Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) - Movie Review

Art from: Avengers: Age Of Ultron!

One thing that I have noticed as time has gone on, that it seems like most production houses generally tend to require that their sequels be bigger, more explosions, more A-list actors, etc... That is a huge mistake!

The reason being is, like the old saying goes... "Bigger is not always better"... And that saying is still true today! What I mean by this in relation to sequels, is that something is always lost in the story line!

Marvel seems to almost always do this for some reason... For example: Iron Man (2008) was a fantastic movie that really helped jump start the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe,) but, Iron Man 2 (2010)... There was bigger special effects, and a bigger cast... But something was lost in the story, and ended up making the movie suck... Fortunately they made up for that in a major way with, Iron Man 3 (2013)!

Iron Man 2... A dud, only made right by, 'Iron Man 3'! 

And unfortunately a lot of that is the reason, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) was still fun... But not as good as the original Avengers was!

Written by: Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), and Directed by: Joss Whedon. Starring: Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Scarlett Johansson (Lucy), Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island), Jeremy Renner (Dahmer) & James Spader (Stargate).

"If he can wield the Hammer, he can keep the Stone." - Thor (Chris Hemsworth - A quote from: Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015).) 

This movie tells the story of how a more formed Avengers team, having reformed up after the battle of New York from the first movie are setting high on their laurels... S.H.I.E.L.D. maybe mostly gone, and Nick Fury maybe retired, but under Tony Stark (Played by: Robert Downey Jr.), the team (being aided by a group of robotic, 'Iron Men') are really kicking butt!

The Avengers kicking Hydra's butt! 

Well something interesting has happened... You see, after a grueling fight, in which the team had gone to war with Hydra, in an effort to reacquire Loki's scepter, Tony Stark (Played by: Robert Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Played by: Mark Ruffalo,) are working on creating a new AI (when will they ever learn... Am I right?)

Anyway, this AI (which goes by the name of, 'Ultron' (Voiced by: James Spader)) ends up coming online and decides his programming in an effort to help the planet, is to eradicate mankind and start fresh!

So Ultron ends up taking over the Iron Men that Tony Stark had created, and as Ultron begins to build up his forces, it will be up to the Avengers to assemble again in an effort to save the world from a threat that one of their own created!

Ultron as he begins life as a broken, 'Iron Legion' unit! 

In the end, the truth is, is this movie is fun... Despite the frustrating over indulgence in to the special effects and what not and some of the loss in story line/quality of story... This movie does have some amazing battle scenes, and fun story arcs...

The other problems that I had with this movie is the fact that Black Widow and Bruce Banner keep whining about there stupid romance, and it seems like almost threatening the audience to run away together at the end of the world!

The last thing that I have to say is that having Quicksilver (Played by: Anthony Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Played by: Elizabeth Olsen) in this movie is wrong, for many reasons that fans of the comics will understand... But as for the movies... Well... I mean Quicksilver is already a part of the X-Men franchise and is played by some one else in that series!

I guess what I am saying is that it is certainly worth watching, but is just not as good as the first one! 

Tweet

The Legacy Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Buffy in one of her earliest battles when she moves to Sunnydale!

My wife and I were watching TV recently when I came across a TV show that I found to be particularly fascinating... This show being Syfy's 'Lost Girl'... Now this show has to do with a supernatural succubus who sort of fights the forces of both mankind (as need be), and the supernatural (it seems like this is the one that happens the most from what I can tell so far...)

Sound familiar? Well try this one on for size, this show also has the succubus, along with her human friend working under the guise of a very low level Detective Agency, while fighting big bads... Alright maybe not a part of Buffy's legacy, but definitely part of, 'Angel's'... And well lets be honest, Angel can definitely be said to be a part of Buffy's legacy... So indirectly, it could be said that, 'Lost Girl' is as well right?

Now on to the more direct ones... And the first one that I am going to say, would be, 'True Blood' (2008 - 2014):

True Blood... A great Vampire show that wrapped up this year!

