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MCU Review

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

By MCU Review

Who The Hell Is Bucky?

 

Overview

Captain America: The Winter Soldier picks up with Cap, Steve Rogers, still trying to get a grip in the new world. The film opens with Steve meeting Sam Wilson who will become The Falcon. I love that their chemistry is immediate, they already have a connection and that really plays throughout the film. There’s also an absolutely heartbreaking scene that involves Peggy Carter as an elderly lady. Having recently just watched the first Captain America film, this scene really got to me. It quickly becomes apparent the Steve is having some difficulty working within the confines of S.H.I.E.L.D. dealing with their compartmentalization of information and the new Helicarrier project Insight. This is where the film takes a turn, after an assassination attempt on Nick Fury and then Cap himself being attacked, it’s revealed S.H.I.E.L.D is heavily compromised by HYDRA.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is such a well put together action thriller film set in the MCU. The Russo brothers did a fantastic job constructing this story and doing something really interesting with S.H.I.E.L.D. and it’s relationship with HYDRA. We also have one of my favorite characters and villains in The Winter Soldier.

Villain

Alexander Pierce is the real villain of the film, pulling the Winter Soldiers strings and Robert Redford is fantastic in the role. The Winter Soldier keeps showing up and causing absolute chaos and is very intimidating as a villain. The scene where he catches Steve’s shield and throws in back at him, so good.

What makes him even better, is his identity, James ‘Bucky’ Barnes. When we get the backstory of what actually happened to him, he becomes this tragic, tortured soul who we as an audience really care about. This is an adaptation of one of Captain Americas best comic storylines and it is so very well done.

Sound Design / Score

Relating to bucky, the sound design surrounding his character really stood out to me in this film. The sound design of his metal arm is incredible, I believe it’s got some granular layers in there, though I could be wrong. It helps his metal arm sound very powerful and gives it real mechanical weight. Another notable element is the sound design of the score. There’s a sample of a scream that plays when the Winter Soldier shows up gives him a real horror and menace that suits his character.

As a side, the score for this film is so good. Don’t get me wrong, MCU always have good music accompanying the film but this is the first time it really grabbed me. The Winter Soldier’s theme, in particular, is what made me download the whole thing…yes apparently I’ve become a total Bucky fanboy.

Final Thoughts

This film really marks a new direction of the MCU. After a small stumble in Thor: The Dark World, this film elevates the MCU to a whole new level of storytelling and just quality. The Winter Soldier has serious ramifications for the MCU world and it’s characters. The whole design of this film is just fantastic from top to bottom, even though I just watched it, I could be perfectly happy watching it again.

MCU Ranking

  1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

  2. Avengers

  3. Iron Man

  4. Iron Man 3

  5. Captain America: The First Avenger

  6. Iron Man 2

  7. Thor

  8. Incredible Hulk

  9. Thor: The Dark World

 

March 11, 2018
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Thor: The Dark World

By MCU Review

You must be truly desperate to come to me for help

 

Overview

Thor: The Dark World starts off with Loki being sentenced for his crimes on Earth. We then catch up with Jane Foster trying to get on with her life after Thor has seemingly left her behind. She stumbles across something called the Aether, that Odin later reveals is an infinity stone. The reality stone, to be exact. The Aether’s appearance awakens the dark elf Malekith, who wants it to restore the universe to darkness. Through a series of events we get an awesome Thor and Loki team up…but unfortunately, that’s about all that’s awesome.

The plot of this film is a little too thin and really borderlines on the “I’m gonna shoot a laser in the sky to destroy the world” trope. Now sure, Avengers had the portal, but the film had stakes, a really good setup and along with a compelling villain it didn’t feel empty or lazy. The Dark World feels really empty on the villain’s development and the stakes never really feel very high. Funny thing is, with this movie I still enjoyed watching it. Part of the ‘problem’ is the MCU has had such a high standard so anything less than amazing stands out as being sub-par. This isn’t a bad movie, it just has a lot of issues with plot and character.

The Villain

The main problem I think has to do with the villain Malekith. He doesn’t have enough motive for me, there’s nothing behind why he wants to return the universe to darkness. There should be SO much more to him and he should feel like a threat, especially because…SPOILERS… he kills Thor’s Mum. Malekith just never feels intimidating, he has loads of cool visuals but overall the way his character was written that made him fall flat.

