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Guardians Of the Galaxy was the surprise hit of summer 2014. So it was of no surprise that Marvel Studios locked up director/writer James Gunn for a second installment. Check out it's first trailer.
1. Baby Groot is everything and has been everything for about 3 years now.
2. The trailer gives away zero plot. A move which is totally uncommon by today's trailer standards.
3. I found the lack of Kurt Russell disappointing, but James Gunn is probably saving the reveal of EGO the living planet for the movie.
What did you think of the GOTG Vol 2 trailer? Are you excited for more wacky space adventures? Or do you really not give a shit? Sound off in the comments.
Marvel Studios has released 12 comic blockbusters since 2008. Iron Man kicked off their interconnected universe with a bang and comic book movies have never been the same since. So now that Marvel has released one of it's best solo movies yet called Ant-man, the Informers decided to rank all 12 of the studios interconnected films. Let's get it going. 12. Iron Man 3 (2013)
Total garbage. The first Phase 2 movie takes Iron Man's greatest foe and turns him into a joke while placing Tony outside of his suit for 98% of the run time. Shane Black and Drew Pearce successfully took Jon Faveru's Iron Man saga and turned it into shit.
11. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
2013 was not a good year for Marvel. After the debacle that is Iron Man 3, Thor's sequel later in the year that wasn't that impressive either. At this point if Loki wasn't in this franchise would anyone care? Malekith was absolutely forgettable along with Thor's crew of human sidekicks. Natalie Portman is really just picking up paychecks in these movies as Jane Foster. Less of her and more Lady Sif and the Warrior's Three for Thor Ragnorak, please.
10. Iron Man 2 (2010)
Love both Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell. Just not in this movie. Neither villain really stands out or has an interesting plan. One could say the real villain is Tony's alcoholism. But despite all it's faults, RDJ's charm combined with the addition of Don Cheadle as War Machine elevate this mediocre film to a decent one.
9. Thor (2011)
Not much to say here. Just an okay movie with some solid humor. It helps set up the Thor + Loki for The Avengers, but doesn't really do much else. The Frost Giant battle is fun though.
8. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
The epic throw down between Abomination + The Hulk was the only reason I placed this film this high. Ed Norton makes for a convincing Banner/Hulk while on the other hand Liv Tyler is a pretty crappy Betty Ross. Mark Ruffalo has done a commendable job picking up Banner from Norton left off, but after seeing Norton put on an acting clinic in Birdman last year, I would have loved to see what he would have done with the character had he continued to portray the Green Goliath.
7. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
An interesting period piece about Steve Rogers and his transformation into this universe's first superhero Captain America. Loved the WW2 setting and Steve's motivations. What I didn't care for was a slow story that had a difficult time showing off Cap's abilities. If you used this film as a point of reference for Cap's superpowers you would have to assume his own ability is super leaping. He barely uses his shield in his opening appearance.
6. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Earth's Mightiest Heroes reunited for a second go around. This time against the evil AI Ultron. The same humor and action you loved from the first Avengers is here. Seriously they could make 20 movies just like this and I would love them all. In the MCU, I think there are 3 tiers in the hierarchy of the MCU. Those are Average, Good, and Great. I would say #12-9 are average, #8-7 are good, and here at #6 the great films begin. Which makes it hard to put this great film all the way down at 5, but with so many awesome films compromises needed to be made.
5. Ant-Man (2015)
The more I think about Ant-Man, the more I like it. It is a great palatecleanser from the recent massive Marvel movies. The stakes feel smaller and that makes the movie feel tighter. It really marks it own corner of the MCU. Paul Rudd is great as Scott Lang and Michael Douglas is even better as Scott's mentor Hank Pym. This heist adventure is humorous throughout and is Marvel's best first solo outing since Iron Man.
4. Iron Man (2008)
Speaking of Iron Man, it single handedly kickstarted the Marvel Cinematic Universe and rejuvenated RDJ's career all at once. Iron Man is one of the most important superhero films of all time. Aided by RDJ's charm and Jon Farveru's slick visuals this movie presents an interesting origin for Tony Stark while creating a world that has allowed for all these incredible superhero films to exist. Also ACDC kicks ass!
