OJ's Movie Review - Avengers: Infinity War

Well here it is, finally. 10 years and 18 films; and Thanos demands our silence.

So Avengers: Infinity War, as you probably know, is the third Avengers film and 19th overall in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We finally see the big villain come to fruition, that was teased oh so long ago in 2012. So what did I like?

   Quite a lot actually. I mean I knew I would; just the mere visual of all these characters coming together from all these different films I knew would be exciting. And it was. Seeing the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy together at the same time, seeing Bruce Banner meet T'Challa, seeing Loki interact with Thanos - it was all as great as I imagined. It really is quite the unprecedented spectacle that Kevin Feige and all those at Marvel Studios have put together. All the actors were on top-form of course and some of the new additions were instantly iconic and interesting.

Plot-wise, I'd say this film is very fast-paced and non-stop. If you think of something like Nolan's Dunkirk, it just starts, straight into events and things happen and they don't stop until credits roll. This is similar. There isn't much of a build up, no time for exposition on ten-years worth of movies. If you are going to see Avengers: Infinity War then you need to have watched all, or at least the majority of the previous films. This movie is for the fans and it knows it. There is time for exposition on Thanos, however. A lot of this is very much a Thanos movie. He is definitely one of the best Marvel villains and you really feel a sense of anxiety and uncomfortableness whenever he is onscreen, and a lot of that is down to Josh Brolin's amazing motion-capture performance. His motives are clear, and you may even feel sympathetic for him at points. So this movie has an intense narrative for sure and some very dark moments and also very emotional ones, but it still has that brilliant Marvel humor we love; it has some of the best lines of the franchise that made me laugh out loud.

If I had to pick some faults with the film then I would have to say that some characters had less screen time than I was expecting. And to be honest, it's almost unavoidable with essentially 30-odd people who's back-story we've seen and enjoyed. I'd say mostly Captain America and Black Panther and some who were with them got the short straw this time but we did have Civil War so I'm not complaining too much.

Another negative for me is that come of the CGI was a little off. All the characters look great, especially Thanos, but at times there were some real cringy shots, one particular of the Hulkbuster near the end. One or two other points I can't mention because of spoilers I wasn't such a fan of but they really are only minor things and personal preferences.

In the end, I'd say Avengers: Infinity War lived up to the hype for me; it had some incredible surprises, and iconic moments, including post-credits. I can't wait to see what's next.

8.5/10

OJ's Movie Review - Black Panther

You think you know the superhero genre; it's tropes, it's format, it's message. And we can enjoy that. It's what we go and see them for. But then directors like the Russo brothers, Taika Watiti, and now Ryan Coogler come along and say "Hey, let me have a go." 

  What did I like about Black Panther? I liked the fact that Coogler wanted to bring his own team on board, his writers, his editors, his sound mixers, his crew that he'd worked with on his other films because that really shows. You could tell they put effort into getting the African setting just right. The Wakandan culture they developed felt engaging and real by their use of music, costuming, and aesthetic inspired by real African tribes. So on a directing front, I really cannot fault this film for standing out.

  

   Story-wise, we're given a royal family drama that somehow takes us into a James Bond feel at times and then leaves us with interesting political commentary all inside a Marvel movie with special herbs and robot arms. All of this surprisingly works well together and it really didn't feel like a two-hour film. I was invested from beginning to end and that was certainly helped by the amazing cast.

   Chadwick Boseman stars as the main character T'Challa and his stoic portrayal of this intelligent new king really makes for a different sort of superhero. He was one of my highlights in Captain America: Civil War and to see him here continues that enjoyment and proves to be one of my new favorite heroes. I wish I could mention all the cast because each one really did great. Letitia Wright as his sister Shuri was really entertaining, Danai Gurira was both intimidating, powerful and also funny. Andy Serkis looked like he was having a blast returning as Klaue and is just a joy to watch. Even Sterling K. Brown from American Crime Story only had a small role but was really worth it.