It’s not all bad!

The Asgardians really save this film for me, Odin strong as usual, the warriors three are always fun. The MVP though is absolutely Loki, He had great character development, acting like he doesn’t care about his adoptive family, but you really feel his relationship and love for his mother Frigga. Loki just steals this movie in every scene and as always you never know which side he’s on. The way Thor and Loki play off each other is so fun to watch and it’s where most of the fun in this film comes from. The Human crew is also really fun to watch, I love especially what they did with Erik.

Final Thoughts

I think where this film falls apart is its villain and ultimately it lets the whole thing down. By the end of the film, you don’t feel a weight of what they have just been through. Thor and Loki suffered a huge loss in Frigga, That funeral scene was stunning to watch, the score in that part really hit me. Thor also thinks he lost Loki too, that should be a huge gut punch. Although he had loads of potential, there wasn’t enough time or development spent on Malekith and his ultimate goal of returning the universe to darkness just doesn’t hit me at all. That really makes the film fall apart.

MCU Ranking

  1. Avengers
  2. Iron Man
  3. Iron Man 3
  4. Captain America: The First Avenger
  5. Iron Man 2
  6. Thor
  7. Incredible Hulk
  8. Thor: The Dark World

 

 

March 6, 2018
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Iron Man 3

By MCU Review

You can take a screwdriver or any toys, but it’s something no one will ever take me…I am Iron Man!

 

Overview

Iron Man 3 picks up right after the Avengers. Tony seems to be living in is work, ignoring everything else…even Pepper. Iron Man 3, I find, brings something fresh to the MCU. It deals with the psychological effects of what Tony went through in the Battle of New York. Now suffering from PTSD, anxiety attacks, he’s devoted all of his time to developing new Iron Man tech to keep the world and most importantly to him, Pepper safe. Meanwhile a ghost from Tony’s past surfaces in the form of Aldrich Killian. At first, Killian appears to simply want to partner with Stark industries on some new technology, Extremis, which ‘hacks’ an open spot in our brain. The ramifications of this could be huge for humankind, however, Pepper deems it highly weaponizable and therefore declines.

The Villain

With all of this going on, a new threat emerges in the form of The Mandarin. Ben Kingsley is an absolute gem in this film and such a joy to watch. So without getting too plot heavy, as I’m sure you’ve seen it, The Mandarin and Killian are working together in order to control the war on terror. The big twist of it all is the Mandarin is actually an actor from London. This twist garnered SO much hate. I have to admit when I first saw this film in the theater, it was such a sucker punch, it completely took me out of the immersion of the film. I honestly wasn’t sure how to process what had just happened. Funny thing is, I was still enjoying Ben Kingsley.

I actually came to love this twist as it could be argued, Killian is the Mandarin. He even says it himself. If you look up the Mandarin in the comics, there are even some similarities. They both fight Tony while in the armor ripping it apart, he’s incredibly smart and conniving, I’m sure I could go on. This twist was actually retconned in the Marvel short, All Hail The King, appeasing the fans who really hated it. I was actually pretty happy with this, although I became a fan of the twist in the film, the fact that the real Mandarin is out there still is something quite exciting. Especially with that way the MCU is heading, more off world. As we know the Mandarin’s rings are alien technology.

Character Development and World Building

Iron Man 3 does so much for Tony’s character development. Not only does it explore themes not seen often in superheroes, or not seen at all in the MCU, it shows Tony doesn’t need the Iron Man suit to be a hero. This is so important. As Captain America say’s in the Avengers, ‘‘Take the suit away and what are you?’’.Tony certainly can add hero to the list. One major criticism of this film is that his PTSD is never explored in future MCU movies.

I don’t actually agree with this at all. If you follow Tony’s thoughts on building things to protect the world, Pepper and the people he loves…this becomes his motivation for creating Ultron. He’s so terrified of what can happen, he does everything he can think of to prevent it. Furthermore, we see his fears in the vision Scarlet Witch gives him. All of this leads to Ultron. The house party protocol even mirrors the Iron Legion seen in Age of Ultron.

