos Walking is interesting (every living creature can hear each other’s’ thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise) and the stars (Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley) make this one interesting and a possible hit. I’m the least confident about Chaos Walking, but I’m hoping it delivers on some of its promise.

Are there any movies we missed with our lists? What do you think will be a surprise hit or a movie that’ll be better or worse than critics think? Let us know in the comments.

Geekly News: November 2, 2018

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Elder Scrolls VI Release Window Announced

This bit of news doesn’t amount to much. It’s a slow news week, so eh. Bethesda announced that the Elder Scrolls VI Redfall will be a PS5 and Xbox (whatever they’ll call it) release. That’s pretty much what I figured. I said as much two or three weeks ago; this is just confirmation.

 Starfield may have a chance of gracing current consoles, but there was little to no chance Redfall would make the PS4 or Xbox One. Fallout 76 counts as one of Bethesda’s flagship releases and the company likes to release one flagship title every three or four years. That means that Starfield should come out around 2021—maybe 2020 because they’ve been working on it for 6 years already and 2020 sounds like an awesome release year. Okay, there’s little chance Starfield will be a current generation console release.

Elder Scrolls VI should be released three to four years after Starfield, so that puts its release year at 2023 through 2025. Oh boy.

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 on Hold (Again)

Okay, maybe this is a pretty busy week of news. The third volume of Guardians of the Galaxy may not survive the firing of James Gunn. Here’s a quick recap of what’s happened. James Gunn posted insensitive tweets and was eventually fired as the director of Guardians Vol. 3. Some of the franchise’s actors back Gunn and Disney/Marvel has had a devil of a time finding another director they like. This has led to a stop-start every week or two.

MCU boss Kevin Feige announced this week that the franchise is on an indefinite hold. If the sides can’t find common ground (Bautista has no contract that covers a third Guardians movie), there’s a good chance that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 may not happen at all. Don’t worry. The gang will make an appearance in Avengers 4.

BobaFett

Boba Fett Movie Cancelled

Kathleen Kennedy confirms that the Boba Fett Star Wars spinoff movie is “100% dead.” While the cancellation of a Boba Fett movie helmed by Logan director James Mangold may upset some, the reason for this move is a shift to the Jon Favreau penned live-action TV series The Mandalorian. I couldn’t see both projects taking off, so a little focus for the Fett man may be in order. Let’s hope The Mandalorian delivers.

AttackOnTitan

Andy Muschietti to Direct Attack On Titan

It director Andy Muschietti has just signed on to make a new Attack On Titan live-action film adaptation. The first one didn’t land well with manga readers. Why must every movie have a love story—especially when there isn’t a love story in the original work? Muschietti is a big fan of the original manga and if his work on It is any indication, the new Attack On Titan film will get the blockbuster treatment with plenty of chills.

PlayStation Classic

PlayStation Classic Games List Confirmed

PlayStation announced that it’d join Nintendo with its line of diminutive classic systems with 20 preloaded games several months ago, but this week they announced the full list of games that’ll come with the system. They are as follows:

  • Battle Arena Toshinden
  • Cool Boarders 2
  • Destruction Derby
  • Final Fantasy VII
  • Grand Theft Auto
  • Intelligent Qube
  • Jumping Flash
  • Metal Gear Solid
  • Driller
  • Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
  • Rayman
  • Resident Evil (Director’s Cut)
  • Revelations: Persona
  • Ridge Racer Type 4
  • Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
  • Syphon Filter
  • Tekken 3
  • Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
  • Twisted Metal
  • Wild Arms

A lot of these are classic games or the first game in genre defining series. The PlayStation Classic hits shelves on December 5, 2018.

TaikoNoTatsujinDrumNFun

Video Games

Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun! and Drum Session! (Switch, PS4)

Drum ‘n’ Fun (Switch) and Drum Session (PS4) mark the first time that a Taiko no Tatsujin game made it to the West. This series is a huge arcade/rhythm game in the East and it’s only a matter of time to see if the States and other countries will take to its catchy beats.

Movies

BohemianRhapsody.jpg

Bohemian Rhapsody

This is the big one this week for me. I’m a sucker for biopics and I like Queen. I don’t watch too many biopics in theaters, but I may make an exception for Bohemian Rhapsody, the biopic for Queen front man Freddie Mercury.

