22 film MCU marathon begins now

So this marathon is for all the MCU films. From Iron Man (May 2008) to Spider-Man: Far From Home (July of this year). And its based on chronological order...well, according to this list.

I'm watching Captain America: The First Avenger and you know what? I miss when the Marvel movies had interesting production design. Its still interesting, but this movie has a certain pop to it that later films don't have

Also, the universe building connections were way more prevalent in this film than I remember

I love how Steve Rogers doesn't undergo the experiment until about 1/4 into the movie. And I also love how the first half of this film actually spends time with the Nazis/Hydra.

I should save these thoughts for a review

I absolutely love that Kenneth Choi was cast to play a soldier in Cap 1 and then was cast to play that soldier's grandson in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Makes the "Queens...Brooklyn" exchange from Civil War that much sweeter

Captain America doesn't get his shield until 1 hour and 15 minutes into this movie, and that wait is SO worth it

So I saw #CaptainMarvel on opening night. Didn’t love it. Some fun moments all throughout, Danvers/Fury chemistry elevates things, and the supporting cast (Lynch, Mendelson, the cat) are all standouts. I just never found myself invested in Danvers as a character.

A comparison could be made to T’Challa in #BlackPanther but I’d argue the big difference between these films is that BP’s story had a clear theme, explored through a conflict of two dynamic characters (T’Challa and Killmonger). Both of whom are you emotionally tied to that theme

At the end of BP, T’Challa has gone through a physical, mental and emotional journey that forces him to grow. You can feel those changes as they happen. Killmonger’s growth is felt as well, it’s just tragic.

At no point in #CaptainMarvel did I ever feel such things. I got very close in the third act, but it never really connected for me on that level. I think Brie Larson’s performance is only a part of that. And again, this doesn’t mean the movie isn’t fun. It’s just kinda flat

Also, if Carol Danvers is supposed to be exploring Earth and learning about herself, why is the audience told everything so far in advance? I found that to be a bad storytelling choice.

There are some other issues I have with the film, but one more time: this is only my opinion. #CaptainMarvel is a classic character in comic book history, and the fact that we have this movie is a sign that we are truly living in a golden age.

Also, this film’s success (like #WonderWoman and #AntManAndTheWasp) will only push representation forward, and I am 175% here for all of that.

And now, my 22 film MCU marathon continues with the one that kicked the whole thing off

Something the first Iron Man film did really well: The opening 7 minutes tell you SO much. And in such a simple way. We learn everything we need to know about Tony Stark, and how people view him, and it's never dull

Maybe we should give Jeff Bridges more credit for his performance as Obadiah Stane. Yeah, it becomes silly and generic near the end, but overall I liked him in this role

Also, I never realized how much Clark Gregg was given to do in this movie

So this movie is still great. I think RDJ elevates it from just being good. Comparing it to the most recent entry in the MCU, this movie feels like one cohesive vision. Captain America 1 also feels that way. Direction matters

So I’m finally rewatching Iron Man 2. They REALLY went all in on making Tony Stark one of the famous moguls of our time. Elon Musk, Larry Ellison...both are good cameos

Also, the meta jokes out Rhodes no longer being played by Terrance Howard still works

The Iron Man suit looks SO much better in this movie than in ALL of Infinity War

Completely forgot DJ AM (RIP) showed up for this movie

How does Rhodes know how to pilot the War Machine suit?

I think Iron Man 2 suffers from a similar issue as Suicide Squad in that there’s so much going on, or it appears that way, because this movie doesn’t flow well. Things just happen, tones change on a dime, there’s at least one compelling character arc that’s not being explored

And the villains don’t matter because they aren’t very interesting

Sam Rockwell is so wasted in this movie. So is Mickey Rourke.

But I live for this

Iron Man 2 is a mess, but I feel like there was a good movie waiting to be assembled in the edit. The Avengers/SHIELD bits are not in that movie

What number is this? Whatever. More Marvel movies!

Interesting to note about The Incredible Hulk: the ties to the rest of the MCU are in the opening title cards, this movie flashes by a lot of information really quick (like Iron Man), and hell yes, this movie has more color than Civil War lol

This almost looks like a Michael Bay movie.

I’m sure Lou Ferrigno was happy to come back and do another cameo for another Hulk movie

Liv Tyler is definitely a weak point in this movie.