Now this show tells the story a woman from a small southern town who has special powers, and who ends up being inducted in to the world of vampires and the occult when she catches the eye of a lone Vampire... Sound familiar? It should, because Buffy came from a big town to a small town, where she decides to give up fighting the forces of evil, but comes back in to it when she catches the eye of both a loner Vampire, and her new, 'Watcher', who wants her to continue fighting the forces of evil!

Another one... I have not seen it yet... To be honest, I don't have a lot of hope for this one... This one being, The Vampire Diaries...

The reason being is that this show truly does seem to be almost like the, 'Deep Impact', to True Blood's, 'Armageddon'... (A reference to two separate Science Fiction movies, they had very similar story lines, and came out at roughly the same time, but one was better then the other...)

True Blood & The Vampire Diaries... 2 distinctly similar TV shows, released about the same time, with roughly the same plot lines...

This show basically takes place in Virginia and tells the story of a girl who falls in love with Vampire brothers, and ends up becoming involved in the supernatural world because of it, with all of the life threatening situations that come with it!

Now I have heard that Joss Whedon plans on eventually remaking, 'Buffy' as a new movie... If he does, well I hope that it will be as good as the show he created all those years ago... But regardless, as it stands, the above mentioned shows are just a couple of examples of the growing legacy that the TV show has ultimately left behind for the rest of the world to enjoy!

For more information on these shows, please check these out!

Bring Back Buffy

Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the classic Horror/Drama that was made popular in the late 90s.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer... This show and the movie (despite what some people might think about it...) Was an important piece of Americana in the 1990s... I mean during a time when demonstrating what the life of a teenager was like on TV was filled primarily with shows like, 'Beverly Hills 90210' & 'Dawson's Creek'... We, the goth crowd had, 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'!

Now you might be wondering how a Vampire show could be a coming of age type of show... Well the truth is, is if you were like me, who was extremely disenfranchised with life in general as a kid, you found a show like, 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer', a show that told the story of a group of teenagers that during the day are normal kids, and at night fighting the forces of darkness, kind of showed the world as it was for some teens in the 90s, with a twist that made it fun!

So I say this, 'BRING BUFFY BACK!'

A blast from the past right?

Sorry for being so emphatic, but besides the more philosophical side of the show, Joss Whedon (The Avengers), did a truly amazing job in turning a box office flop in to a show that was not just a show but an institution!

I mean this show, which had it's own spinoff, as well as video games, and all sorts of amazing collectible merchandise, was just an awesome show that was completely relateable to not just the teenage crowds, but as an adult and out of my goth stage, I still found that I really enjoyed this series quite a bit!

Since this show has gone off the air, fans all over the world have been clamoring for it to come back in some form... Rather it be in another spinoff, or remake movie of some sort...

 Kristy Swanson (seen here with Paul Reubens) brought Buffy to life in the classic early 90s movie!

Although it is true that for the most part, the characters from BTVS and it's spin off, 'Angel', have continued to do alright as comics, it just isn't the same as seening Buffy kicking some one's ass on the big screen or on the small screen... And well, if they are planning on doing another spinoff, they better hurry, considering that both original casts are starting to get way to old... And at this point a remake may be in order!

Eitherway, 'BRING BUFFY BACK!'

5 Great Crews Of 5 Great Starships On The Small Screen

[caption id="attachment_2885" align="aligncenter" width="450"] The bridge crew for the U.S.S. Enterprise (the rebooted version.)[/caption]

I have noticed to some extent a trend in the sci-fi world of TV shows being brought to the big screen... Most of the time after the show has gone off the aire and their fans have complained about it so much that it was brought to the big screen after awhile.

A great example of this is the show 'Firefly' (2002)... Now Firefly was a show that had been created by Joss Whedon (The Avengers) and told the story of the crew of a small vessel and the adventures that they would have...

Well this show, which aired in 2002, was taken off the air way to early, and with enough pressure from fans ended up getting it's own movie, in the form of, Serenity (2005)!