Nutcracker and the four realms

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

Could this film be so bad that it’s good? I’m not sure. A lot of critics have called it “soulless” and “incoherent,” but the visual effects are good. It sounds like an impressive cast that includes Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, and Morgan Freeman can’t help The Nutcracker and the Four Realms from becoming Disney’s worst reviewed film in history. Yikes!

Suspiria

Suspiria

This one won’t be for everyone. If this movie follows the 1977 original, Suspiria tackles some heady material, and its trailer depicts vampires who let the blood flow even more. This lends itself to multiple watches, once to get over the gore and the second to dig deeper into what the film is about, but a run time of two and a half hours may be a little long.

Nobody's Fool

Nobody’s Fool

This is the latest Tyler Perry comedy. In this one, Tanya (Tiffany Haddish) is released from prison and is reunited with her family. The family learns that she’s in an online relationship with a mystery man who may be “catfishing” her. It’s a fun premise, so I may watch it. It also doesn’t hurt that Whoopi Goldberg, Amber Riley (Glee), and Mehcad Brooks (Jimmy Olsen from Supergirl) are in the cast.

Bodied

Bodied

Eminem produces this odd fusion of comedy, battle rap. Eminem has a knack for the theatrical and it looks to continue here. Bodied has received a lot of praise and high marks, so it may be worth a watch.

The Front Runner
Hugh Jackman stars in Columbia Pictures’ THE FRONT RUNNER.

The Front Runner

This one starts early next week. It’s another biopic, this time based on Matt Bai’s All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid. In short, it’s Hugh Jackman portraying Senator Gary Hart during his 1988 presidential campaign where he’s caught up in an extramarital affair with Donna Rice.

TV

TheOtherSideOfTheWind

Friday, November 2, 2018

Homecoming (Amazon)

I’ve talked about this one in the past. Julia Roberts stars as a caseworker who helps military members transition to civilian life. Years after she starts a new life as a waitress when a Department of Defense auditor questions why she left the program. There may be more to her being placed as a former caseworker than she realizes.

House of Cards (Netflix)

Today marks House of Cards’ final season. I lost interest a long time ago, and the Kevin Spacey scandal didn’t help, but hopefully Netflix’s first original series ends on a high note.

The Other Side of the Wind (Netflix)

This film may be the biggest thing Netflix has ever produced; it’s one of Orson Welles’s lost films. Being locked away in a Paris vault (due to legal issues) for decades didn’t prevent The Other Side of the Wind from influencing other films that came after it. It all but created the Mockumentary. What’s even better is that Netflix plans to release a follow up documentary on the film’s history which may be just as interesting.

Watergate (History)

History beats The Front Runner (Gary Hart) to the punch with this series about Watergate. This scandal may have marked the United States’ loss of innocence; it definitely gave birth to scandal journalism.

Mickey's 90th Spectacular

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Mickey’s 90th Spectacular (ABC)

Mickey Mouse made his first appearance on May 15, 1928 (Plane Crazy), and Steamboat Willie was released around Thanksgiving of the same year. Mickey’s 90th Spectacular is a special that celebrates Mickey throughout the decades.

Outlander (Starz)

Based on the historical time travel book series of the same name, Outlander returns for a fourth season on Starz. The premise sounds interesting and it’s received good ratings, so I may give it a try.

Betrayal Legacy

Board Games

Betrayal Legacy

I may be a little late with this one, because tabletop games are difficult to track down with their new releases. Betrayal Legacy holds my interest with a death grip. Rob Daviau was involved with the original Betrayal at House on the Hill (think of a Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods in board game form) and he adds his patented legacy game mechanism to the mix. For the uninitiated, legacy games are games that change the board through multiple plays, so Betrayal Legacy should play out more like a movie and the choices players make will have lasting consequences.

I may pour a little cold water on this writeup with saying that legacy games aren’t always executed as well as they could be. Gamers may want to wait and read a review (a spoiler-free review as this board game will play like a movie) before purchasing it.

That’s all we have for Geekly news this week. Be kind to one another and stay geeky.