Final Thoughts

I honestly find Iron Man 3 such a fun watch, it’s classic MCU in all it’s glory, with one of our favorite characters. The comedy, as always with Robert Downey Jr. is on point, the action is awesome, the story is really cool and it explores some very important themes. The side villains are pretty cool and scary at times, The kid is hilarious, Rhodey is awesome as always. I actually hope, going forward, themes from this film are touched upon in the future of the MCU.

 

MCU Ranking

  1. Avengers

  2. Iron Man

  3. Iron Man 3

  4. Captain America: The First Avenger

  5. Iron Man 2

  6. Thor

  7. Incredible Hulk

 

February 20, 2018
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Avengers

By MCU Review

If we can’t protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we’ll avenge it

 

Overview

The finale of phase one of the MCU, The Avengers. All previous films leading up to this ultimate team-up of heroes, something I believe has never been done before in cinema. Avengers brings truly brings together the MCU in this film. It gives each character a moment and reason to be apart of the team.

Each character in this film manages to have a meaningful arc, which is no small feat. They are paired up in fights in a way that makes sure the audience feels what’s at stake. Hawkeye vs Black Widow, Hulk vs Thor for example. The tension between the team is very well done, and even amplified in one scene by the mind stone, right before one of the main action scenes kick off. The way each character is brought into the fold is just such a fun pay off for the previous films. This also has my favorite Bruce Banner / Hulk by far! I much prefer Mark Ruffalo in the role than Norton and not to mention the Hulk’s design is the best yet.

There’s also a real gut punch in this film and ultimately become the catalyst for the Avengers coming together; Loki kills Coulson. When it happened, I was stunned, he was easily one of my favorite non-super humans and the connecting thread between each film. Nick Fury also uses this tragedy to further push the Avengers, via Coulson’s Captain America trading cards, as a final emotional hit. This hit leads to them coming together as a team. 

This all leads to ‘THE shot’, all of them standing in a circle, camera going around them, it’s just pure unadulterated hype, fan service and it’s just fucking rad. Captain America leading the team, giving them orders. “And Hulk…Smash”. So. Good.

The Villain

This is the film where Loki becomes one of, if not, the best villain in the MCU. You can see he’s sometimes conflicted about what he’s doing, but he feels trapped and follows through with the invasion anyway. He seems to be working for someone, which is a mystery until the end credits scene…which reveals, Thanos. The ultimate big bad, from then until today, we’ve known Thanos is coming. I actually suspected him in Avengers 2 however, it appears Marvel had an even longer game in play and Thanos is the finale.

World building

What’s interesting, looking back on this film now, is that it sets up future storylines.  We get the best look at S.H.I.E.L.D yet. It also hints at Hydra being behind S.H.I.E.L.D via their weapon program, obviously sets up Thanos, Hulk and Thor’s rivalry and some other things I’m probably just forgetting. Avengers really succeeds at threading the world of the MCU together, in a meaningful way.

Sound Design

As per usual, the sound design in this film is superb. Every different Avenger and weapon is easily distinguished. Even when powers are combined, such as Cap and Iron Man’s repulsor + Shield combo, it’s all unique. One thing I find the MCU does very well, especially here is that it’s easy to tell how big something is from its sound. If you close your eyes you can tell the Chitauri Leviathan is huge, you can tell Hulk is bigger than Thor. It’s something I take note of in this film, how they pull that off. It’s a great study in order to learn sound design techniques.

Final Thoughts

I mean, what can I say, I love this film so much. I went to see it in the cinema so many times…I’d have a three-hour break at work and just hop to the nearby cinema to watch Avengers. This film is such an achievement and when those credits rolled, it truly felt like the start of something special and I couldn’t even begin to imagine just how special the MCU would become.

MCU Ranking

  1. Avengers

  2. Iron Man

  3. Captain America: The First Avenger

  4. Iron Man 2

  5. Thor

  6. Incredible Hulk

 

February 20, 2018
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Captain America: The First Avenger

By MCU Review, Road To Infinity War

I could do this all day…

Captain America: The First Avenger is the 5th movie in the MCU. Opening in present day with the discovery of a huge ship, that we later know is called the Valkyrie. Inside the ship, they discover Captain America’s shield, before entering the world war II time frame in which is the film is set.