[caption id="attachment_2886" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Nathan Fillion (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Gina Torres (Angel) & Alan Tudyk (I, Robot) in a scene from, 'Serenity' (2005)[/caption]

With the crew of the Firefly getting their chances on the big screen, I thought that I would mention 5 other bridge crews that went on to greatness.
At number 5: The crew of the original, 'Battlestar Galactica':

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="360"] 'Boxey' (Noah Hathaway) as he comes to talk to 'Adama' (Lorne Greene) who is hard at work on the bridge of the, 'Battlestar Galactica'![/caption]

At number 4: The crew of the, 'Prometheus' from Stargate SG1:

[caption id="attachment_2887" align="aligncenter" width="320"] The bridge crew of the, 'Prometheus' the earth ship from, 'Stargate SG1'![/caption]

At number 3: The crew of the, 'Tardis' from, 'Doctor Who':

[caption id="attachment_2888" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Not quite a bridge... Or a crew... but the same concepts apply![/caption]

At number 2: The crew from the remake, 'Battlestar Galactica':

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="330"] The bridge of the, 'Battlestar Galactica' hard at work in the 2004 Syfy channel remake![/caption]

At number 1: The crew from the first, 'U.S.S. Enterprise; from Star Trek:

[caption id="attachment_2889" align="aligncenter" width="450"] The bridge crew for the original U.S.S. Enterprise from the original series![/caption]

Thor (2011) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"] Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

These days have to be a pretty exciting time for Marvel... I mean with the mega success of, The Avengers (2012), and their equally successful individual movies based on the Heroes that make up, 'The Avengers'... And with the slow resurrection of the series that helped Marvel really catapult in to the world of movies permanently... You just have to be impressed!

Now before I go on I should be honest and say that growing up I was a comic book fan... But the truth is, is if I had to choose between, 'The Avengers' or, 'The X-Men', I would have to say that, 'The X-Men' were always my favorite... But I will say that, 'The Avengers' were always pretty bad ass as well, (with, 'Thor' and, 'The Hulk' being 2 of my favorite characters...)

And that is why I was surprised the first time I saw, Thor (2011)... I don't know, I mean maybe it was because the movie took a decidedly different turn then the comic, I'm not really sure, but for whatever reason I just have to admit that I was very... 'meh', about the whole thing, that was until I saw the movie for the second time!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"] 'Thor' (Chris Hemsworth) with his father, 'Odin' (Anthony Hopkins) in, 'Asgard'![/caption]

You see this movie, which was written by: Ashley Edward Miller (X-Men: First Class),  Zack Stentz (Agent Cody Banks), Don Payne (Thor: The Dark World) & Directed by: Kenneth Brannaugh (Hamlet), Joss Whedon (Angel). Starring: Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers), Natalie Portman (Star Wars: - Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace), Tom Hiddleston (Crimson Peak), Anthony Hopkins (Silence Of The Lambs), Stellan Skarsgård (The Glass House), Kat Dennings (Day One), Clark Gregg (Marvel's: Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Colm Feore (The Chronicles Of Riddick) & Idris Elba (Prometheus), tells the story of how a young and some what arrogant, 'Thor' (Chris Hemsworth), ends up going on a quest to the, 'Frost Giant' planet of, 'Jotunheim' after the Frost Giants attempt to breach, 'Asgard' and steal back the, 'Casket Of Ancient Winters' (an artifact of great power and importance to the Frost Giants...)

Well after the massive defeat that Thor and his soldiers suffered there, Thor and his soldiers end up going back to Asgard only after, 'Odin' comes to their rescue... Because of this, Odin ends up banishing Thor out of Asgard and down to Earth along with his hammer... (But powerless.) While he is there of course, he is seriously out of place... That is until he meets, 'Jane Foster' (Natalie Portman), and her research staff... And starts to learn how to fit in...

[caption id="attachment_2012" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Thor as he is trying to get his hammer away from the, 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' agents that are studying it![/caption]

During this time though, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) decides to seize the throne of, 'Asgard' when Odin goes in to his sleep, and when he learns that he is actually the son of the King of the Frost Giants and not Odin's son, Loki adopts a plan that will not only destroy his true home world, but would also destroy the brother he was so envious of, and hopefully gain the love and affection that he always wanted from, 'Odin'.

