The Incredible Hulk

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Bruce Banner (played by Edward Norton) has spent years in hiding, living in South America. The whole time, he has been struggling to keep the Hulk at bay, and has been trying to find a cure, keeping in contact with a man named Samuel Sterns (played by Tim Blake Nelson). Things eventually go awry, and the U.S. army, led by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross and mercenary Emil Blonsky (played by William Hurt and Tim Roth respectively) tracks him down. Bruce's love Betty Ross (played by Liv Tyler) gets caught up in the whole thing, and does everything she can to help Bruce. This is the one that is probably the most disjointed from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, outside of a quick cameo from Robert Downey, Jr. But, I do think this may just be the most underrated of the MCU films. The action is pretty fun, and I like Tim Roth as the villainous soldier who eventually becomes the Abomination. This truly feels like a main villain that's a perfect rival for both Bruce Banner and the Hulk. The Abomination rivals the Hulk in terms of pure strength and force. As Emil Blonsky, he is the exact opposite of Bruce Banner. Banner is a scientist who views the Hulk as a curse more than anything else. Blonsky is a soldier who wants the untamed power that Bruce possesses. I can't call this the best MCU movie, or even one of the best. There are some issues with it. There is a character who doesn't get any real resolution. What I mean is that they teased a potential future villain at the end of the movie, and that's something that doesn't end up going anywhere. I can admit that this wasn't really on the fault of the movie when it first came out. This feels like the one that gets swept under the rug the most out of all the movies within this vast cinematic universe. Edward Norton was recast and replaced with Mark Ruffalo. We haven't seen anything of Betty Ross or the Abomination since the events of this movie. Nothing comes of Samuel Sterns's mutation. We don't see William Hurt as General Ross again until Captain America: Civil War. I'm not going to call this one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's finest outings, but I also think it's the most overlooked and underrated.

8 / 10     

Iron Man

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So, Infinity War comes out at the end of the month. I figured this is as good a time as any to cover the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that I haven't reviewed yet. The story of Iron Man is that weapons dealer Tony Stark is attacked and injured by his own weapons. He is taken hostage and tasked with building weapons for a terrorist group called the Ten Rings. He escapes and decides to rid the world of his own weapons simply because he saw the evil they were being used for. This is easily one of the most important movies in the MCU. For starters, this is where it all started. This movie was the biggest risk. A huge sprawling cinematic universe hadn't really been tried before. This movie was the beginning of Robert Downey, Jr.'s comeback tour. He wasn't the mega star he was before and is now. Robert Downey, Jr. is Tony Stark. The action scenes are pretty fun to watch. Robert Downey, Jr. is one of those actors who just manages to have a good back and forth with his co-stars. The first act is easily my favorite. I love the interactions between Tony and Yinsen (played by Shaun Toub). There is some genuine emotion and dramatic acting between the two. There are things that build up the future movies in this giant universe. They are very small and subtle. Some of them actually took me multiple viewings to truly notice. The only real issue I have with this movie is Terrence Howard's performance as Rhodey. He felt a little too whiny, and a little too much like a pushover. I just didn't buy him as a war veteran. Ultimately, even ten years later, Iron Man still holds up as a good movie, and as a good starting point for one of the biggest franchises of all time.

9 / 10 

Tomb Raider

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Tomb Raider is a reboot of the movies from the early 2000s starring Angelina Jolie. It is also based on the 2013 reboot of the popular video game franchise. In the movie, Lara Croft (played by Alicia Vikander) has spent years aimlessly going through life the disappearance of her father several years earlier. One day, she finds a video from her father (played by Dominic West), and decides to go looking for him. From there, she ends up involved with deadly adversaries and a treasure hunt that could lead to the end of civilization, as we know it. Full disclosure, I never played any of the Tomb Raider games, so I don’t know exactly how accurate this movie is. Judging purely as a movie, I enjoyed it. The performances are pretty solid, especially those of Vikander, Dominic West, and Walton Goggins as the film’s main villain. Alicia Vikander, in particular, stands out. She really shows a dedication to the work she had to put into this movie. She proves herself just as capable of selling the action and fighting as she is at selling the more emotional and dramatic moments. The movie ends with the potential of setting up a sequel, and I honestly enjoyed this movie well enough that I want to see where this story goes. All that aside, this movie isn’t perfect. The humor in this movie generally fell pretty flat. Some of the action could be pretty tough to make out. Thankfully, there wasn’t too much shaky cam. Outside of Lara herself, a lot of the character development felt pretty thin. Will a potential sequel fix some of these issues? It’s hard to say. Like I said earlier, I enjoyed this movie well enough that I actually do want to see more, despite its noticeable flaws.