3. The Avengers (2012)
The Avengers is the first ever giant superhero team-up on film. The final 45 minute battle alone could secure it a high spot on this list, but The Avengers has more going for it besides it's action. Joss Whedon expertly weaves in the each team members' different dynamics as the team forms to take down the villainous Loki (played by the great Tom Hiddleston). Solid performances across the board and hilarious moments make this movie a must for a superhero fans.
2. Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
When this film was initially announced, the general consensus was that it would be Marvel's first real flop. Introducing five relatively unknown characters that include the likes of a talking raccoon and a tree sounded like a major risk at the time. Well, James Gunn proved all those people wrong and these five "losers" won the 2014 summer box office. GOTG is packed with humor + heart that just fit it's tone completely. Not to mention the best soundtrack in ages. Also Chris Pratt is now the world's biggest star. GOTG, Lego Movie, and now Jurassic World have made this guy huge.
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier(2014)
Perfection. This film is an excellent adaption of a classic Captain America storyline that is great at infusing both drama and comedy. Directors the Russo brothers understand Cap's Universe and utilize the additions of Falcon as a sidekick, The Winter Soldier as an adversary, and Black Widow as Cap's moral foil to propel this sequel way past it's predecessor. Best Marvel film period. Hail Hydra!
Thanks for reading! What's your favorite Marvel film? Which future movie are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments or tweet at us @Caped_Informers or me @cstrand73. And make sure to tune in for our weekly Arrow,Flash, and Daredevilreviews. You can also read my original rankings by clicking here.
P.S. These movies are dope and all, but Daredevil is the best thing Marvel has ever produced!
In a recent interview with the Huffington Post Prof X actor James McAvoy (Wanted) divulged that his character will finally lose his hair in the next X-Men installment. McAvoy said "I'll be older in this one, [And] I think I'm losing my hair finally. And, yeah, that's kind of all I know. I got an email from the [producer/writer Simon Kinberg] who informed me he was getting dead excited about stuff, but he didn't want to divulge anything for a couple of weeks, so I really don't know. It does seem fairly global, if we're talking apocalypse. Maybe it's just the character's name, but I think the nature of the film is going to be fairly apocalyptic." X-Men: Apocalypse is expected to start shooting in April and will be out in theaters in 2016.
It has been a bit quiet on the X-Men front since the success of Days of Future Past earlier this year. Well no longer! The X-Men will be heading for the Great White French North in April of next year to begin shooting for X-Men: Apocalypse. I am of course referring to Montreal, Canada when I throw the terms great, white, french and north around. The expected release date of the movie is set for sometime in 2016, but still exciting to see the wheels moving. Is this where we are going to get our first glimpse at Channing Tatum Gambit? Could this be one of the last times, if not THE last time we bear witness to Hugh the Wolverine Jackman? Tune in two years from now to find out!
Amid recent reports that The Amazing Spiderman 3 has been pushed back to 2017, one of the screenwriters for ASM 2 Robert Orci has told IGN Movies that he has exited the sequel. "I don't know what their plans are for that franchise," Orci said. Then when asked if he would return for future installments he said "I don't ever want to say never, but we have to figure out what their scheduling is in terms of when they want each movie. I've read probably as much as anyone else. There's a love for the Sinister Six, the idea of Venom -- there's an idea of Spider-Man's going to be one of these characters that's part of our business. He's such a popular character. Spider-Man's not going to go away any time soon. When it all happens and how and all that has yet to be determined." Orci's next project will be directing the JJ-less Star Trek 3.