Now, this film is getting a lot of praise, and deservedly so, but I will point out that it's not without problems for me personally. First I'd say that the villain, Erik Killmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan, while good and had a really strong argument for his motivations, I felt needed a little more fleshing out. He only really starts doing things half-way through the movie. We are told things about his life but never really shown. Don't get me wrong, he's one of the better Marvel villains and a lot of what he says becomes the commentary that you're left thinking about but he does join the list of Marvel villains who end up fighting in the same suit with the same skill-set as the hero. And then a final issue was that some of the CGI wasn't as good as it perhaps could've been, especially towards the end.

But as a conclusion. I think Black Panther is one of the best Marvel films to date. It means different things to different people, and Ryan Coogler and his team really put their own stamp on it. I look forward to seeing these characters again in the future and will be following whatever the only 32-year-old director will do next.

9/10

OJ's Movie Review - Thor: Ragnarok

The Thor films have been kind of average so far; can a quirky New Zealander change all that?

Thor: Ragnarok is the third film in its own series and Thor's fifth appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. This time it's directed by Taika Watiti and also features the Hulk as a main character. For starters I'd like to say I love Taikia's work; his film Hunt for the Wilderpeople is hilarious to me and any interview you watch of his is a joy to behold. He has a very unique style of film so I can see why Marvel chose him to inject some energy and humor into this series. And he does do that. Ragnarok is the most entertained I've been while watching a Thor movie but it's not without its problems.

  Story-wise, there is a very quick set-up. You can tell that Taika and producer Kevin Feige wanted to completely dismantle what had been built up in the previous Thor films. I can understand why they wanted to do that but just seeing mythology, characters, and arcs that have been established since 2011 be wiped away or brushed under the carpet was a little disheartening, and this was all during the first act. It was very quick and we were going from scene to scene and location to location very quickly mopping up old plot threads and setting up what this movie was going to be. Once that had happened, and Thor was on the planet Sakar, it became more enjoyable for me. The rest of the movie showcased Taika's style of humor perfectly and had me laughing out loud plenty of times. It did seem a bit like two films at times with one set on Sakar and the other on Asgard as the story kept flipping from one to the other but I was entertained enough with the characters.

  Chris Hemsworth has always played Thor brilliantly and we get to see a lot more of his comedic talent here. Mark Ruffalo is always a highlight of any film for me and seeing him here was great both as Banner and the Hulk experiencing this mad Universe. Tom Hiddleston's Loki, of course, appears again and although the character has perhaps lost some of his popularity since everybody loved him in The Avengers, I enjoyed seeing him because I like Tom Hiddleston as an actor. Two new characters I absolutely loved in this film though, were Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster who is hilarious; Goldblum barely has to act, his own wacky charisma comes through perfectly. And Korg, voiced by Taika Watiti himself had some of the best lines. I'd definitely say the characters were the best part of this film for me.

In the end, I'd say I really enjoyed Thor: Ragnarok. The story is pretty basic and some of the green-screen wasn't great during the re-shoots but I loved the aesthetic and the characters. I laughed a lot too even though I felt some of the emotional beats were lost due to quick jokes. I still look forward to following Taika's work and I'm looking forward to seeing where the character of Thor himself is taken too.

7/10

OJ's Movie Review - Spider-Man: Homecoming

A Spider-Man film produced by Marvel Studios; a homecoming of sorts.

So here we are, the third reboot of Spider-Man, the sixth modern Spider-Man film, the sixteenth entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What can I say? It's actually really great! I enjoyed Spider-Man: Homecoming a lot, right from the opening all the way to literally the end of the credits.

   We saw Tom Holland's Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War and there I wasn't too sure on him, he was very different from the film Spider-Men I was used to in Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield but here in Homecoming I really enjoyed him. And it's his difference which is what I now enjoy about him, he really felt like a kid in school and even though we don't see his origin, he's still really new to this. Although I like the previous two adaptations, to different levels, it seemed only after a brief montage did Spider-Man suddenly become very skilled and professional, but here in Homecoming, you can see he's an amateur through the whole film, he makes mistakes, he bumbles about and I really enjoyed seeing that; so for me, Tom Holland is great in the role. Another cast member who was absolutely fantastic was Michael Keaton; his portrayal as Adrian Toomes was so intimidating, never mind as the Vulture, that he is up there with the better Marvel villains, which of course is a common criticism of these films. He really had a lot of great scenes and some very suspenseful ones. The supporting cast was entertaining enough, Peters friends at school were some familiar archetypes but enjoyable ones and Zendaya delivered some lines that made me laugh. Robert Downey Jr. didn't appear as much as many feared and his number of appearances felt just right for a film about Spider-Man.

