Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Spoilers ahead! I never cared much about superhero movies, but then the Marvel Cinematic Universe happened and, every year for the past eleven years, they've been the movies I was looking forward to seeing the most. No matter how disappointingly awful some were, I was still excited to see what would come next. And after Avengers: Infinity War ended with that huge cliffhanger, Avengers: Endgame became my most anticipated Marvel film ever. And boy, I was not disappointed. 

The story picks up after the devastating events of the previous film, with the remaining Avengers — Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) — joined by Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), and Nebula (Karen Gillan) to track down Thanos (Josh Brolin), steal the Infinity Stones and reverse his action. Unfortunately, they learn upon finding him that he had destroyed the stones, and Thor kills him. Five years later, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) comes back from the Quantum Realm and proposes the others to travel back in time and prevent Thanos from finding the stones in the first place.

While it's a bit convoluted and confusing, the time travel plot not only makes perfect sense — and even if it didn't, I still wouldn't get why many people are vigorously complaining about it being nonsense. Have these people forgotten its a superhero movie involving time travel they are talking about? — as it manages to combine the storylines of the twenty-two previous movies beautifully, but it pays tremendous homage to the fans who have been following the Marvel Cinematic Universe for more than ten years, and to the characters — Captain America gets to reunite with Peggy — I don't get why people are complaining about this, Cap deserves a happy ending and him staying in the past doesn't mean he changes the past/future, it simply means that he created another timeline and that at present time there are two Steve Rogers, one old and one young as he's been defrosted as he was supposed to be —, Tony Stark gets to see his father, Thor his mother and Jane, and Bruce is finally at peace with the Hulk.

As for the characters, many viewers didn't appreciate the treatment some of them got, especially Thor who, according to some people, has been reduced to a pathetic comic relief as he's now a fat alcoholic other characters, specifically Rocket, often make fun of. I, on the other hand, think that the writers wouldn't have done anything better than that with him. Sure, we are so used to seeing this muscular, powerful and confident man, it feels weird seeing him in this as he's the opposite of that. But keep in mind that he has lost everything — his father, his mother, his brother, his best friend, the woman he loved, Asgard — and on top of that, he blames himself for failing to kill Thanos when he had the chance in Infinity War. So much has happened to him, it's only natural that he has become the man he is here. And what the did with the character of Tony Stark over the years is beyond impressive — not only he's no longer the selfish, arrogant he used to be and has taken the young Peter Parker under his wing, but he gets to the point of giving up his happiness, his chance of having a family to save the universe. With Endgame, we also get to see more of those characters who either weren't in the previous film, such as Hawkeye and Ant-Man or were barely in it, such as Captain America. I was a little disappointed with how little they used Captain Marvel though.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The cast does an excellent job, from Chris Hemsworth who embodies to perfection this new Thor with an incredibly humorous performance to Scarlett Johansson who finally gives a strong, compelling performance as Black Widow to Tom Holland who is barely in the film and yet manages to still the scene as he shares a touching moment with Robert Downey Jr.. There are also many wonderful and unexpected cameos from Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Rene Russo (Frigga), Tilda Swinton (the Ancient One), John Slattery (Howard Stark), Robert Redford (Alexander Payne), Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter), James D'Arcy (Edwin Jarvis), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym) and, of course, Stan Lee.

The film is also filled with memorable scenes from Captain America finally grabbing Thor's hammer — the reaction of the audience was insane! — to the scene with all the Marvel women — I actually cried at this point because a boy sitting right next to me was very excited as he said, "it's all the girls".

The film is, as always with Marvel, visually spectacular, it has a killer soundtrack's and it's wonderfully paced — the three hours running time flies by — but most of all, it's rollercoaster of feelings and emotions with its homages, and the graceful combination of moments that make you laugh, moments that give you goosebumps and moments that will make you cry.

Clueless (1995)

I never cared much about high school flicks, not even when I was in high school —Easy A is the exception since I love that movie—, so I never bothered to check out Clueless. Then I learnt there's a (young) Paul Rudd in it so of course I watched it. 