First off I would to say that I'm not the biggest fan of Robert Orci or his former writing partner Alex Kurtzman. They have many shitty projects clogging up their combined resume including Cowboys vs Aliens and Transformers: Revenge Of the Fallen. Overall they are mediocre writers at best. They are the geniuses behind using super blood as a plot device in both Star Trek: Into Darkness and ASM 2. Fuck, I wouldn't be surprised if they are the ones who proposed the idea that the aliens' motivation in Cowboys vs Aliens was that they wanted our gold. Just terrible. So somehow these two were believed to be featured heavily in the future of the ASM franchise. Kurtzman was to direct Venom and both of them were expected to pen the upcoming sequel. That was all before the lukewarm critical and box office reception of ASM 2. So now Orci is off to ruin Star Trek and Kurtzman is god knows where. So where does that leave Spiderman and his spinoffs?
What is really interesting is Orci's comments about not knowing the schedule of future Spidey films. A few months ago it seemed very set in stone that Amazing Spiderman 3 would be released in 2016. But in a post ASM 2 world, that no longer seems so certain. Same thing with Venom and the Sinister Six. Sony's plans for the villainous spinoffs seemed like a guarantee, but now Orci's comments make it sound like the studio is weary to make those flicks.
So let's face the facts, Amazing Spiderman 2 has (at least temporarily) crippled the once promising franchise. As a staff we gave the film an 7.5, but others were not as kind. So what was the problem with the movie? Andrew Garfield sure of hell isn't, he is a great Spiderman. Emma Stone was once again top notch. The problem is Marc Webb and the writing team. Webb has swung and missed on both of the mains villains and focus of the first two movies.
I have never particularly found the Lizard to be an exciting villain and as for Electro, Jamie Foxx's performance of wasn't the problem, the way he was misused was. The character was extremely powerful (superpowers-wise), it just did not feel like the main villain of the film though. He was only around so when the time was right he could break Harry Osborn in Oscorp and give us a Goblin origin. Still somehow in forgien markets this film had the subtitle Rise Of Electro. Even though Electro is missing through most of the film and done away with rather quickly in the finale so that the more compelling villain Green Goblin can fuck with Peter. Webb has stated that Electro is his favorite Spiderman villain, yet the character felt like he didn't belong in this movie.
The other main problem I have with Webb is his focus on Peter's parents. The storyline had an obvious ending and took away valuable screen time from other scenes that could have improved the film. It just further made the film jumbled by making it spin more story lines. Also nobody has ever given a shit about Peter's parents. Like seriously I'm surprised this franchise even attempted to address them.
So yes maybe The Amazing Spiderman franchise is delaying it's 3rd film and subsequent spinoffs. But truthfully I find this to be a good thing. This franchise needs to find a new direction. Orci leaving is a good start, but I really believe Sony needs to replace Webb as well. He is great with the romantic scenes, but I'm sorry to tell him that Spiderman isn't all about romance. He picks and misuses the villains of his films and I do not want to see him ruin characters like Venom or Kraven anytime soon. Get a new writing team and tell Webb to hit the curb. Hopefully then Andrew Garfield can get a movie that his fantastic portrayal of Spiderman deserves.
Thanks for reading and make sure to follow us on Twitter @Caped_Informers or me @cstrand73 for all your comic and ASM updates.
Hey guys! its Wednesday we all know what that means. Time to crush on some of the ladies in the super hero world.
Actress: Anna Paquin
This week for my crush, I decided to choose Anna Paquin. Paquin is best known for her role as Sookie on True Blood, but I chose her because of her Rogue in the X-Men franchise. Anna is a great actress and through out all the X-Men movies that she was in, I loved the way she portrayed Rogue. I was very pleased to see her return in Days of Future Past after the time line was reset. She has great looks, and is a fantastic actress, and hopefully we can see more of her in the upcoming X-Men Apocalypse reprising her mutant role.
"The first boy I ever kissed ended up in a coma for three weeks. I can still feel him inside my head. The same for you"
-Brady
Character Crush: Barbara Gordon (Batgirl or Oracle)
Barbara Gordon has had quite a journey over the years. She became a capable crime fighter alongside Batman. During that time engaged in an on-again off-again with Dick Grayson. Then the Joker paralyzed her in the famous storyline The Killing Joke. Most people would wallow in sorrow or give up on the vigilante lifestyle for good. Instead Barbara didn't give up. She used her computer skills to reinvent herself as a guide to the Bat-family known as Oracle. For years Oracle was an essential part of the Batman mythos until current continuity had Babs get her legs back and take back the mantle of Batgirl. No matter what future obstacles Barbara may face, she will always come out a greater hero.