The Incredible Hulk fails to be incredible because its not sure if it wants to be about Blomsky, Bruce and Betty, or Bruce "curing" himself. None of those things gets fleshed out very well. Also, the writing is sometimes pretty weak

And the story goes on with

I’m glad they figured out what to do about Thor’s look in these movies

The colors really pop in this movie, especially on Asgard

I don't think I've ever noticed this until today, but once Thor shows up on Earth, it seems like they cut from place to place until Jane takes him to get Mjolnir. That makes for some not-smooth storytelling

This introduction to Hawkeye was cool. Made sense because of where it happens in the plot, and he doesn't interfere with the rest of the movie.

There are so many dutch angles in this damn movie!

I really can't with Thor's eyebrows

Kenneth Branagh had the absolute right amount of respect for this material. As unremarkable as the movie is, you can tell he took this seriously. Works best for the Asgard scenes, not so much in New Mexico

That final fight between Loki and Thor. Are we sure there were enough cuts?

My thoughts on the MCU films in this chronological order thus far: I’ve watched 6 films and only one of them is great. One of them is really good. One of them is bad. The rest are decent.

Never realized how much SHIELD was given to us in Phase 1.

These films used to look so good!

Let’s see how much of this I can watch before I have to leave. The superhero crossover movie to end all superhero crossover movies

I need to say this off top: The Avengers works in large part because Whedom wrote the first act like an annual edition of the comics. No need to see the previous movies. This first act teaches you everything you need to know

Alan Silvestri’s score is the best musical thing Marvel Studios has ever done.

Having Tom Hiddleston stroll around as that orchestra plays...now that’s direction!

And I love the smirk that forms while he’s cutting that guy’s eye out

Whedon understood these characters so well. “There’s only one God, ma’am. And I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that”. One of the best superhero lines ever

Also, the way these characters get introduced is flawless. The film flows in a way that’s a service to them

Banner doesn’t become the Hulk until halfway through the movie, and the fan service that follows is everything you could hope for

I could go on about how perfectly structured the Avengers is as a film. But other people can do that better. When the battle of New York starts, there is no stone left unturned as far as sequences, shots, character moments, VFX

And there's a great deal of perspective. Aerial shots for Iron Man, ground shots for Black Widow and Hawkeye, civilian rescues by Cap

So about this...this is an example of a moment. A moment happens within a scene, and should never be used to replace a scene. Scenes build to moments, and when they are constructed properly, the moment captures the entire essence of the scene without much effort.

That shot of the Avengers finally assembled, at the height of Alan Silvestri's score, in the midst of a chaotic battle that we all know they're going to win...that is perhaps the finest moment in the history of superhero movies. Everything about that shot is perfect. Everything

And for it to be followed with Loki quietly saying "send the rest", which then leads Tony to immediately defer to Cap. THAT is understanding the characters. THAT is an arc

I am 7 movies into this MCU marathon ahead of Avengers: Endgame, and I am having fun for the most part. It's wild to me that people look at the changing direction of the DC universe and question if the characters can co-exist

Iron Man 1 & 2, Incredible Hulk, Thor and Cap 1 are all wildly different. Made no difference in how well the Avengers movie came together. They just had to tell a story that brought them all together. And emphasized how each of the characters would bounce off each other

Time to knock out the most controversial MCU movie that isn't still in theaters

I wonder if the reaction to this movie has anything to do with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang not having been the biggest hit back in 2005. Like, if you did a poll...wait a minute. This is twitter.

Had you seen 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' before watching Iron Man 3?

Just realized I hadn't given any final thoughts on Iron Man 3 after watching it. It's fine. I think it starts off strong, but stumbles when trying to connect the mystery about Extremis with the reveal of you-know-who. RDJ is really good, and that elevates some uneven plotting

*long sigh* Here we go

I'm pissed at how much better this looks than Ragnarok

Jane, Darcy and the intern...none of this humor landed

The subtitles on the dark elves didn't help

I am in shock at how great this movie looks. Seriously. The storytelling is just so uninteresting

Thor's mother has been killed, and I just find myself not in the least bit engaged with this part of the movie

fell asleep right as Thor and Loki got out of Asgard. Thor: The Dark World is probably the second best looking Marvel movie, but it’s so bad. I’ll finish it today

Oh, and I completely forgot that this movie actually explained the infinity stones. Thought it just introduced the reality stone

You can tell Marvel was excited to have Zachary Levi join the cast. He’s so good in #Shazam. That movie is great. Y’all should see it when it comes out

So I was watching Thor: The Dark World last night and I think it's weird how Marvel had a sure thing in Thor/Loki. Fascinating characters being portrayed by good actors. They just really hadn't settled on a good story for them. That is the real accomplishment of Ragnarok.

