After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“Wakanda Forever.” INTRODUCTION The role of Black Panther was cast way back before his first appearance in “Captain America: Civil War.” T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is the first black superhero to lead his own film in the 21st century and in the MCU. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the 18th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but it is the first to have such cultural significance. It is the highest grossing Marvel movie to date, even grossing more than “Infinity War.” A sequel is obvious happening as quickly as possible. PLOT After the death of the King, Prince T’Challa must take on the role of the Black Panther. However, the former king’s actions come back to haunt the new king when T’Challa’s cousin Killmonger shows up in Wakanda uninvited, challenging him for the throne. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” A significant amount of the ending of “Infinity War” took place in Wakanda. That’s where the snap happens, and we know at least one Wakandan is still alive even though Shuri and T’Challa were dusted. Wakanda doesn’t take death lightly. STAN LEE CAMEO Stan’s cameo is small. We see him gambling inside a Korean casino. He takes T’Challa’s poker chips after he leaves them there. END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two end credit scenes. The first scene is an extension of the film and we see T’Challa addressing the United Nations. He says that Wakanda is ready to share its resources with the outside world. The speech is powerful and inspiring. A UN member asks, “what can a nation of farmers offer the rest of the world?” And we see T’challa smile at the camera as it fades to black. The second scene reunites the audience with Bucky Barnes who we haven’t seen since “Civil War” Shuri has been healing Barnes of his brainwashing. CONCLUSION “Black Panther” is a phenomenon that has only come along with the likes of “Avengers” and “Infinity War.” It is a beautiful film and great story. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). “Black Panther” is unique, beautiful, and important to today’s culture. For all of these reasons, and because it is like none of the other MCU films, it receives the number three position on my ranking.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 27 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia
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After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“We are the Revengers,” -Thor Odinson INTRODUCTION After two mediocre Thor films, “Thor: Ragnarok” is the champion of the Thor trilogy, directed by Taika Waititi, this third film takes a more comedic approach to the space fantasy. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the 17th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Set two years after the events of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the audience finally finds out what has happened to Thor and the Hulk. Every MCU film has started to feel similar at this point. However, the formula is good. It works, and not many people are complaining. PLOT The film opens with a monologue from Thor as he has been trapped by Surtur. He says that he has been searching for the Infinity Stones and a battle ensues after he finds out Odin is no longer on Asgard. Thor then finds Loki impersonating Odin and travels to Earth to find him. There Odin tells him of his half-sister Hela and everything goes crazy from there. Thor gets misplaced on a warrior planet ran by Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster. There he reconnects with the Hulk and they plan to escape and save Asgard. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” What happens now that the snap has decimated half the universe and Thor lost to Thanos? Where is Valkyrie? Korg? Will we see Loki again? One of my biggest concerns going into “Endgame” is that “Infinity War” left me clamoring for more time with the characters from “Thor: Ragnarok.” STAN LEE CAMEO Stan’s cameo is hilarious in this film. We’ve never seen Stan so costumed as he is in this film dawning crazy spectacles and scissor arms. Plus, Stan’s role is pertinent to the feel of the entire movie as he is the one who cut’s Thor’s golden hair. END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two end credit scenes. The first scene is the most important because it has all been leading up to this. We see Thor and the people of Asgard heading to Earth when their ship is intercepted by Thanos himself. This directly leads into the events of “Infinity War.” The second scene is just played for laughs. We see the Grandmaster surrendering to his captors claiming that the revolution was a tie. CONCLUSION I’m fairly lukewarm on “Thor: Ragnarok.” Most people either love or hate the film but I am in between. It is definitely one of the better Marvel films and the most rewatchable, but it feels so disconnected to the rest of the Thor franchise. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). Now 17 movies in, it’s getting harder to decide where I want to rank each film. I just love these movies so much. That said, “Thor: Ragnarok” received the number nine spot on my list.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 34 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“I’m nothing without the suit,” – Spider-Man INTRODUCTION After the introduction of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man into the MCU, Marvel and Sony teamed up to take on the third iteration of stand-alone Spider-Man movies. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE Tom Holland is great as Spider-Man. Let me just start with that. There has never been a Spider-Man who felt funny, young enough to be a kid and both nerdy but charming at the same time. At least not until Holland got the role. Now, I have a hard time picturing anyone else as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Even if I can’t remember it, there have been two (cough now three) other Spider-Men in the 21st century. Toby Maguire was the first iteration of Spider-Man then came Andrew Garfield and finally Tom Holland. (Since Holland there has also been a wonderful Spider-Man animated movie called “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” featuring Miles Morales.) As for Peter Parker, Holland really shined in his first solo outing as Spider-Man. PLOT “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is a good movie. It’s fun and witty and it doesn’t take itself too seriously as a superhero film but rather more of a teenage comedy. However, Iron Man’s influence is felt everywhere in the film from his cameos, the Stark Internship, the upgrades to Spider-Man’s suit and even the ending scene where Tony and Pepper get engaged. It felt like Marvel was trying to set up as many elements into this film that they could to ensure that Sony didn’t mess up the character a third time. It paid off but it’s not as rewatchable as most Marvel films. The second half of the movie is pretty boring. Random characters like Donald Glover as Aaron David just show up which could hint at Miles Morales coming to the MCU but it will be a while for that to pay off, I’m sure. Zendaya plays Michelle Jones which seems to be the MCU’s version of MJ but there is still plenty of room to introduce Mary Jane Watson later. I liked Zendaya though. At the end of the film Aunt May knows that Peter is Spider-Man which is just so clever that they did that. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” Hopefully no one got too attached to Spider-Man since he was dusted in “Infinity War.” I don’t think he will have a big part in “Endgame” but we will definitely feel the repercussions as that movie leads into “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” STAN LEE CAMEO Stan’s cameo isn’t too memorable. In this film he sticks his head out of the window and yells at Parker like a stereotypical old New York man. It’s funny but that’s all. END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two pretty lame end-credit scenes. The first one sees Vulture reuniting with Scorpion, although it’s never said that is who he is. The second teaser is just a joke where Captain America teaches the audience about “the importance of patience.” CONCLUSION I’m excited to see more Spider-Man, especially if they are tied more into the MCU. I worry that the deal with Sony however will one day backfire as they are working on multiple Spider-Man spin-off movies. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). While I enjoyed “Spider-Man: Homecoming” a lot, the second half is just so boring, and it really falls flat for me. We’ve seen Spider-Man before. I don’t have any questions on what this hero can or can’t do. For this reason, I gave it the number 11 spot on my ranking.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 41 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“Peter, I’m your dad.” -Ego INTRODUCTION What does Marvel do when a film is insanely successful? Make a sequel. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2” is the fifteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This film, like the first, stands alone. In fact, without Thanos and the infinity stones, this film stands alone the most in comparison to any other film. It does a lot to get the audience excited to see Avengers and Guardians cross-over. PLOT Just months after the “a-holes” came together in the original Guardians film, the team is now a family and taking jobs across the universe. A run in with the Sovereign and Peter’s father, Ego, leads the team on all sorts of adventures with unlikely team-ups and mayhem. “Guardians: Volume 2” is a smart sequel that helps to tie up loose ends from the original film and introduces the audience to many new characters, expanding the universe. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” I honestly have no clue what will happen to the Guardians. Rocket is the only one living after “Infinity War” so only time will tell. STAN LEE CAMEO Stan has his best cameo where he is telling stories about his cameos to The Watchers. Stan also appears in a end-credit scene. These scenes have many believing the Stan is Uatu. I really love that theory and hope it someday comes to pass. END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are multiple end credit scenes in “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2.” First, we see Kraglin testing out Yondu’s arrow. This scene is mostly for fun but it does hint that Kraglin could continue to help the Guardians. Second, we get a scene featuring the original Guardians of the Galaxy including Sylvester Stallone as Stakar, Michael Rosenbaum as Martinex, Michelle Yeoh as Aleta and Miley Cyrus as Mainframe. Third, we see the creation of Adam Warlock. This will likely be continued in an Eternals movie. Fourth, is a peek at Teenage Groot, who we see appear in “Infinity War” with all his teenage angst. Finally, is a continuation of the Stan Lee/Watcher Cameo. CONCLUSION The Guardians are my favorite group of make-shift heroes and the funniest heroes in the MCU. I would literally give my life for more Guardian movies. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). I have to apologize for this ranking. I am just so in love with the characters and the story of “Guardians of the Galaxy” that they have to go at the top of my list. I decided not to put the sequel above the original because that first film was just so special and unique. It was like lighting in a bottle. I also decided that “The Winter Soldier” deserved to be in the top two still just for how much it pushed the universe forward. For that reason, I gave “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2” the number three spot.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 50 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“I’ve come to bargain,” – Doctor Strange INTRODUCTION “Doctor Strange” is one of the most original films in the Marvel continuity. It really has no tie-ins with the other films aside from a reference of an infinity stone. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the fourteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Clearly, Kevin Fiege and Marvel want to expand to other characters that can carry the MCU after Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans are gone. PLOT Doctor Stephen Strange is a word-class surgeon. When Strange gets in a car crash leaving his hands unusable, he seeks out a hidden magical sanctuary to learn how to regain mobility in his hands. However, this is just where Strange’s story begins. He meets the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and soon becomes entangled in a mystic war he didn’t bargain for. Ultimately, Strange’s journey is a classical origin story but it is done in the best way. It is hard to like Strange but the supporting characters do so much work to make this film achieve everything that it does. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” Stephen Strange was dusted but before he left we got to see him do some incredible magic “tricks” while fighting Thanos. He even looked into an almost infinite number of possible futures to determine that the one we got was the right one. I expect he will have to explain himself in “Endgame.” STAN LEE CAMEO Stan can be seen on a bus reading a book during an extremely tense moment. He laughs and says, “now that’s funny.” END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two after credits scenes. The first scene is an interaction between Thor and Doctor Strange. This scene alludes to Loki and Thor looking for Odin. This sets up “Thor: Ragnarok” but didn’t accurately portray the tone of that film. The second scene sets up a possible Doctor Strange sequel villain with Mordo stealing the magic from sorcerers. CONCLUSION “Doctor Strange” is a great origin film. Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange are three characters that have the best origin movies. The special effects are incredible and mind-blowing and I can only wonder what will happen the next time we see Doctor Strange on screen. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). Stephen Strange isn’t a very likable guy. As an origin story, I really love the story and visual effects of “Doctor Strange” but coming off of just seeing “Ant-Man” also feature a great origin story and special effects, I found myself enjoying the likability of Paul Rudd over Benedict Cumberbatch. For this reason I heavy-heartedly decided to put “Doctor Strange” in the number seven spot, it wasn’t an easy choice, though.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 55 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia |
Erick L. Graham Wood
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