 

Geekly News: October 26, 2018

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Iron Fist and Luke Cage Cancelled

I just missed Iron Fist’s cancellation last week, and Luke Cage joins it this week. This may or may not be a sign of things to come with Marvel-Netflix’s shows. Several factors led into the decision to cancel the Heroes for Hire (Luke and Danny). I’ll try to keep this brief.

Disney still intends on beginning its own streaming service soon and is looking to reclaim the licenses of many of their characters; this also incited the proposed Fox buy-out. Netflix ordered fewer episodes of future Luke Cage and Iron Fist seasons as an effort to lower costs (fewer episodes mean less money for the license), but lowering costs means that they would give Disney less money and that makes Disney less interested in maintaining the agreement. But the chief reason may be that Netflix has matured (as a television network of sorts) to a point where they don’t overpay for licenses they don’t need or want, and they’re less likely to continue shows that don’t earn them new subscribers or downloads. Early Marvel shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones brought in new subscribers, but Luke Cage and Iron Fist struggled.

Netflix still has the license to use Luke Cage and Iron Fist in their shows, so the cancellation of their individual series doesn’t mean that fans won’t see them on other Marvel-Netflix shows. Of course, things could change if Disney insists on reclaiming as many Marvel licenses as possible. The Mouse House could rescind their Netflix licenses or make the premiums for keeping any licenses untenable for Netflix.

Spider-ManPS4

Marvel Game Universe (MGU) Announced

And now for some lighter news. Spider-Man for the PS4 (released last month) is the official launch of an interconnected series of games that will feature Marvel Universe characters. The Marvel Game Universe, or MGU, will function in many ways like the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Spider-Man acting as 2008’s Iron Man.

Rumors swirl with numerous game developers attached to various Marvel properties. Sony’s Insomniac will continue with future Spider-Man games, but they’ll take on at least another character or two, Square Enix (of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest fame) will produce Marvel titles (and Sony hinted that they may be involved with the larger project), and Rock Steady (Batman Arkham series) has been mentioned as well. I’m not sure who’ll be in the final production line as far as developers, but the main Avengers and stars of future Marvel films are a safe bet for getting their own games, and if the results of future Marvel games are as good as Spider-Man, it’ll be a fun ride.

RedDeadRedemption2

Video Games

Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4, Xbox One)

The long wait for Red Dead Redemption 2 is now over. This game is a prequel to the first Red Dead Redemption (2010) and follows the story of outlaw Arthur Morgan of the Dutch Van der Linde gang. Let’s hope this Western ends in a more positive light.

My Hero: One’s Justice (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

My Hero Academia gets the fighting game treatment. There’s a strong possibility that I’ll pick this one up on the secondary market. Plus Ultra!

Call of Cthulhu (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

This game will share more with the 1981 pen and paper role-playing game than the H. P. Lovecraft short story of the same name. What makes me interested is that Cyanide game studio contacted the original writers of the 1981 RPG, so this survival horror/role-playing game has some serious roots.

HunterKiller

Movies

Hunter Killer

This one sounds like a good old-fashioned action adventure and that’s okay sometimes. The Russian president is captured and a U. S. submarine must rescue him while avoiding World War III.

TV

chilling-adventures-sabrina

Friday, October 26, 2018

Castlevania (Netflix)

The first season of this Netflix original anime followed the source material closely, but it dragged in a few places. I’m hoping the second season will build on a promising cliffhanger.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix)

Sabrina the teenage witch has largely been a comedic character and in 2014, Archie Comics gave her a grittier reboot. I can’t wait to see how Kiernan Shipka and the rest bring this reimagining of the character to life.

TellMeAStory

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Stan Against Evil (IFC)

This series is still on? I kid—sort of—because this series can scratch the itch left by a dearth of new Evil Dead material. I’ve always liked John C. McGinley (“Scrubs”), so I may give this comedy-horror series another shot.

Tell Me a Story (CBS App)

I like the premise of Tell Me a Story. This series takes the world’s most beloved fairy tales and reimagines them as dark and twisted psychological thrillers. Unfortunately, CBS is at it again with making some of its content only available on its streaming service. Ugh!

Board Games

5 Colors

This is an understated card game. The game is played with a deck of 100 cards, 20 cards of each of the titular 5 Colors. Players simultaneously play a card from their hand. The most played color gets scored and each player that played the most commonly played color gains points on the card they played. It’s simple to understand, but once players catch on with how to play, the strategy begins.

