SDCC 2016: Marvel Studios

Next up for a news round-up from Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) is my personal favorite! Let's dive in.

Marvel Studios

Just like almost everyone else, I have always enjoyed Marvel Studios' films. Even the worst ones are better than other director's best films of all time. So any news that comes out of SDCC about Marvel Studios I was sure to be all over.

Captain Marvel

This has been a long awaited announcement. Back in 2014 it was announced that Captain Marvel was going to fly onto the big screen. It was even reported that it was in the initial plans to have Captain Marvel appear near the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron during the final fight sequence. However, having not cast Captain Marvel at the time, the role was switched to be War Machine instead.

The expected introduction of Captain Marvel was then set for Avengers: Infinity War. Additionally, the last few month there have been rumors swirling of an offer being extended to a particular high profile actress. So with filming beginning near the end of this year, SDCC was a perfect time to finally make the announcement.

And they did!! After much anticipation Brie Larson has finally been announced as Captain Marvel! She recently secured an Oscar win for her portrayal as a kidnapped and abused woman in the critically acclaimed Room. Being one of my favorite movies last year, I believed anything she was going to do next was going to be great, but being Captain Marvel is just awesome!

Below you can see a mock up done of what Brie Larson may look like as Captain Marvel. Only time will tell of how it will turn out, but I'm sure it will be great!

Brie Larson as Captain Marvel. Boss Logic

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

This is probably the biggest news that came out of Marvel Studios this week. Guardians of the Galaxy's success has led to a huge following and even bigger anticipation for Vol. 2. At the announcement there was a trailer shown. However, it has not yet been publicly released, so anything I say is only based on other reports that I have read. Here is a rundown of some of the biggest information that came out of SDCC:

- Kurt Russell as Ego and... Star-Lord's dad! This one is kind of odd... let me explain why. Here are two pictures:

-This one was taken at SDCC and is Kurt Russell's costume as Ego. That seems normal enough right... right?? Well, let me now show you the next picture:

-This is Ego... he's a living planet! He is quite literally the size of a planet! So how does that huge head of a thing become the human shaped man that can fit inside of that costume? Well, all description say that it is explained in the trailer. It states that Ego (the giant head) created a human like form and thus was able to have Star-Lord as a son. I don't believe that has been a characteristic of Ego in the past, but as long as we see a giant Kurt Russell shaped planet, I'll honestly forgive anything. As far as learning more about Ego, I personally plan to read up on some Ego centered comics and I'll come back with a list of comics to get you familiar as well.

- Sylvester Stallone confirmed. This has been rumored for a few weeks now, but we finally have confirmation that he is in fact in the movie. However, his identity has not yet been revealed. Those that saw the trailer said that he was in Yondu's presence and had a similar constume as his crew, but cleaner. With this very basic and vague description there are currently two possibilities: 1) he is a member of Yondu's crew as a Ravager. 2) He is a member of the Nova Corps (see picture below). Of those two possibilities, the Nova Corps is more exciting and is the one I'm hoping for, but honestly a Ravager makes more sense.

Netflix

Netflix and Marvel have a great relationship and will hopefully have one for many years to come. There are numerous videos and teasers that were release by Netflix about their upcoming shows, but I'll just bullet point some of the biggest news.

- Luke Cage. This is going to be Marvel's next Netflix show that is going to be released in November. The main plot is still unknown, but just seeing him again on the screen after his debut in Jessica Jones last year is a welcome sight.
- Iron Fist. Included in the announcements was a very quick teaser of Iron Fist. His origin is teased and he is shown doing punching out a wall. That pretty much sums up the trailer, but I'm sure more will be released as we get closer to its early 2017 release date.
- The Defenders. This hasn't officially started shooting yet, but the potential of having Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist all teaming up to defeat a larger threat is something that I know I'm excited for.
- Daredevil will get a season 3. With so many other Netflix/Marvel shows, it was unsure when we would get another season of Daredevil, and while we still don't know the exact answer, the fact that one is planned is at least comforting for many.

