Captain America: Civil War

Spanks – 5

Directors – Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Writers – Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely

Starring – Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Daniel Brühl & William Hurt

Release Date – 6 May 2016

MPAA Rating – PG-13

Run time – 147 Minutes

Captain America: Civil War could have easily been called Avengers 3 with all the heroes in the movie. It had all but Thor and The Hulk, it introduced Black Panther and a new Spiderman, and it even gave screen time to new Avengers Vision and Scarlet Witch. The movie is tied closely to the events of Age of Ultron. Because of the events and collateral damage in Sokovia the government created the Sokovia Accord, which would let the United Nations oversee and control the Avengers. This divides the heroes. There is also a new villain who was a regular soldier from Sokovia until the battle with Ultron.

This is one of the best movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It has just enough action, it keeps you thinking what is going to happen next, and was written well. It is funny and the characters work great with each other. Spider-Man was great and this version could be as good or better then Tobey Maguire.

The fight scene at the airport where Iron Man’s team confronts Captain America’s team was done really well. With so many people to focus on, the directors did good with going back to each character so you always know what they are all doing. There was 12 heroes involved which is a lot of people to keep track of.

If you have an IMAX around you, see it there. The airport battle was filmed with an IMAX camera and the sequence is huge.

Ant Man

Spanks – 5

Director – Peyton Reed

Writers – Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish and Adam McKay & Paul Rudd

Starring – Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Anthony Mackie, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson & Michael Peña

Release Date – 17 July 2015

MPAA Rating – PG-13

Run time – 117 Minutes

I was a little concerned with Ant Man because of the behind the scenes stuff that went on. Not long before production was set to begin the writer and director left because of creative differences. In the end the film came out great. They didn’t change the script to much, and it still had the feel of an Edger Wright movie. My only complaint is that it started a little slow, but after the first 20 minutes or so the pace speed up and turned into a great film.

Ant Man tells the story of Scott Lang. He is a former engineer who was arrested for burglary. Upon release from prison he has a hard time getting a job and is recruited by scientist Hank Pym to “break into a place and steal some stuff.” Dr. Pym is the creator of the Ant Man suit and teaches Scott how to use it so he can save the world.

The movie is very funny. I think it is the funniest of the Marvel movies to date. They also used macro photography for the scenes when Scott is in shrunken form which gave the film a different look then just using CGI. Paul Rudd was a perfect choice for the title roll, even though you wouldn’t look at him as a superhero, which is probably why it works. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next for Ant Man and where that will happen in future Marvel movies.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Spanks – 5

Director – Joss Whedon

Writer – Joss Whedon

Starring – Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders & Anthony Mackie

Release Date – 1 May 2015

MPAA Rating – PG-13

Run time – 141 Minutes

Avengers: Age of Ultron is a great movie. It has everything the first film has with more Avengers. The film starts with the heroes on a mission to retrieve Loki’s scepter from a Hydra base in Sokovia. When they take it back to to Avengers tower, Tony Stark finds an AI in the scepter’s stone. He and Bruce Banner then try to use it for Stark’s Ultron global defense system. It doesn’t work and the new AI attacks the Avengers and escapes and wants to destroy the world.

With so many characters you would think that the movie would be a big mess, but everyone has their stories progress. They did a good job telling more about characters who have not had their own films like Hawkeye and Black Widow which was really cool.

The movie has a lot of action scenes and the first and last one are a little long. If your not into all that you might get a little bored. I enjoyed it all! It had so much going on with the different characters that it wasn’t a repetitive sequence. This movie is funnier then the first Avengers film but the first one is slightly better. Still well worth the price of admission. Hopefully I’ll have time to go see it again this summer.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Spanks – 5

Director – Bryan Singer

Writer – Simon Kinberg

Starring – Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender , Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen & Patrick Stewart

Release Date – 23 May 2014

MPAA Rating – PG-13

Run time – 131 Minutes

X-Men: Days of Future Past is the best film in the franchise and would be near the top if the list of best comic book films. The film starts off in the not to distant future when mutants are being hunted down as well as the humans that help them by Sentinels. Charles Xavier and the last few remaining mutants devise a plan to send someone back in time to stop Mystique from murdering the man who created the Sentinels, Bolivar Trask. The only person who is able to withstand all the pain to travel in to the past is Wolverine. Back in 1973 his must find the young Charles Xavier and Magneto to save the mutants of the future.

The film’s opening scene is almost as cool as Nightcrawlers opening scene in X-men 2. The scene includes a bunch of mutants fighting off the Sentinels. The film has a few more good action sequences, but most of the film is driven by the drama and not just flashy action scenes. I have heard there is one other really good sequence that was cut for time and if it is real I hope it makes its way onto the Blu-Ray.