Atlandice

Atlandice

Atlandice has a lot more going on than 5 Colors. This game’s main feature is a rondel (a circular device that changes throughout a game) and in the center of the rondel is a doom clock. Players draft dice and items during their turn, trying to get the most points before rooms get swallowed by a flood and the doom clock ends the game.

It’s an interesting game with a lot going on. I can’t wait to get my hands on it and get a closer look.

That’s all we have for Geekly news this week. Be kind to one another and stay geeky.

Top 12 Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Captain America: Civil War opens tonight and that marks the beginning of the Marvel cinematic universe’s third and final stage. I figured it was time we ranked each Marvel movie, so here we go.

MarvelMoviesNumber12_ThorDarkWorld

12) Thor: Dark World

Marvel movies are notorious for not developing their villains—this will be an ongoing theme—but Thor: Dark World went a step further with under developed villains. You could omit the movie’s villain and not miss a thing. It takes a special Marvel movie to have a meaningless villain (the dark elves, not Loki, as they were the main villain). The rest of the movie didn’t fare much better. Natalie Portman fought through a script she hated. You couldn’t tell she loathed the film from her performance but her alleged ire was the only thing that was memorable.

MarvelMoviesNumber11_IronMan2

11) Iron Man 2

The next two films could switch places, and often do on a regular basis for me, but Iron Man 2 earns the lower spot on the list, despite trying to develop its villain. It’s a mess. Tony’s alcoholism was touched, his illness took center stage after a while, and Ivan Vanko’s backstory dump through expositional dialogue was no dynamo. The movie put too many story threads into two hours and ended up flat. There was little chance the sequel could recapture the excitement of the original, but where’s the joy?

MarvelMoviesNumber10_IronMan3

10) Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 had more humorous moments than Iron Man 2, but it also had more issues. Seriously, these last two movies could switch places. I hate revisionist history, and Iron Man 3’s villain, set up as the mastermind behind everything Iron Man through flashbacks, played like revisionist history. Renaming a well-known Marvel group like AIM to The Ten Rings was a cheat, and Marvel had one larger than life role for an Asian actor (The Mandarin) and decided to make him a punchline. Hollywood has only cast an Asian or Asian-American in 50% of their TV shows and movies in the last several years (per The Screen Actors Guild), so a buffoonish Mandarin was a terrible look. Oh, and I don’t like having a figurehead villain with a real villain pulling the strings behind the scenes, even if the figurehead villain wasn’t the Mandarin. It’s been done. It’s not clever; it’s a lazy attempt to be clever.

MarvelMoviesNumber09_IncredibleHulk

9) The Incredible Hulk

It’s a testament to how little I think of the previous three movies that The Incredible Hulk doesn’t make for a compelling lead character; he’s too overpowered. He’s great as a side character, a force of nature, or another loose end the Avengers have to tie up. Ed Norton Jr. did an adequate job as Bruce Banner, and Abomination was developed as well as a one-note villain can be, so this movie made it this high on the list despite its hokeyness.

MarvelMoviesNumber08_CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger

8) Captain America: The First Avenger

Ever wonder why Captain America movies always have subtitles? Those subtitles are what the movies are called overseas. That has nothing to do with the movie’s quality, I just thought it was interesting. Anyway, the first Cap movie was good. Chris Evans made a convincing Steve Rogers, the origin story went off without a hitch, and I liked Bucky and the addition of the Howling Commandos, but I’ve never seen a character portrayed by Hugo Weaving come across as flat as the Red Skull, one of Marvel’s best villains, and he was a huge, under developed yawn. There’s that term again: under developed.

MarvelMoviesNumber07_AvengersAgeOfUltron

7) Avengers: Age of Ultron

I could’ve swapped Age of Ultron and The First Avenger, but oh well. Avengers: Age of Ultron was yet another Marvel movie that didn’t develop its villain—big shock, I know—but I can’t blame it. The film stuffed as many characters as it could into one film and the bloated cast resulted in Ultron getting twenty to thirty minutes of screen time for a movie that bears his name. Age of Ultron also suffered from the law of diminished returns. We’ve seen these scenes—or similar ones—before and the movie needed more than Marvel’s tried and true CGI goodness. Hawkeye had some great moments, while the relationship between Black Widow and Hulk was a head scratcher.