Wrap-Up

So those are my overall thoughts on all things Marvel Studios. What were some of your favorite announcements? Leave your comments below and remember to always keep it unpopped.

Look Who's Back (Netflix)

Look Who's Back is a fish out of water story that features Adolf Hitler who suddenly wakes up in 2014 having no idea what has happened since his death. He then stumbles his way through modern society while attempting to gain the influence he once had.

Look Who's Back is a 2015 satirical comedy based on a German novel of the same name. Although the premise does seem a little off putting at first, the fish out of water story with Hitler being the focus was enjoyable, funny, and extremely though provoking.

Another thing that I think should be mentioned is that the film is entirely in German. That means that everyone in the movie speaks German and English subtitles are throughout the entire film.

The Good:

The Premise. The premise itself is so utterly bonkers that it at least deserves a look to see how it is handled.

Oliver Masucci as Adolf Hitler is absolutely perfect. Occasionally he will give speeches to people; sometimes it is one person, other times it is a whole crowd, and just like Adolf Hitler, his speeches are intense and captivating. It was truly incredible how perfect he was able to capture the charisma of Hitler.

The improv. Much like in Borat and other documentary style comedies, Look Who's Back has moments where Oliver Masucci is walking around Berlin in full character as Adolf Hitler. Actual people interact with him and ask him questions. The responses are completely improvised and are perfect. Most of the movie is scripted, but these little nuggets are some of the best part of the movie.

The comedy. As I mentioned, the story is utterly hilarious. The way Hitler reacts to certain modern situations had me actually laughing out loud, even though I was watching it alone.

The thought provoking message. I don't want to give anything away, but there is a definite message in Look Who's Back and it is something that one should definitely think about. It even has a certain correlation to the US Presidential Election of 2016... not that I'm directly insinuating anything of course... just observing.

The Ehh:

The middle. There were moments in the middle where the story did get a little boring. There were still enough nuggets of hilarity to make it worth it, but it doesn't compare to how good the beginning or end was.

The Ugh-ly:

Nothing. Look Who's Back is worth your time and attention.

Conclusion:

Look Who's Back is a funny and ingenious movie and is definitely worth your time. Just remember that this isn't a casual viewing since you will have to pay attention enough to actually read the subtitles.

What did you think of Look Who's Back? And what other historical figure do you think would make for a funny fish out of water story? Leave your comments below and don't forget to check out my YouTube channel (here) for weekly movie reviews. Remember to always keep it unpopped!

Pleasantville (Netflix)

My wife and I were searching for something to watch on Netflix. After a few minutes of searching my wife said, "I'm going to put on Pleasantville." It has been many, many years since I had the pleasure (That will be my only pun... probably) to watch Pleasantville completely through.

Luckily, seeing a younger Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon enter this 1950's black and white universe was just as great as I remembered.

The Good:

The use of color is nothing short of spectacular. Seeing black and white characters interacting with their color environment or even with other full color characters is extremely striking. I can't even imagine the time it took to make sure that not a single pixel of a character was the wrong color. This was apparent in one particular scene. After the mom changes into color, Tobey Maguire applies makeup to help cover it up, so as to not hurt her husband. Once the application is complete, her eyes are still every so slightly green, like the actresses. That little touch shows that they really took care to make it perfect.

Also, the black and white TV show troupes were absolutely hilarious. Seeing the movie presented as a fish-out-of-water story was definitely the best way to go. It allowed Tobey and Reese's characters the ability to point out just how ridiculous the world of Pleasantville really is.

The Ehh:

Most of the message of the movie was to show how choices affect our life and how we shouldn't be afraid to make those choices. However, there was a weird point in the movie when the movie turned from about making choices into straight up racism. As far as story telling goes, the script demanded that it escalated to that caliber, but it just seemed to hit a little too hard for a little too long. It would have been find if the fear of color was the focal point through the whole movie, but it wasn't, the fear of change was.