We then meet the Red Skull. Seemingly he is obsessed with Norse mythology, he even finds the Tesseract in a village that was referenced in Thor. He then takes the Tesseract in order to create powerful weapons. We then get to Steve Rogers, small, weak, but full of heart. Rewatching this film I realized that this movie is all heart. Steve is such a strong character, his relationship with Bucky is quite well developed in a short amount of time and his chemistry with Agent Carter is outstanding. I really, really enjoyed watching this film again.

The only part I kinda didn’t like, was the montage of the missions Cap and the Howling Commandos went on. That being said, I recognize that given our 2-hour time frame and where we need to finish the film, it was necessary. I believe you could of easily had a Captain America WWII trilogy, however, we had to get Cap to present day, for the Avengers.

Notable Characters

Red Skull, I believe is a pretty good villain. His motives and intentions are established pretty quickly as is his ruthless and obsessive nature. Ultimately his fate is pretty satisfying and is now just sat there waiting to be paid off. Holding the Tesseract, he’s seemingly vaporized by it. However subsequent viewings and the added knowledge that the Tesseract is actually the space Infinity stone, he totally got teleported somewhere. Secretly, I’m hoping he shows up in Infinity War now.

Bucky is probably one of my favorite characters in the MCU.  I’m a sucker for a good guy turned bad, redemption story. I used to think that he should have fallen from the Valkyrie, jumping on one of those planes, getting his hand stuck and it exploding. Similar to the Ultimates animated film, however that would have pulled focus from one of the best scenes in the MCU. I found Bucky to be very compelling and the relationship between him and Steve is presented very well.

I also have a serious soft spot for Agent Carter, she’s an absolute badass with a heart of gold. Her and Steve’s relationship, for me, is so heartfelt. The scene where Steve is flying the Valkyrie into the water and they are talking over the radio is absolutely heartbreaking, then the final line of the film is a gut punch, “…I had a date”. Gets.Me.Every time.

Sound Design

Notable sound design moments, the Tesseract weapons have a really cool design. What caught me off guard though was Captain America’s handgun, it sounds so awesome. It almost reminds me of Padme’s gun from Star Wars: Episode I, but, a more grounded version of it.  The soundscape of this film goes a really long way in establishing the time period of the movie, so much so that it really helps sell the moment he wakes up in present day and the modern soundscape is in effect, it changes the whole tone of the movie, makes it slightly jarring and as a result, we are right in that moment with Steve.

World Building

Having a glimpse into the history of the MCU is very cool and interesting. The familiar but alternate history it presents with the existence of HYDRA and Captain America himself I feel is very well represented and even believable. Every World has a history and we get to explore it, hopefully, this won’t be the last time we see a period piece, a movie with the original Hank Pym and Wasp would be awesome. It’s also very fun seeing where Tony gets a lot of his traits from.

Final Thoughts

Captain America is a film with so much heart and emotional impact for me. Steve’s character is through and through, a good man and I feel very well developed alongside his supporting cast, a lot of whom play an important role in films to come.

MCU Ranking

  1. Iron Man
  2. Captain America: The First Avenger
  3. Iron Man 2
  4. Thor
  5. Incredible Hulk
February 4, 2018
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Thor

By MCU Review, Road To Infinity War

Myeuh-muh? What’s Myeuh-muh?

 

Thor is the 4th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Following straight on from where Iron Man 2 left off, we pick up in New Mexico, the Land of enchantment. Here Coulson discovers Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir (Myeuh-muh).  This was the MCU’s biggest challenge to date, as Thor comes from such a fantastical world.  So far, the MCU has been somewhat grounded, however, they actually play on that very well by depicting Thor as an almost  ‘crazy homeless guy’, who they all just think is crazy.

The one instance of this looking a little weird is when Sif and the Warriors three show up towards the end. They end up looking a little too out of place, but in the long run, it’s a minor complaint. The whole scene with them, the Destroyer armour and Thor being Thor, is actually the weakest part of that film, but it is absolutely saved by the finally with Loki.