Today I get to see if Captain America: The Winter Soldier is still my #1

Time to get into Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I remember going to see this with @Chulijoy @CapitalSS and my sister. Good times

I love that the guy who went on to play KG Beast in Batman V Superman was a no name SHIELD agent in this movie

This makeup they put on Hayley Atwell has always been questionable. Thankfully, the performances from her and Chris Evans make that scene work

The opening action scene on the boat and the attack on Nick Fury...I think having both of those in the first act of the movie really made a strong impression. They aren't just exciting, but they're long. That momentum is strong enough to carry the movie a long way

You can tell based on the first time Cap chases down Winter Soldier that the Russos really understood how to best flex his abilities. You can also tell based on when he goes to stop those pirates on the ship, but still

Not even an hour into this movie and you get all this development in the plot AND the elevator fight? Jesus lol

That's a damn good way to introduce Falcon!

FAM! The way Winter Solider dropped in and murked Jasper Sitwell. That never stops getting me hype

Shoutout to a muscle-bound, honest symbol of America killing people and general audiences having no problem with it. It's almost like they weren't ready for it in 2013, but magically were here for it in 2014. Nothing weird about that

You know who arguably benefitted the most from this movie? Black Widow. She kicks so much ass in this movie. And she feels even more developed than in The Avengers. Cap was always a well realized character, he was just a boy scout

LMAO! Now that Cap has original suit back, I can't help but think about @Chulijoy repeatedly saying "He looks more like Captain Puerto Rico". Never change, Dani

Sorry Marvel, the face mask reveal looks better in the Mission Impossible movies. But props Marvel, that was a good reveal for Black Widow

I have NEVER thought to ask this before now: Has 9/11 happened in the MCU?

As far as comic to screen adaptations of costumes, Winter Soldier is up there.

So Winter Soldier still holds up in my opinion. The ending is kinda whatever, but overall this is a really good modernization of Cap and Falcon. And it serves to continue more than one story thread from the first Cap movie, which helps. I think The Avengers is my new #1 though

Tomorrow, I dig into the imagination of James Gunn

James Gunn's imagination, vol 2 tonight

Today: Marvel’s 2015 movies. Age of Ultron and Ant-Man

Ultron "kills" Jarvis at the 20 minute mark of this movie. There are 2 hours left. That is probably the first sign that this film was going to have some pacing issues

UPDATES: Age of Ultron is still doing too much and not interesting enough and Ant-Man is still really good. Now it's time for Captain America: Civil War, where the Captain America parts are mostly great and the Civil War parts are mostly dumb.

Things I ask myself every time I watch Civil War: what if Vision had killed Sam at the airport battle?

Literally everything in this movie that isn't that chase scene in Budapest looks SO bland. Jesus Christ

Civil War doesn’t hold up for me. It’s a mixed bag of Winter Soldier sequel and Age of Ultron follow up. I think it’s a lot of fun, but Zemo’s plan is still stupid and the whole movie looks so bad. Ugh. Thank God for T’Challa and Ant-Man.

I'm firmly in the Phase 3 segment of my MCU marathon. Up next (in order): Black Panther, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Doctor Strange and Thor: Ragnarok. I'd like to note: Doctor Strange is the hardest of these to place in terms of chronology. That cameo in Ragnarok helps

*presses play*

Black Panther is the 18th film in the MCU and you don't have to have seen the previous 17 to get hooked into the story. That was a really wise decision

How can you not love her?

I will never forget the first time I saw this, and heard Killmonger say "how do you think your ancestors got this?". That audience reaction was EVERYTHING. Pretty sure @WEKetchum made this face

LMAOOOO! Forrest Whittaker's accent is silly. That costume and face paint on him is still fire.