Barbara's Batgirl first showed up in Batman: The Animated Series in the episode Shadow of the Bat Pt. 1+2. An amazing two parter with a great score. Give it a watch sometime.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Crack open a beer and go see X-Men: Days Of Future Past. Let us fan cast.
Fan Cast: Michael Sheen as Doctor Octopus
Why: Michael Sheen is a veteran actor with years of experience playing complicated roles. He currently plays William Masters on Masters of Sex. Masters is very similar to comic book Otto Octavius in many ways. The two characters both had an abusive relationship with their respective fathers and also had dotting overbearing mothers that combined cause them dysfunction as grown men. If Otto became the evil "Doc Ock" in his classic comic book fashion, Sheen would have the role down cold. Using his time as Master's as a backdrop mixed with his villainous turns such as the vampire Aro in Twilight: New Moon give Michael the perfect combination of acting chops to play one of Spiderman's greatest foes. Check out Sheen in Masters of Sex back on Showtime in July.
So IGN sat down with ASM2 director Marc Webb to talk about the future of the Spidey franchise particularly about which villains we should expect to see. After discussing the hints of the Sinister Six through out ASM2, Webb said he is interested in bringing Kraven the Hunter into the Spideyverse. I love this idea. If you guys can remember back a few weeks ago, I included Kraven in my top favorite Spidey villains of all time. I think its about that time we saw Kraven up on that big screen. Webb also noted that he would like to do Doc Ock, Vulture, and Mysterio as well. I think the Sinister Six has already got Doc and Vulture covered but Mysterio would be awesome addition as well. Maybe we could see a "Kraven's Last Hunt" outlook of the villain where he has mortality instead of the basic immortality of the character? Just some food for thought my friends. What do you guys think? Kraven for Spidey's future?
The Hollywood Reporter has just released an exclusive scoop that Tim Blake Nelson (O'Brother Where Art Thou) is in final talks to join Josh Trank's Fantastic Four. Nelson will reportedly play the role of Harvey Elder in the superhero reboot. Elder is better known as the villain Mole Man in the comics, but Nelson will just being playing Elder as a scientist. This is great news. A solid veteran actor joins up with the young guns. I hope Nelson will be set up to play the villain in a future installment. Much like how he was set up to play The Leader in a future Hulk film. That never came to pass, but maybe the Mole Man will. Fantastic Four is shooting soon and due out in June 2015.
This week CinemaSins tallies up the flaws of everyone's favorite superhero film Spiderman 3. Hopefully the forthcoming Venom film will redeem the character for big screen audiences. And perhaps maybe Sandman can get a proper treatment as the asshole he really is. Not the killer of Uncle Ben who only steals money to support his sick daughter. Does every Spidey villain have to be sympathetic to be in a movie? Amazing Spiderman 2 will answer that question when it opens in theaters Friday.
With the release of The Amazing Spiderman 2 happening next week, CinemaSins has continued their tour through the Raimi Spidey Trilogy. Today's stop is Spiderman 2. It's always fun to look back on what didn't work in a film such as Doc Ock's advice on women. Try feeding poetry to a girl at a bar. See what happens. The Amazing Spiderman 2 opens May 2nd.
This week on the poll, I asked "What X-Men Spinoff Do You Want?" The surprise winner of the poll was Mystique. She took in 41% of the votes cast.