As a villain, Loki easily tops them all so far. What Tom Hiddleston does with this character gets me every time. At first, he’s just in it for a little mischief, this quickly escalates to one of my favourite scenes in a Marvel movie, when he confronts Odin about his parentage. I love that you never really know what side he is on.

For Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth does a great job. Although his costume in this and the colour of his hair, beard etc. looks a little bit off. Aside from that, it’s a great start for a character that I feel at the time, really could not have come across as dumb. Quick side note, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, is there even anyone else? Fantastic.

Sound Design

Being a Marvel movie the sound design is always going to be at an excellent level, there are still some specifics that stand out for me. The sound the Bifrost makes, that bass-heavy noise, almost booked ended by notes of silence is amazing. It really helps capture the power of the Bifrost and its potential to destroy planets. The various metallic sounds used for Mjolnir are also really well done. They end up giving the hammer itself some real character.

World Building

S.H.I.E.L.D has a real presence in this movie. in Iron Man 2 they briefly popped up to help out Tony, but this time they are a fairly main part of the narrative of the film. Thor is the first MCU film that really expands the world out into space and challenges the viewer to accept magic as ‘science we don’t understand’. A which is a very cool notion and while that may be true, I feel it doesn’t apply to all of Asgard. Sure some things maybe super advanced technology but, Loki has magic and Thor has powers, but the majority of Asgard being super advanced beings, I think is really clever and of course, that comes from the mind of Jack Kirby.

Final Thoughts

Thor does a great job of introducing a fantastical character and making him fit into the world of the MCU.

The fight with the Destroyer is a bit ‘meh’ as are some visuals.  When the warriors three and Sif appear. Although I can see how it was by design, it could have been pulled off 10% better. That being said Loki’s presence as the main villain Is amazing. Hemsworth’s Thor has loads of personality and a great arc. Hopkins Odin, Jane Foster, Darcy and Selvig, I find all to be compelling characters.  this overshadows those small gripes to make Thor an overall good movie.

MCU Ranking

  1. Iron Man
  2. Iron Man 2
  3. Thor
  4. The Incredible Hulk

 

January 22, 2018
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Iron Man 2

By MCU Review, Road To Infinity War

I already told you, I don’t wanna join your super secret boy band…

 

So, just as a change of pace and for a little fun, as well as my usual sound related content, every week I’ll be watching and reviewing a film from the MCU in the lead up to Infinity War. Ironman 2, sure some elements repeat the first Iron Man, but in my opinion, it’s a logical move. Of course, the dark version of Tony Stark would make a badass suit. He succeeds where Obadiah Stane fails, recreating the arc reactor…in Russia, from a box of scraps. He’s a villain with real motive and I really enjoy that.

The sound design as ever is awesome. I never get sick of hearing Tony’s repulsor blasts. War Machines guns sound so, so powerful and it’s such a satisfying thing to watch because of the SFX. If you close your eyes, you can tell whether or not Tony or War Machine is on screen. Just down to the design of the design of the weaponry and that’s so important.

The world gets a lot bigger too, Black Widow is introduced, we get more Phil Coulson ANOTHER Captain America easter egg. That’s one per film, constantly teasing the fans of his arrival. Speaking of easter eggs there are two things in this film that I did not notice until I watched it again. Tony is reading when he’s learning about this element his father discovered and there’s a sketch of the tesseract. Now, this next thing blew my mind, Tony didn’t create vibranium, like I thought he recreated the material that the tesseract is made of. The material that houses both the Space and Mind Infinity stones. This also explains why Loki’s staff doesn’t work on Tony! (mind blown, that part always confused me). Another fun fact, Tony called this element ‘badassium’.

I guess the other thing I have to mention is that it’s now technically the first appearance of Peter Parker. He’s officially been recognised as the Kid in the Iron Man mask. Yes, this was a fan theory, but, Marvel retconned it to be official, which is awesome.

Final Thoughts…

I suppose Iron Man 2 has some issues, but I really think the way it builds the world further and it includes the first appearance of Black Widow and War Machine in all their glory, for me that redeems the film, not mention the Thor easter egg end credits. Iron Man 2 is still a fun ride. No wonder I saw it 3 times in 4 days when it first came out.