The Bad:

The ending was kind of weird. The sister stays in Pleasantville, the brother goes home and the tv mother is with her husband or maybe the diner owner. The ending just felt thrown together without giving reasons for what was going on or why.

Conclusion:

I really enjoyed watching Pleasantville again. It was just as funny as I remembered and just as good.

I looked up the director and saw that it was the first movie directed by Gary Ross. Ross is the same director of Seabiscuit, The Hunger Games, and one of my most anticipated movies of 2016, Free State of Jones (trailer below). After seeing Pleasantville again, now I'm even more excited for this film.

If you have a Netflix account, maybe it's time to revisit the good old days of 1954 through the eyes of the 1998 movie Pleasantville.

That is what I though of Pleasantville. What did you think? And what are your thoughts on Free State of Jones? Let me know below with your unpopped comments and what other streaming films should I watch for the first time or spend time to revisit.

Pee Wee's Big Holiday (Video)

Paul Reubens returns as the child trapped inside a man's body that we all love

2001: A Space Odyssey (Netflix)

15 years ago 2001 has come and gone. There are no space stations on the moon, no manned missions to Jupiter, but artificial intelligence could be right around the corner. 2001: A Space Odyssey was recently added to Netflix. Does Stanley Kubrick's '68 classic stand up to more modern space epics?

Having been born in the 80's I am one of many people alive today that did not have the opportunity to see 2001 in the theaters. I also never put aside the time to actually sit down and watch it... until now. Having never seen 2001 before, my hope is to bring a unique and modern look at whether the film holds up to today's standards.

The Good:

+ The visuals are the first thing anyone should notice in the 2001. And let me say... they hold up perfectly. I love modern technology and they way that it allows us to create anything with computers. Allowing us to literally see anything we can imagine. But there is something to say about the earlier movies and the way that had to create techniques and tricks just to get close to what they were imagining.

+ The sets. Rotating space stations that simulate gravity is one thing, but then to utilize those sets to find unique angles for shooting the film is remarkable. Almost every angle is slightly angles to give the illusion that directionality is all relative in space.

+ The silence. "In space no one can hear you scream." Modern movies feel that there always has to be something going on. A character talking, singing, or dancing. Maybe some traffic in the background. Or in Michael Bay's case, maybe a few explosions. However, in 2001 the suspense get to build, not with sound tracks or action, but with visuals. It is truly a perfect way to depict space.

+ HAL 9000. "I'm sorry Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that." The monotone robot voice is the perfect creepy antagonist needed for any good sci-fi movie. And 2001 was the perfecter of it.

+ The Ending. I loved Interstellar even though there were many people out there that didn't. If you didn't like Interstellar's ending then you probably won't like this. It is just as weird and confusing which I personally love.

The Ehhh:

~ Evil AI. I only give this an ehhh, because today it is a very common theme. Every other  movie depicts some kind of Artificial Intelligence that is out to destroy humanity.

~ The pacing. I'm going to preface this that much like the silence i mentioned before, I actually do like the pacing. However, I can see that many modern audiences might see this movie and be turned off by it's slow pacing. Just know that the silence and the pacing is done to building the story and represent the isolation of space travel. So put the phone down, sit back and just relax as you take in the stunning visuals.

The Ugh-ly:

- The characters. Ok... I'm cheating with this one a little. The small cast does a remarkable job acting their parts. However, all I saw was generic guy #1 and generic guy #2. I never remember their names, or even have any idea what there personalities were. The only defining mark was their hair style, but even that made it difficult for me to tell who was who.

Overview:

2001: A Space Odyssey, even with its forgetful characters and slow pacing, truly shows how a great director can sculpt a masterpiece of a film. If I ever see it come into a local theater, I will definitely have to make time to see it on the big screen.

Grade: See in Theaters (if possible)