I mentioned earlier that this movie for me was better the second time, well the truth is, is if you are like me, then you like special effects movies, but are not a fan of movies that are just butchered with to much CGI.  The truth is, is when I first saw this movie I couldn't see past that, but when I saw this for the second time, I found that in truth that this movie truly was a fun one, and well worth it, and in all honesty I guess really my main critique on this movie is just how much they changed the story between the movie and the comics!

In the end though, if you haven't already checked this movie out yet, then I would say, 'give it a try', you may end up having a better experience then I did the first and the second time!

http://youtu.be/JOddp-nlNvQ

The Avengers (2012) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_415" align="alignright" width="300"] Official Score = 4 Devils[/caption]

Remember when you were a kid, the joy of collecting and trading comic books and (well if you were a kid in the 90s) trading comic book cards? I do, I used to love all that stuff!

Now I always loved comics and comic book cards that DC produced, but my favorite always had to be.... You guessed it! MARVEL!

Rather it be reading the gritty adventures of, 'Cable', or reading about the, 'X-Men' battling the latest threat to the world, or for that matter any of the other super hero's or super hero teams that fought the forces of darkness!

So it delighted me to discover a lot of my favorite costumed heroes from the Marvel Universe were being turned in to movies! Including, the X-Men series, the Spider-Man series, the Iron Man series, to name a few...

And of course the most recent Super Hero movie was great as well, The Avengers!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The Avengers as they are about to assemble![/caption]

Written by: Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), and Zack Penn (The Incredible Hulk) and Directed by: Joss Whedon. Starring: Robert Downey Jr. (Zodiac), Chris Hemsworth (The Cabin In The Woods), Chris Evans (Fantastic Four), Scarlett Johansson (Eight Legged Freaks), Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island), Tom Hiddleston (Thor), Jeremy Renner (Dahmer), Samuel L. Jackson (Deep Blue Sea), and Colbie Smulders (Andromeda).

The Avengers tells the story of how, after Loki's (Hiddleston) defeat on Asgard in the movie, Thor (2011), by his brother Thor (Hemsworth). Loki retreats to the vastness of space. During this time he comes across a race that has offered to fight for Loki, when Loki decides to take over the Earth!

So after stealing an item called, 'The Tesseract' (an item that can draw power from space), from a S.H.I.E.L.D. run research facility, and taking over the free will of a Doctor, and an Agent by the name of, 'Clint Barton' (Renner), Loki takes off with his new soldiers in an effort to create a portal from Earth to the planet where his army is currently waiting on!

With the world now threatened by Loki and his minions, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury (Jackson) calls on: Iron Man (Downey Jr.), The Black Widow (Johansson), The Hulk (Ruffalo), Captain America (Evans), (and later Thor and Hawkeye join as well), to combat the threat posed by Loki, and save the Human Race as, 'The Avengers'!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="460"] 'The Avengers' assembled going to war![/caption]

Now as an interesting side note, this movie is the culmination of past super hero movies such as, Thor (2011), the Iron Man series and, The Incredible Hulk series as well!

In my opinion, with this movie being the perfect blending of, 'Science Ficition' and, 'Action' this movie may actually be the best Super Hero movie to come out since the first X-Men movie (A personal fav of mine).

Now before I get in to why I think this movie is so awesome, I should probably tell you a little bit of history and how The Avengers came to life...

The Avengers came in to being through the creative inspiration of comic book legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and had their debut in September of 1963... Since then, 'The Avengers' and the team members that make up, 'The Avengers' has become an international sensation amongst the legions of , 'Avengers' comic book fans, 'Avengers' movie aficionados and even , 'Avengers', video game fans around the world! And being a fan of, 'The Avengers' in all 3 of those categories, it kind of goes without saying that I would be a fan of this movie as well!

But besides that, the truth is, is that carry overs from their original movies, 'i,e. Tom Hiddleston as (Loki), or Robert Downey Jr. as, (Iron Man)' continue to do an amazing job portraying the characters they portrayed in the other movies... So much so that it was great to see Robert Downey Jr. reprise his role as, 'Iron Man', Chis Hemworth reprise his role as, 'Thor' as they both match pretty closely to what I would have thought the characters from the comics would have looked like in real life!

http://youtu.be/1hPpG4s3-O4