MCU Ranking

  1. Iron Man
  2. Iron Man 2
  3. Incredible Hulk

 

January 15, 2018
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The Incredible Hulk

By MCU Review, Road To Infinity War

You won’t like me when I’m…hungry

 

My side quest going through each of the MCU films on the road to infinity war in continues. This blog series is a little deviation from usual sound related content. A little bit of fun to fuel my excitement for Infinity War which comes out in May. 

Incredible Hulk is the second film in the MCU. Not made by Marvel studios, like Iron Man, it was made by Universal who own the rights to make solo Hulk films. In tone, Incredible Hulk is a lot more serious than most MCU films, but it does have it’s funny moments and in general I actually still find this a fun film that I reckon, gets a bad wrap.

One problem with this film is, it does not age well. Sometimes the Hulk looks so, so bad. I partially think this is due to the time but also if you compare our current MCU Hulk to this one, it’s night and day. Pun intended, Hulk looks incredible from Avengers onward.

The Villain I feel is actually quite strong, the character development of Abomination is handled very well and gives a solid reason for Blonsky’s path to becoming a monster. Thunderbolt Ross is also handled very well, William Hurt is fantastic in the role. Side note, bringing him back for Civil War was awesome.

One of my main joys watching this film, is the hints at Captain America, the world building this film does just by dropping hints about the super soldier program and actually using a version of the super soldier serum (note: it’s a bad version/attempt to recreate it, not the actual serum).

I feel although it has some flaws, it’s still a solid entry in the MCU, but let’s face it, competition is tough and it will most likely end up at the bottom of the pile.

MCU Ranking

1.Iron Man

2.The Incredible Hulk

 

January 14, 2018
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Iron Man

By MCU Review, Road To Infinity War

I am Iron Man…

 

Iron Man kicks off the Marvel Cinematic Universe with an absolute bang! Robert Downey Jr, then an absolute wild card brings the Iron Avenger to life! What a ride this movie is, from the start you’re introduced to the self-indulgent billionaire playboy himself and Robert Downey Jr perfectly personifies him. I found the hi-tech phone and Myspace being name-dropped very amusingly dates the film.  

This film essentially sets the tone of the MCU going forward (incredible hulk aside). Character development, comedy, drama, action, all perfectly balanced to create such a fun film. This is the film that set the bar for superhero films going forward. I always felt superhero films let me down in one way or another, whether it was costume, villain, characterization and I found it VERY frustrating they couldn’t just commit to the character and world. Now granted, Tony and Iron Man can be grounded but that being said the NAILED the tone for this. I had no notes or things I wished they did, they even had that end credits scene that blew my mind.

Jeff Bridges was amazing in this role, I am for sure, a Jeff Bridges fanboy. Back then, I’m not actually sure I really knew who he was. As I went and watched more his movies I became a super fan, not just as an actor, but as a human being. Going back and watching his performance with a new perspective makes me love his role even more.  Almost wish he hadn’t been killed off, but maybe they can bring Jeff back and another character.

As I said before, a few of these are going to be shorter until I catch up with what I’ve watched. When I do I can go a little more in-depth with things I noticed, setups, easter eggs for future films etc.

 

MCU Ranking:

  1. Iron Man

 

Until Next time, True Believers!

 

January 12, 2018
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The Road To Infinity War!

By MCU Review, Road To Infinity War

To challenge them is to Court Death…

As well as writing about Sound Design and the Video Games industry I also want to use this blog to write about my other passions, such as Marvel.

As we all know, Infinity is coming out in May. As some of you may NOT know, if you watch one marvel cinematic universe movie a week from 1st of January, including head to the cinema to see Black Panther, it leads directly into Infinity War!

So far I’ve watched Iron Man, Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2.  My favourite guys on the internet, Kinda Funny, have an awesome show reviewing each of these films in order on a weekly basis. This got me thinking…

So, every week along with my usual blog post, I am going to also post a review and look back at these films as I watch them. Why? Because I LOVE marvel. Star Wars and Marvel are like coming home for me. Ever since I was little I was into Marvel and into Star Wars. I am so hyped for what Marvel has coming.

Now granted, I’m three movies in and I have done no reviews yet, as I came up with this idea today so the first 2-3 will be shorter than the rest. So with that being said,

 

Until Next time, True believers!

 

January 12, 2018
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