Justice League

Oh, DC. I swear I am not actively rooting against you just because I'm a Marvel fanboy. Competition makes both of the companies better. However, as far as the movies go, DC is like a Triple AAA baseball team and Marvel is the big leagues.

Wonder Woman gained so much good will from me, but in the back of my mind, I figured Justice League wouldn't be able to build on that momentum.

Let's be frank here. Justice League is a bad movie. It occasionally has some cool moments, but that is not enough to save it.

The argument I always make for those inevitable Avengers vs. Justice League movie comparisons is this simple fact. The Marvel universe took a slow, methodical approach to get to their movies. They took a calculated risk by getting tentpole movies out for their main players of Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Thor. Once those were successes, they had the foundation to build the Avengers movie. You had a natural anticipation that built and built and culminated in the first Avengers movie. You wanted to see all those characters together and see how they play off each other.

DC tried to take the fast track and after putting out Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman and Wonder Woman, they jumped straight to a Justice League movie. In that time, there was a Suicide Squad movie that had no impact on this movie. So this movie has to spend time introducing us very quickly to three new team members in Cyborg, Aquaman and the Flash. Unfortunately for us, they do not do a good job. You get quick side explanations or scenes that show how they came to be, but you're not invested in their stories or given a reason to care.

What still bothers me about Batman v. Superman is that they act like Batman and Superman were great friends. They circled each other for the bulk of their movie and then fought at the end, before coming together for like ten minutes. From that we are supposed to buy that they have this deep friendship? In the comics, that is true. In the movies, that is completely false. So every time Batman/Bruce talks about how he wants to do things in Superman's memory or how they want to bring him back to life, it rings so hollow.

Also, who is Steppenwolf to be such a big bad guy in this movie. Again, comic fans will know who he is but I am taking the role of Joe Average here. All you know is that he is a bad guy who wants to take over this world for some reason. The way the movie is constructed, para-demons have been showing up for while in anticipation for a big attack. That would be fine if this was sprinkled throughout all the movies leading up to this. Instead, you have to believe it's a big deal without understanding what the stakes are.

Another big beef I have with this movie is it just feels so boring. Even though there are world ending stakes here, it never really feels like there is anything of consequence. We don't see how these events affect anyone. It's as if the course correction caused by the mass destruction in Man of Steel has affected this movie too. Also, I think this movie is too special effects heavy. It would be okay if it actually looked good. For me, if I don't see guys doing physical stunts in the fight scenes, you lose me. Say what you will about Man of Steel, the special effects in that movie were great.

The fight choreography isn't all that spectacular outside of what they do with Wonder Woman. Like every movie she's appeared in, she's the bright spot here. I hope her (and Gal Gadot who plays her) star continues to rise.

Outside of Wonder Woman, everyone else just feels so blah. This movie did not get the best out of the talent they were presented with.

I feel like I could go on and on about what I didn't like about this movie and why I didn't enjoy it, but I think I've said enough. I went in with low expectations and this film met that. I just hope they get their act together in future movies.

The Punisher

I took my time with the Punisher, something I haven't done with the other Marvel shows. I'll be honest, I wasn't as excited for it as I was for the other shows. That is nothing against this show, I just think I am experiencing comic book show fatigue right now.

However, I will say this. The first season of Punisher was good. I will also say that is easily the most violent of the Marvel shows, which should surprise no one that has a working knowledge of the character. His scenes in season two of Daredevil were clear evidence of what we might expect.

What I didn't expect was a deep dive into PTSD that this show traverses down. Surprisingly, it didn't feel completely ham fisted. It is definitely in your face and they do not hide from it, but I think it accurately demonstrates how each soldier is changed by their experiences and how they deal with it. The central characters in this show were soldiers in one way or another and the effects on them are shown through the show.

Frank Castle himself is a tragic character. Not to say it justifies his actions, but you can say, "Yeah, I see why he went nuts". This show does it's best to color him in shades of grey. It makes it hard to root for him at times, if only to say, "Well, he's LESS bad than those other a-holes".

He does have a code of honor and they toe that line in when he reacts and when he doesn't. This is constantly explored throughout the show. Jon Berenthal is perfectly cast as Frank Castle. He starts off quieter in the first few episodes, so you will have to be patient. I promise he will start talking more.

I really liked the supporting characters in this show. The character, Micro definitely helps to humanize Frank and works as a good foil to him. Seeing their relationship grow is fun to watch. I liked agent Madani, who spends the series chasing after Castle. She is easily the most clean of all the characters. She is fueled by her search for justice, sometimes to the detriment of those within her orbit. There's the character of Curtis who is also one of the likable people in the show, who also helps out Frank.

I was really glad to see Karen Page return for this show, seeing as they already established her special relationship with Frank during the Daredevil season. They also explore the importance of that relationship here.

Overall, this show was also very gritty and probably also shot on location mostly in New York. It keeps up with the aesthetic that we've grown used to with these shows.

With a Punisher show, you expect it to be about him going after mob bosses, so I liked that they went in another direction and had him chasing down a government conspiracy. As unrealistic as this show can get with it's violence, I think it is a plot that can resonate even to today. There's always going to be shadowy government people that are out with their own agenda.

To complain about the violence in this show would be like to complain that water is wet. Like I said before, you know what you get with a show like this. To it's credit, most episodes didn't resort to gratuitous violence, so you do get breaks from time to time. We will also have to accept that Frank is not like normal humans in that he can be a bullet sponge and still come out alive. At least it does have SOME effect on him.