7 / 10    

Pulp Fiction

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Pulp Fiction deals with several interwoven characters and stories, and is written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. All of the dialogue in this movie feels 100% natural, proving Tarantino's natural talent as a screenwriter. This movie also proves that the man knows how to work with actors. Samuel L. Jackson is his favorite muse as many of the future movies have two working together, obviously. The man also manages to get some career best performances out of the likes of John Travolta, Bruce Willis, and Uma Thurman. All of these people manage to work with Tarantino's dialogue phenomenally. Like the rest of Tarantino's movies, there is a dark sense of humor. There are legitimately moments in this movie where I laugh, even when I know I probably shouldn't. A lot of this movie can be very visceral and brutal. Some notable standouts include the overdose, the pawn shop, and the scene in the apartment at the beginning. That scene, in particular, outlines the dark sense of humor laced throughout the movie. There are a lot of moments where you laugh, cringe, and are surprised all the same time. There is a reason this has gone on to become of the most iconic movies ever made. I will say this: If violence and swearing are turn offs for you, then I would avoid this movie. I would also avoid this move if you aren't a Tarantino fan. So, I am of the mind that there is truly no such thing as a perfect film. That said, I firmly believe this one of the few films that I believe truly comes close to it. I have no real issues with this film, and it is absolutely one of my all-time favorites. 

10 / 10 

Jessica Jones - Season 2

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In the sophomore season of Jessica Jones, Jessica has to deal with potential new threats as she digs more into her past. Much like the first season of Jessica Jones and The Defenders beforehand, Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones owns this show. You always understand exactly what she's going through. I like the idea of exploring how she got her powers. The character of Trish (played by Rachael Taylor) was incredibly unlikable throughout this season. This is something I found interesting, especially because there are a lot of moments where Rachael Taylor and Krysten Ritter act opposite each other. These two actually work off each other really well. I feel like the main conflict for Jessica Jones this season was much more of an internal conflict. She's in a position with the character who is arguably the main antagonist of the season that feels very different from her relationship with Kilgrave. Getting more into negatives, I feel like there were things that could have easily been handled better with the villain (played by Janet McTeer). There were ways I pictured it going. When it didn't go that way, it didn't feel as much like it was done in a good, surprising way. I saw glimpses of taking things in a better way, but it didn't always deliver. There were characters in this show (mainly a rival investigator) that felt important where they started, but seemed sidelined by the end of the season. It does leave curious as to where a potential third season could take the show. I also couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed in how they wrapped up the stuff with Will Simpson (played again by Will Traval). Overall, I liked Jessica Jones season 2, but I do think it had some glaring problems that needed to be adressed.

B+

Black Panther

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Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, T’Challa (played by Chadwick Boseman) must deal with balancing being king and being the Black Panther, all the while dealing with enemies who want to challenge his right to the throne of Wakanda. I admit that plot-wise, elements of this movie are a little bit familiar, with a touch of a Lion King feel to it. The thing is, I can’t complain about it too much because the story of The Lion King is literally Shakespeare. It’s Hamlet with talking animals. Several characters in the movie actually reflect this. This honestly feels like one of Marvel’s most mature and ambitious movies. A lot of the dialogue in this movie involves what Wakanda (and its new king) should do from a political standpoint. This isn’t something Marvel movies actually discuss and touch on very much. The character in this movie I feel most reflects the movie’s ambitious nature, and the Shakespearean feel is Kilmonger (played by Michael B. Jordan). He might just be my favorite villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is one of the most complex villains I’ve seen in recent years. You fully understand his rationale. A lot of what he’s doing has a point, and I like that he comes from a different world than the one that T’Challa was brought up in. Michael B. Jordan is easily the standout of the movie because he truly owns every scene he’s in. Ryan Coogler also proves himself as an action director by shooting some incredible action scenes with amazing scope to them. A lot of them can easily feel busy, but it’s never to the point you feel like you lose sight of what’s going on. Overall, Black Panther easily provides what I believe is one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s top five best movies. The world of Wakanda is fascinating. The characters and performances are all interesting (especially Michael B. Jordan). The story, while familiar, is one that never really feels old or tired.  

9 / 10   

Woody Woodpecker

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So, this exists. I had no idea that this movie was a thing until I found it on Netflix. Naturally, I did a little research before watching it. I found out that it went to theaters in Brazil in 2017, but got a direct to video release in the United States last month. It was pretty much what I expected it to be. The writing, directing, and acting were all pretty poor. The story is completely hackneyed. A selfish, overworked, jerk father goes with his son and his equally selfish fiancé into the woods so he can build a house in the area. The titular woodpecker (who is obviously an effect, and not a very good effect at that) finds out about this and starts trying to sabotage the build. You meet a pretty wildlife expert pretty early on, and by the end, you know the father’s going to reconnect with his son, find common with Woody, and end up with the wildlife expert. I don’t necessarily want it to look like I’m spoiling the movie, but I guessed all of this by the 15 minute mark. It really wasn’t that hard. The fiancé is annoying as hell. It felt like the actress playing her was just there because Sofia Vergara said no to the script. I don’t if that’s actually the case, but it feels like it.  For the most part, the jokes were pretty lame. A couple of them made me chuckle, but that’s about it. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend watching this. I didn’t make me angry, but it didn’t offer anything that the likes of The Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Furry Vengeance, Yogi Bear, and The Flinstones didn’t already try to do.

3 / 10