The story follows Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone), a superficial, materialist, rather stupid, spoiled 16-year-old who only cares about herself and being the most popular kid in high school and does not believe in high school boyfriends. She also enjoys playing the good Samaritan so, after orchestrating a relationship between two of her teachers to improve their moods and get better grades without studying, she takes awkward tomboy Tai (Brittany Murphy) under her wing and decides to find her a boyfriend. Which only makes her realise she wants a boyfriend but finding the Balwin of her dreams turns out to be a much more difficult task than anticipated.

As I had anticipated, the plot, or whether the film is trying to pass as such, is very clichéd and predictable, and there are many subplots that feel like they don't belong as they add nothing to the story. In addition, it delivers several messages that are just wrong —virginity is bad, and you need to change yourself in order to make others like you.

The characters are terrible too. First, they act extremely mature for their age; second, most of them are plain stupid and unlikeable. Cher is about the most annoying character I've seen in a teen movie —actually, no, that would be Sierra Burgess—, she is quite a bitch and couldn't sympathize with her nor care about her, not even for a second. Tai, at first, is quite interesting but eventually, she turns into yet another dumb character who differentiates from Cher only because she is more experienced, sexually. Cher's best friend Dionne is just as shallow, and her boyfriend who doesn't nothing other than calling her "woman" and pissing her off is quite annoying. There are a few characters I liked, Travis the stoner and Cher's step-brother, Josh, but unfortunately there's not enough of them in the film.

I didn't find Clueless particularly funny either. Despite all, the film still is slightly enjoyable and the credits entirely go to the cast. While I found her voice very annoying —I felt the same about each actress in here though, maybe they had problems recording high pitched voices, I don't know—, Alicia Silverstone does a pretty good job as the clueless, spoiled brat, and her cuteness and sweetness make the film more bearable, and she has great chemistry with Stacey Dash which makes the friendship between Cher and Dionne very believable. It's Paul Rudd though that absolutely steals the scene with a charming performance as the sweet, sensitive and hard-working Josh.

The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)

Unlike the movies that I've been watching lately, The Fundamentals of Caring was not on my watchlist but I watched it anyway because I was in the mood for Paul Rudd and this was one of the Paul Rudd movies available on Netflix. 

The story follows Ben (Paul Rudd), a retired writer who is in need of a job and decides to become a caregiver. After completing a six-week course, he is hired by Elsa (Jennifer Ehle) to care for her sardonic and anxious 18-year-old son, Trevor (Craig Roberts), who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. After a bumpy start, Ben and Trevor embark on a road trip to see American roadside attractions. Along the way, they pick up a foul-mouthed runaway, Dot (Selena Gomez), and a pregnant woman, Peaches (Megan Ferguson). 

The Fundamentals of Caring has pretty much the same plot every single road trip movie follows, it's filled with clichés, and it's rather predictable. Also, it kind of lacks obstacles, like every single thing goes as smoothly as it can possibly go. Still, it's interesting enough to keep you engaged and ultimately the story delivers an important message —it's only up to us to decide whether we want to live our life to its fullest or use excuses to change nothing about our lives, live the same day over and over, and remain stuck where we are. 

As for the main characters, there's something about them that quite didn't work with me. As I was expecting, both Ben and Trevor, especially the latter, are quite unlikeable characters at the beginning. Unfortunately, although they do have a nice development, they don't grow on you as much as you would expect them to. I liked, however, how The Fundamentals of Caring used them to poke fun at the clichés about disabled people in movies, and the chemistry between Paul Rudd and Craig Roberts is so genuine and touching, it's a real pleasure to watch them. Also, they both do a nice job in their roles, the first as a man who won't let go of his past, and the latter as a teenager who is afraid to leave his comfort zone and live life to its fullest.