MarvelMoviesNumber06_Ant-Man

6) Ant-Man

Despite being the final movie in the Marvel cinematic universe’s second wave, Ant-Man shrank down the plot’s scope—pun intended—and delivered a film akin to earlier Marvel films. It made characters the heart of the story. The film couldn’t quite capture the same magic of the earliest Marvel movies, but it came close. The humor was welcome. It presented a fun, super-hero twist to the heist movie genre. And Paul Rudd and Michael Pena were a joy. Sure, the main villain was under-developed—like most Marvel movies—and a greater Hydra threat loomed in the background, but the focus was on family and that made the characters relatable. I’m not sure how many more character-driven movies remain in the Marvel cinematic universe, but Ant-Man was one of them.

MarvelMoviesNumber05_Thor

5) Thor

Loki has daddy issues. It’s a common trope and colors him as a character in broad strokes, but the God of Mischief has had more character development than most Marvel cinematic universe villains, and that’s a great thing. And it’s not the only thing Thor does well. I’m not a huge Thor comic book fan, but the movie does a great job setting up character relations and developing them through actions instead of expositional dialogue. Okay. There was a lot of exposition, mostly from Odin, but a lot of other movies only build their characters through dialogue, and Thor uses the snot-nosed son of Odin’s actions as the main characterization vehicle.

MarvelMoviesNumber04_Avengers

4) Avengers

This one is a spectacle. I marvel at how they balanced the character’ screen time in this one. Folks were thinking Avengers was an impossible movie to make because of the sheer number of characters needed on-screen, but Joss Whedon pulled off a miracle. I would’ve rated this movie a little higher, but viewers need context for this movie. You can’t watch Avengers without first watching at least two or three other movies—you’ll see this argument come up again real soon—and some of the scenes are a little hokey, but man, Avengers was a great popcorn flick. And I love the Hulk as comic relief.

MarvelMoviesNumber03_IronMan

3) Iron Man

I had to give the movie that kicked off the Marvel cinematic universe some respect. Iron Man also holds up really well, unlike its sequels. This is another movie where the character’s actions define who he is. Iron Man could’ve spent a lot of time having Tony ponder the meaning of life—and he does a little bit of this while he’s in captivity—but that’s not who the character is. Iron Man doesn’t tell as much as it shows who these characters are, and that’s wonderful. It also helps that Robert Downey Jr. was born to play the role and he’s a delight.

MarvelMoviesNumber02_CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier

2) Captain America: Winter Soldier

When this one was out in theaters, I couldn’t get enough of it. Winter Soldier shook the Marvel cinematic universe to its core. It developed its characters really well and took secondary characters—like Black Widow—and elevated them. Winter Soldier was also the most faithful adaptation of a comic book to the silver screen. It’s amazing. But this is where the context issue comes into play. While you could say that every Marvel movie—except for Iron Man—is a dependent film, Winter Soldier suffers the most from lack of context. I showed Winter Soldier to someone who said that they love Marvel movies. It turned out that they hadn’t watched Iron Man 2, the first Cap film, or many of the other ones on this list, and they had no idea what was going on. Winter Soldier changed the Marvel universe but it’s also dependent on the rest of the Marvel universe to make any sense. Still, it’s fantastic.

MarvelMoviesNumber01_GuardiansOfTheGalaxy

1) Guardians of the Galaxy

I really should switch these top two, but I showed Guardians of the Galaxy to the same guy who hadn’t seen Winter Soldier, and it was a much different experience. Similar to Winter Soldier, the Guardians were well developed. But while Winter Soldier leaned heavily on plot twists, Guardians of the Galaxy had more memorable moments. Each character—with the exception of the patented Marvel movie underdeveloped villain—had their own moments to shine. Guardians is also the movie that made me yearn less for a Star Wars sequel—no offense, The Force Awakens. That’s not bad for a group Stan Lee forgot was a Marvel comic.

I know that was a long post, but there’s a lot of Marvel movies. These rankings are subject to change. In fact, I may change them soon. There are so many great Marvel movies. Let’s enjoy this comic book movie renaissance. Thanks for reading.