The movie also never gets slow. You are on the edge of your seat the whole time. It does get a little complicated with the two different timelines, but it all comes together in the end. I do want to go see it again, because I am sure there are things that I missed because it is more complex then your normal superhero movie, but that is just me (I am a big fan of superhero movies!). X-Men: Days of Future Past is a great movie even with the time travel and worth going to see.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Spanks – 5

Directors – Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Writers – Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely

Starring – Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan & Anthony Mackie

Release Date – 4 April 2014

MPAA Rating – PG-13

Run time – 136 Minutes

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the next chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain America is working for S.H.I.E.L.D in Washington D.C and adjusting to modern living. Everything is normal until a mission to free hostages on a S.H.I.E.L.D ship from pirates. While on the ship, he witnesses Black Widow download information from the ships computer. He confronts Nick Fury when he returns to Washington D.C and after that Nick Fury gets attacked by the Winter Soldier. No one is safe and Captain America has to figure out who the Winter Soldier is, who he works for and why are they after members of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The movie has everything a summer movie should have and Marvel continues to make awesome movies. The movie has a great plot and has mysterious characters that you can’t figure out. The film has a lot of story, very similar to Iron Man 3. Captain America and Black Widow have great chemistry together and it was cool that she finally got to have a large amount of screen time to show more of her character. They introduced a new character to the movies called the Falcon and he is another cool character.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of the better movies in the Marvel Universe. I am very impressed with how they link all these movies together and I hope that it continues to impress through Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers 2, and beyond.

Thor: The Dark World

Spanks – 5

Director – Alan Taylor

Writers – Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely

Starring – Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Jaimie Alexander, Zachary Levi, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, Kat Dennings & Stellan Skarsgård

Release Date – 8 November 2013

MPAA Rating – PG-13

Run time – 112 Minutes

Thor: The Dark World is a great sequel. Since Thor and Asgard have been established in Thor and The Avengers, this movie gets going straight away. The film is about a Dark Elf called Malekith who wants to destroy the universe when the nine realms. He failed eons ago when Odin’s father defeated his armies and he escapes. He returns unintentionally by Jane Foster and wants to destroy the worlds once again.

This film is better then the first Thor film. There is better action, it is funnier, and has a much better and complex story. Loki continues to be one of the best characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The effects team did an awesome job of making Asgard look like a real place. I don’t want to say much more because I don’t want to give anything away.

Iron Man 3

Spanks – 5

Director – Shane Black

Writers – Drew Pearce & Shane Black

Starring – Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau & Ben Kingsley

Release Date – 3 May 2013

MPAA Rating – PG-13

Run time – 130 Minutes

Iron Man 3 blows the second entry of the franchise away. I didn’t know what to expect when Marvel changed directors because that doesn’t always go so well. Shane Black brought new life to Tony Stark and made a terrific film to wrap up the first (?) Iron Man trilogy.

The film takes place a few months after the events in The Avengers. Pepper Potts is still running Stark Industries. Tony Stark has been at his home fighting panic attacks and has been just building different Iron Man suits. A villain called the Mandarin has been terrorizing the entire world. Now Tony Stark must get over his problems and become Iron man once again.

The film is much more story driven then most comic book movies. The filmmakers tell a story that focuses more on Tony Stark than the previous two films. This is not a bad thing and it works well, probably because of the acting of Robert Downey Jr. and the terrific writing of screenwriters. The movie still has plenty of action scenes to get your fix of Iron Man. The action scene with Air Force One is best one of the movie. The villain of the film is the best of the trilogy. Iron Man 3 has all the elements needed for a great film.

The Avengers

Spanks – 5

Director – Joss Whedon

Writer – Joss Whedon

Starring – Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson

Release Date – 4 May 2012

MPAA Rating – PG-13

Runtime – 142 Minutes

If you are a fan of superhero movies, then The Avengers is the movie for you. Joss Whedon did a perfect job of putting this group of heroes into one movie. It even felt like a team-up comic book crossover the way it was executed. That isn’t surprising since Marvel hired a writer/director who has written comic books in the past.

The movie uses plot points introduced in last years’ Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. If you did not see the other movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe you don’t have to worry about being lost. You might not get a few jokes and little details, but you will be satisfied and entertained.

The Avengers are assembled for the first time after Loki uses an energy devise called the Tesseract to travel back to Earth. He then takes control of agents and scientist and steals the device. Nick Fury then calls the heroes to activate the Avengers Initiative to save the planet.

Avengers is in the top three comic book movies ever made with The Dark Knight and X-Men 2.