My final thoughts on the show are this. I really did like. Unlike the other shows, I didn't feel like it really dragged in the middle. I think things played out at a good clip. There is definitely a slow burn and I'm starting to wonder if serialized series like this are the best way to go with the characters. Maybe episodes or two sprinkled within to deal with one off issues while still building a larger narrative is a way to go? Then again, with 13 episodes, you don't have that luxury.

I'm still deciding where I'd place this in my list of Marvel shows. It's definitely better than Iron Fist and I would put it above season 2 of Daredevil. After that, it's a toss up. This is definitely not the weakest show, that's for sure. Nothing is taking that throne from Iron Fist.

Bendis Leaving Marvel to go to DC

The news of Brian Michael Bendis leaving Marvel to go to DC is way too big for me NOT to mention. This is big because for the last seventeen years, Bendis has been the pre-eminent writer at Marvel. Whether you know this or not, I would argue that he was responsible for the resurgence of the Avengers.

Before Bendis, I NEVER touched the avengers. I didn't read their books at all. I deemed them too corny. Lest we forget, around this time, Iron Man was a C level character at best in my opinion. It wasn't until Robert Downey Jr. came along that he became A-list. Bendis broke down the Avengers and built up a new team that felt like more of a collection of his favorite characters than traditional Avengers. You had Captain America and Iron Man, but then you got Spider-Man, Wolverine, Spider-Woman and Luke Cage. Then a mystery character like Ronin and Sentry. Suddenly, these Avengers were cool and I began reading them.

On the other side of this, Bendis had been working on Ultimate Spider-Man and turned that into a hit. Then he also had a great run on Daredevil (which I still need to read).

He created characters like Jessica Jones (yes, that Jessica Jones!), Miles Morales and Riri Williams. His influence in the past few years of Marvel has been vast.

He even brought over his book, "Powers" from Image to Marvel's Icon imprint. That was another series that turned me on to him. In that book, he was free to use all the profanity he would ever want. Besides that, it started off as a really good crime book. Shame it ended up as a terrible tv show.

I promise, I won't go through the wikipedia list of all his works. What I wanted to show is that I was a fan of his work at Marvel. I didn't enjoy everything, but I knew to expect at least great dialogue from Bendis. It's a trademark of his that I always loved. I personally like issues of comics where it's just people talking. To see him leave for greener pastures will invigorate him. I'm glad he gets the opportunity to work at DC on something new. Maybe that will make me become more interested in their books depending on his project.

The two questions that leave me with are: Why now? And what is going on over at Marvel?

Thor: Ragnarok

I really need to get my posts up sooner. Anyways, it's been a week since I saw Thor: Ragnarok, but I wanted to talk about it before I forget everything that I saw! Or maybe, I just need to go see it a second time. Hmmm...

This will sound like hyperbole, but Thor: Ragnarok has jumped into my personal top five of the Marvel films. I enjoyed this movie that much. It had what the last few outings (re: Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) lacked. Fun.

Now I know you will talk about how funny the Guardians of the Galaxy movie was. Yes, the FIRST one was funny. The second one had jokes that went on too long and tried too hard at times. Am I retroactively contradicting my earlier review? Probably. You expect me to go back and re-read my own stuff??

In a conscious effort to keep my reviews shorter, let me get into what I loved about this movie. The logo and the trailers had an an 80's rock synth bent to it and that carried through in all the musical choices. I absolutely loved that.

You have big action set pieces where you get to see Thor, Hulk and others really tear it up. There are a lot of really good action scenes in this movie. At times I felt there was too much CG, but that is just where we are with big budget action movies now.

I've stated to death how much I like movies with smaller conflicts. Granted, this one deals with the death of an entire world, but at least the Earth really isn't involved, so that's a breath of fresh air. It's in space where anyone could show up.

Remember that shot I took at GOTG Vol. 2 about three paragraphs up? You should cause you just read it! This movie had a comedic through-line that I really appreciated. From the very beginning, the tone is set with how comedic this movie was going to be. In this movie, I think the jokes really land. The only joke that I got sick of was the name of the giant worm hole that the heroes have to go through. Other than that, I feel like everything hit it's mark. This wouldn't work without the actors, who all play their parts in making the comedy work. We have to give it up for Chris Hemsworth who is putting in work as Thor.

Arguably, I think Korg has the best lines in the movie. I'm not trying not to be suspicious of that, considering the director, Taika Waititi voiced him.

Despite all the comedy, I think there was some good resolution between Thor, Loki and Odin. There was really a lot of heart here in resolving some of the familial issues. Also, I think Hela makes a fantastic villain. So why is it that two of the best villains from the Marvel movies come from the Thor franchise??

Oh! I also just need to say, "Jeff Goldblum". That's it. He's at his Goldblumy best here.

What Marvel movie would be complete without some easter eggs? I only saw this once, so I didn't pick up on that may. There is your requisite Stan Lee appearance, which are always funny.  Seeing Beta Ray Bill's face in that massive tower on Sakaar was awesome. While we're mentioning Sakaar, I like that this movie is closely based on Planet Hulk.It really works here. We're never going to get a solo Hulk movie, so it was a good use of it here. I also liked the cameo by a certain Marvel movie character here. These movies are starting to feel like the comic books where anyone could show up for a team up at any time. I mean, the Hulk plays a big part in this movie. How cool is that?

So like I said at the beginning, this is now in my top five Marvel films. I say top five because my top three are firmly set at Captain America: Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers. So maybe this will be #4.

This is a film that comic fans and non-comic fans can enjoy. Over the years, this has been my biggest indicator on how good I think a comic book based movie is. If a person off the street can enjoy it, you've done your job. Go see this film!