Netflix

The female characters and performances, on the other hand, are bland to say the least. Neither Dot nor Peaches add to the plot —the first, despite the fact that she is the one kind of pushing Trevor out of his comfort zone (he has a crush on her and therefore does everything he thinks she thinks is cool), is nothing but a needless love interest; as for the latter, I'm still trying to figure out why she's there, maybe to make the skin of people who dislike babies and such crawl (yes, that's the reaction I have when I see babies). They are just shallow and unrealistic and don't seem to fit with the rest of the film. Also, Selena Gomez, while she does okay in the dramatic moments, has the worst comedic timing ever. And speaking of waste, the filmmakers thought it was cool to have Bobby Cannavale play a super minor role as Gomez's father.

Ultimately, The Fundamentals of Caring is not a terrible film but it's not even as good as it could have been. I mean, the script is quite a mess and other than Rudd, nobody seems to care to balance drama and comedy or be able to do both.

Mute (2018)

I’ve been putting off Duncan Jones’s Mute for such a long time, I even forgot what the movie was about. Or which actor I like was in it. I soon remembered it was the one with a tiny Sam Rockwell cameo, and I also remembered why I skipped it in the first place, the bad reviews I read. And they were right, the film is terrible.

Set in 2035, the main storyline follows Leo (Alexander Skarsgård), a mute Amish bartender who is in love with a cocktail waitress, Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh). When Naadirah disappears, Leo embarks on a quest to find her which takes him deeper into the city’s underworld. Meanwhile, two American surgeons, Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd) and Duck (Justin Theroux), makes quick bucks by performing surgeries for the mob.

One of the many problems with Mute is that it does not have a plot, only a vague idea of it. The result is a confused, convoluted mess that makes no sense whatsoever, with subplots that come out of nowhere and go absolutely nowhere. From the way the story started, I was expecting an interesting noir with the main character discovering corruption where one would not expect to find it, and surprising, clever twists. And it kind of has that. Unfortunately, it is not compelling.

The characters are another issue. They are not properly established and have no development. Just like the story, they are quite confusing and when they all connect together at the end, you don’t care because you already have lost your interest. The main character, Leo, is an Amish, which adds absolutely nothing to the film. He is supposed to be some devoted Amish but he works in a nightclub as a bartender. I’m not sure that’s very Amish of him. Anyways, if Jones wanted to provide the character with some backstory, he should have gone with something else instead, something more plausible.

Netflix

The performances, on the other hand, are quite brilliant. Alexander Skarsgård does a really good job as the silent protagonist and somehow manages to convey Leo’s struggle to keep his Amish identity in the modern world he lives in. Too bad that I’m stuck with him playing the abusive husband on HBO’s Big Little Lies and because of it, I didn’t sympathize with him nor like him. Paul Rudd’s is the best performance though. He always plays lovable characters so it was nice seeing him in the role of a creepy, dark man, and makes a very compelling villain. That moustache though, it is unwatchable! Not as unwatchable as Justin Theroux and his fake wig. 

Some of the acting isn't the only aspect of Mute that I liked, the visuals are pretty good too. Although it looks like a cheap version of Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049, the futuristic scenery is gorgeous —the neon colours, lighting, costumes and design truly elevate the film. Too bad the starting point was below zero.

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Yesterday, now that basically the entire world, except for Portugal, China, and Japan (according to IMDb), has seen Ant-Man and the Wasp, Marvel's latest film finally hit theatres in my shithole country and since I love Marvel, I got the 9pm ticket hoping that I would not fall asleep in there (backstory, I wake up a 5am every day and I haven't been getting a lot of sleep in the past few days).

Set after the events of Captain America: Civil War but before those of Avengers: Infinity War, the film finds Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) under house arrest as he struggles to entertain himself. When he only has days left of confinement, Scott has a strange dream and decides to call Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). Pym and his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) then approach Scott with an urgent new mission and Scott must put on the Ant-Man suit to face a new enemy.

Pretty much like every single Marvel movie out there, Ant-Man and the Wasp too has a very simple and rather predictable plot. And it isn't particularly compelling either as it lacks exciting plot points, solid twists and real complications as the obstacles are overcome way too easily. Also, there are several subplots that don't add much to the film, like the romantic subplot between Ant-Man and the Wasp, which deserved way better than this, and the worn out father and daughter subplot that is heartwarming as it's still a lovely relationship between a dad and her adorable daughter, but isn't properly developed.