Winston Duke was such a good choice for M'Baku. It's kinda disappointing that Florence Kosumaba's character couldn't get more love though

The costumes and production design in this movie are just unreal. I would have been PISSED if the Academy missed on those

Dawg. When Chadwick holds his arm out and Lupita follows suit while he doesn't even look at her...that's the sauce

The way this entire casino scene was put together >>>

Killmonger was killing and putting his hands on women all willy nilly and folks were idolizing him after opening day

Killmonger's origin is well done, but I always wondered why T'Chaka couldn't just go back to Wakanda and say "N'Jobu snapped and we had to deal with him"

"Don't scare me like that colonizer" played really well in Chicago. It did not play well in Troy, MI

There we go. A not-so-good Marvel exterior shot

I've heard a lot of people over the last year say that they thought Michael B. Jordan was "terrible" in this movie. I disagree. I don't think he delivered on every line, but he absolutely does bring the physicality. That's important

Oh shit I just realized the significance of Killmonger throwing T'Challa off the waterfall and denying him a proper burial. Yeah, I'm not smart

I LOVE the way Killmonger goes to the ancestral plane. That works. All of that works really well

I get why T'Challa's second trip to the ancestral plane depicts daylight but the night time aesthetic looks a lot better

Yeah this movie absolutely holds up. The climactic battle is messy, but as far as thematic storytelling is concerned, this is a standout for the Marvel movies. You can tell it was driven with one specific vision in mind, and the world building of Wakanda is incredible

Spider-Man: Homecoming will have to wait until...idk. This is gonna be a long weekend

Homecoming is not the collection of fire emojis I once thought it was. That cast is wonderful, but the movie moves so fast that it's difficult for a lot of it to leave an impression. Spider-Man takes down the bad guy, and I'm like "Cool". The first 15 minutes are magical though

I do still like the movie though. I think Marvel made a lot of great decision when it comes to trying to keep Peter Parker as young as possible, while also establishing that the rest of the MCU is very much at play.

Small details like the Bruce Banner portrait, the Sokovia accords becoming a topic in school, kids having their celebrity crushes the Avengers, recasting Kenneth Choi to play the grandson of the character he played in Cap 1, making Cap the PSA guy...those are all great

Before I forget: Doctor Strange is mostly good. The way the inter dimensional scenes are staged is still really impressive. It’s is pretty formulaic though, and 80% of the humor misses. Cumberbatch is really good in this role. That does all the heavy lifting

Ragnarok, Ant-Man & the Wasp and Infinity War...I can see the light

Time for Thor: Ragnarok

First thing this movie does to let you know Marvel learned their lesson from Thor 1 and 2: no history lesson to start.

Mark Mothersbaugh KILLED the score in this movie.

That Loki stage play never ceases to amaze. Glad they didn’t let trailers spoil that. But the lighting in this exterior setting is hilarious (in a bad way)

Holy shit! I never finished this. And with the release of #SpiderManFarFromeHome and the completion of the Infinity Saga, I at least owe it to my future self to have all these thoughts in the same place. So...

Captain America: The First Avenger (good), Captain Marvel (mediocre), Iron Man (great), Iron Man 2 (bad), Incredible Hulk (mediocre), Thor (mediocre), The Avengers (perfect), Iron Man 3 (decent), Thor: The Dark World (awful), Captain America: Winter Soldier (great)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (mediocre), Guardians of the Galaxy (great), Guardians 2 (bad), Ant Man (good), Captain America: Civil War (decent), Black Panther (great), Spider-Man: Homecoming (good), Doctor Strange (decent), Thor: Ragnarok (great), Ant-Man and the Wasp (good)

Avengers: Infinity War (good)

Avengers: Endgame (great). So one of my criticisms of the MCU is that consequences seem so meaningless at times. This film is very much about consequence. And I like that with a reduced cast, there’s time for story beats to breathe.

Also, when (redacted) starts, the levels of pure fun that this movie reaches are outstanding.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (mediocre). I didn’t hate this film, but my criticisms of it echo what I’ve said for a lot of these movies. Tom Holland and Zendaya are really good here and when Mysterio gets to flex, it’s everything I could ask for.

The narrative doesn’t have a good flow, the big action scenes are sometimes bland, and the villain set up is laughable. The post credit scenes are but if you sit through 2 hours of movie and love the scenes that aren’t the movie the most, the movie you just saw is

Well, ok. That’s all of them. No clue when we should expect the Fantastic Four or X-Men but I’m sure I’ll care by then.