The results went as follows:
Mystique: 41%
Gambit: 25%
Magneto: 25%
Beast: 8%
Cyclops: 0%
Analysis: Wow. What I really found surprising was that Scott Summers received no love whatsoever. Cyclops from the comics is perhaps the most popular mutant, but according to our poll that poor sun-glassed bastard will continue to be obscure within the X-Men movie universe. Brian Singer made the decision back in 2001 to focus in on Wolverine rather than Cyclops. And because of that Hugh Jackman has become a superstar for playing Wolvie, while most people cannot even recall who played Cyclops in the original trilogy. That actor's name is James Marsden. Have you heard that name lately? Probably not. He is not in much. I just like to wonder sometimes if Cyclops was given a more proper and prominent treatment in the original X-Men films, could his popularity have been rivaled that of Wolverine's within the general audience. I think it was possible.
Now to talk about something not so depressing. Mystique won our poll, which means people on this site are reacting positively to the rumors of her potential spinoff. Last week, FOX producer Lauren Shuler Donner spoke about how the studio is mulling over spinoff films featuring X-Men. The character she mentioned in particular was Mystique. Now the internet had mixed reactions over the news. Some were delighted to see the shapeshifting mutant get a chance for her own story. Others were angered by the rumor. They claimed Mystique does not have the popularity to warrant a spinoff and that this film is only a possibility because the studio is looking to capitalize off their casting of mega-star Jennifer Lawrence in the role.
While I do agree that Mystique's popularity alone should not earn her a film, I disagree that it is a bad idea entirely. Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique can find an audience in a movie landscape that has begun to embrace strong heroines in titular roles. Her Katniss Everdeen led Catching Fire to commercial and critical success. Earlier this year Shailene Woodley emerged as a fan favorite as Tris in Divergent. Audiences have clearly connected with these female heroes and you can bet your ass Lawrence's has the chops to carry her own X-Men film into the public's good graces.
Lawrence's Mystique could be the first female lead character in the new wave of villain-centric comic book movies. Sony has started this new wave by setting up their Sinister Six and Venom films. Mystique could be FOX's first villain-centric spinoff. Then maybe a Magneto film or Sabretooth film could be made. Everyone loves a good villain. Hell, I hope that villains take over the comic book genre and 6 years from now I am sitting in the theater watching Joker vs. Lex rather than Batman vs. Superman. Well anyway, I believe if the story is right and Jen is ready to blue up, this spinoff could be a critical and commercial success. Check out Mystique and all the other X-Men in X-men:Days of Future Past in theaters May 23rd.
Thanks for reading and make sure to vote in our polls each week. Make your voice heard. What do you think of a potential Mystique spinoff? Sound off in the comments.
So IGN was at a Google hang out press event with TASM director Marc Webb. During the session some one asked if we would be seeing the Daily Bugel's fearless leader J. Jonah Jameson in the upcoming Spidey films. Webb answered the fan by saying JJ is one of his favorite characters in the Spidey universe and that we should expect to see him in the future. That is obviously extremely great news because he is such a key character in our Web friend's world. My only question is this though. Why haven't we seen him sooner? I get the fact that in a new movie franchise like Spider-Man you have a ton of characters to introduce all at once. Yeah that's cool with me, but wouldn't J.J have been one of those characters? My opinion yes he would have but, thats why I am blogger not a Hollywood movie director. Either way very happy about this and very excited to see J.J in Webb's third installment.
In a recent interview with IGN movies, the guys in charge of the Sinister Six spin-off Matt Tolmach and Avi Arad talked a little bit about what direction they planned to go in regarding their movie. They said and I quote "Nothing is sacred. I mean it’s going to be the best Six that you can imagine, but it’s going to make sense in the world that we’re building." They have also said that it won't be the classic Sinister Six mash up. My one question is why? We have an iconic team up of villains, who have such evil pasts and want nothing more than to destroy what ever is in front of them, but these guys are telling us we can't have that. Kind of grinds your gears to say the least. Also, they chose to blame the Rhino suit in the new movie on the fans saying that if they put Paul Giamattie in a leather suit, they would have hated it. I think the armored suit is fantastic and fits the movie great. I could understand why these guys chose to address that though. There is always going to be some one who hates your decision, even if you're Ben Affleck, then half the comic book world hates you playing Batman. I and my fellow informers are not part of that group (we support Batfleck). But getting back on target here, these guys say they will make the best Sinister Six we can think of? Well I hope so, but just to give them some ideas, here is my idea of the best Sinister Six baddies....