The characters are kind of a mess too. The returning characters, Scott Lang, Hope van Dyne, Hank Pim, and Luis, are pretty thin; the new ones, specifically Hope's mother, Janet van Dyne, not only lacks development but doesn't have anything resembling characterization. Despite these flaws, I found myself caring about them and wanting them to succeed.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Which wasn't that hard since Ant-Man and the Wasp easily has some of the worst villains in Marvel's latest movies. Walton Goggins's Sonny Burch is completely useless as he doesn't have any motivation whatsoever and doesn't even work for humour. The worst though is Hannah John-Kamen's Ava Starr/Ghost. She is a really interesting addition to the film, we are given some backstory and her motivations. Unfortunately, she isn't particularly developed and soon the film gives up on her. And John-Kamen's performance makes the character even more forgettable.

All of that being said, Ant-Man and the Wasp still is an entertaining and enjoyable film, the main reason being some of the main actors. While Michael Douglas, but especially Laurence Fishburne and Walton Goggins are wasted in the film, Paul Rudd, who basically plays Paul Rudd, is wonderful as always, and once again makes for a strong and entertaining lead as he delivers plenty of humour. But it's Evangeline Lilly who steals the show every time she is on screen.

The film has pretty good humour too. While some of the jokes and gags fall flat --there'll still be that one person who laughs at every single joke though--, it is overall funny. Also, the action sequences and special effects, although they are pretty much copied from the previous film, are pretty awesome, and the soundtrack fits the film quite well.

Watch: New ANT-MAN Trailer #2 Mentions The Avengers

Finally The Avengers are acknowledged as an alternative to going solo against a villain who could threaten the world in these standalone Marvel movies. I know that question was ringing in my ears when S.H.I.E.L.D. was essentially destroyed in Marvel's universe before Ultron.

I won't spoil the trailer further for you, but it's worth watching on a number of levels and actually is the best to date if you ask me. It's interesting to watch the marketing unfold for this movie as it is vastly different than the others - something Marvel excels at doing.

Here's the movie's storyline:
The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings a founding member of The Avengers to the big screen for the first time with Marvel Studios’ ANT-MAN. Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Directed by Peyton Reed and produced by Kevin Feige, Marvel’s ANT-MAN stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang aka Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne, Corey Stoll as Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket, Bobby Cannavale as Paxton, Michael Peña as Luis, Judy Greer as Maggie, Tip “Ti” Harris as Dave, David Dastmalchian as Kurt, Wood Harris as Gale, Jordi Mollà as Castillo and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym.

ANT-MAN opens on July 17.

Now It All Makes Cents! Check The New Trailer For Marvel's ANT-MAN

I'm not sure what to make of ANT-MAN yet and I suppose that's about where I should be as all we have to go on is the released media thus far, but I think I'm going to enjoy the movie. If Marvel can swing and hit the fences with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and absolutely nail the humor required to make it work - I think we're in good hands with ANT-MAN.

What do you think?


Here's the storyline for the movie:
The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings a founding member of The Avengers to the big screen for the first time with Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man.” Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

ANT-MAN hits theaters on July 17.

Watch: Full Length Teaser Trailer For Marvel's ANT-MAN

Here we are! The first look at ANT-MAN through the teaser trailer that has been dangled like a carrot in front of us for awhile now. Interesting Marvel can get away with it! Not many around that can.

This teaser trailer aired during last night's Agent Carter TV show. Enjoy!

Here's the movie's storyline:
Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

ANT-MAN will hit theaters on July 17.

Watch: Full Sized Teaser Trailer For Marvel's ANT-MAN

Ok so this is not the teaser for the teaser for the trailer, this is now the teaser for the trailer and I cut if off here. I won't post on trailers that don't show anything like the tiny one Marvel released earlier in the week and I'm sure you won't mind. But this teaser actually does show shots from the movie and first looks at several characters like Corey Stall and Evangeline Lilly - so have a look!

You can view the whole trailer coming up on the two-hour series premiere of "Marvel's Agent Carter" Tuesday, January 6 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC!

Here's the storyline for the movie:
Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.