1. Doc. Ock-You don't have the Sinister Six with out their fearless leader.
2. Mysterio-Personal favorite of mine. Very underrated if you ask me. He's just as bad ass as any other Spidey villain, and when you throw magic and illusion into it this guy can't be stopped.
3. Green Goblin-Being featured in one, soon to be two, Spider-Man films, he pretty much is set up to join the Six. It would make the most sense.
4. Kraven the Hunter- If anyone can track the Spider, its Kraven. Marvel's greatest hunter, plus has that "never give up" attitude, this guy can play for my team any day.
5. Electro- He will be a villain in ASM2, why not just ask him to join the six. Perhaps we will see that. We will have to see how his performance in the movie is.
6. Vulture- Adrian Toomes, one of the original members from the comics. Plus, we see his wings and Doc. Ock's arms in a clip during ASM2. The producers have said don't pay too much mind into that clip, well I am what ever.
Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street) told MTV that he has spoken with X-Men: Days of Future Past producer Lauren Shuler Donner about a possible Gambit spinoff film. Donner had talked last week about FOX experimenting with the possibility of X-Men spinoffs, in particular Mystique and Gambit. So it seems she is laying some initial groundwork for these films. Tatum had expressed interest in the role a few weeks back and he continued his praise of the character in his MTV interview. "Gambit is really the only X-Man I’ve ever loved. I mean I’ve loved them all, they’re all great, but I guess from being down south – my dad’s from Louisiana, I’m from Mississippi, Alabama, Florida – I don’t know. I just related to him. He’s just kind of suave… He’s the most un X-Men X-Man that’s ever been in X-Men. Other than maybe Wolverine, who’s like the anti-hero. He’s a thief. He’s not even a hero. He’s kind of walking the line of grey…He loves women and drinking and smoking and stuff so he’s just a cool guy who happens to have a moral center….I hope it [comes together]. You never know it’s a weird industry. If the stars align, I would die to play it. I’m already working on the accent. It’s crappy at the moment." I would much prefer Taylor Kitsch (Lone Survivor) to come back as Gambit over Tatum. Kitsch had the character down cold, but he was just given limited material in a terrible movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. As a dramatic actor I find Tatum very lackluster. His recent turn in 21 Jump Street has led me to believe he is much better suited for comedy. What do you think? You want Channing as Gambit? You want a Gambit spinoff in general? Let us know in the comments. Read more: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/MarvelFreshman/news/?a=98158#Hvv7RIKpUPG1qcmf.99
As we reported last week friends, yes there will be a Venom spin off, and yes there will be a Sinister Six spin off. Now, we are seeing reports that Cletus Kasady aka Carnage could be making an appearance in the Venom spin off. Both Matt Tolmach and Avi Arad, the guys in charge of the spin offs, said we could possibly we see Carnage show up. Let me just say this. You had me at Venom, but now this changes everything. Every fan of Venom knows wants there to be an epic show down between him and Carnage. Why wouldn't you want to put that on the big screen. Two of the baddest Spidey villains, one who happens to be a crazed serial killer, going toe to toe. This needs to happen. In any way, shape, or form please let this happen. The people are demanding Carnage. What do you guys think? Carnage vs Venom.
In a recent interview with "Den of Geek", Matt Tolmach the man in charge of the Spidey Spinoffs that currently include both Venom and the Sinister Six, said we could be seeing them before the release of Amazing Spider-Man 4. Now this I find very interesting. For those of you that are avid listeners of our podcasts, I made a prediction that we could see hints of both spinoffs in the upcoming Spider-Man film. Whether this means I was right or wrong, I think we can all agree that I was not too far off. Mr. Tolmach saying we could see these movies before the 4th installment is huge. Especially since there is so much room in the Spidey universe for cross overs and things of that nature. All in all it's great news for us web head fans and for all those opposed. Get it? Villain humor.