   Story-wise, I enjoyed a lot; the Vulture had really logical reasons for his actions and Peters arc was well-done with some quite dramatic and emotional scenes. The humor wasn't forced and I'd say the majority of the jokes landed for me. There were plenty of easter eggs and references and actually some of the nods to previous events really felt like you were part of large Universe and it was nice to see how the general public, as it were, viewed the Avengers, similar to how Ant-Man was a smaller-scale story and the villain wasn't looking to take over the world, it's the same here, a nice normalised perspective on an enormous Universe.

   If I had to pick faults with the movie, I'd say one or two bits of dialogue were very expositional in the way of not really needing to be said, and also Spider-Mans suit was a bit Iron Man-like which makes sense in the context of the film but I'd be happy if they did away with the JARVIS-type AI and the heads-up display.

  In the end, you probably can tell I really enjoyed Spider-Man: Homecoming and it's up there with the best of the MCU franchise.

8.5/10

OJ's Movie Review - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

I am Groot.


   Guardians of the Galaxy was a break-out hit for Marvel in 2014 and has since become quite a pop cultural icon. Well, three years later and we return to this crazy space extravaganza seeing the likes of Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, Groot and more once again. And it's these cast of characters that are one of the great things about these films.

  Chris Pratt always seems like such a nice guy and his Peter Quill character is thus an enjoyable one to watch again. I enjoy Zoe Saldana and even though a notable number of her recent roles have been in very similar settings I find Gamora to be the most interesting. But for me, the best Guardian in this film was Drax the Destroyer; he had the best lines and got the hardest laughs from me. The other returning cast did great as well, I can't pick a problem with any of Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan or Sean Gunn's work here; they did just as well as they did in the previous movies with perhaps one or two having to stretch their characters emotionally and succeeding. Newcomers included Kurt Russell which was great to see and he played Quill's father really well, I can believe that the two are related. Pom Klementieff was surprisingly entertaining portraying the childlike gullibility of Mantis and am looking forward to how she'll be used in the future.

  Story wise, Vol. 2 is very different from the first which was great as I don't like repetitive franchises but the plot wasn't as structured. It felt like half the story was focused on Peter and his dad and all that involved but then the writers had to come up with something for the other Guardians to do so paired them off with various characters and had them either sit around or have things happen to them for which they had to deal with. The final third was where it all came together though, as it would, and the climax was, although familiar in parts, visually unique and quite stunning thus making up for any narrative problems. And the Guardians films do have a lot of great visuals which is one of the reasons why I enjoy watching them.

   In the end Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 wasn't as good as the first but I'm definitely not saying it wasn't good. I laughed out loud, it was surprisingly emotional, and having five post-credit scenes isn't as bad as it sounds.

8/10

OJ's Movie Review - Captain America: Civil War

So here it finally is. Since its announcement back in 2014 we've all been eagerly awaiting this Marvel milestone, lapping up every bit of news until today. So, what did I think?

   Captain America: Civil War has been called "Avengers 3" by some people because of the amount of Avengers that star in the film and it's a valid observation...until you see the movie. Somehow the Russo Brothers, with this huge ensemble cast, dealing with the Avengers themselves, adapting an infamous comic book actually make it still feel like a Captain America movie - which is great! I mean don't get me wrong, you see a lot of other characters and I loved seeing a lot of other characters but it really worked well continuing Cap's story that was left off in The Winter Soldier, which I really enjoyed because Bucky Barnes was one of the most interesting things about that movie and I enjoyed seeing him progress here.

  And talking of characters, there were quite a few to juggle about but the Russo's once again did an excellent job of not making it confusing or crowded. I'll just go through a few of them real quick. Captain America and Iron Man were great as always, Iron Man was not always his one-liner quip guy in this, he has a lot of stuff to deal with so it was interesting to see him in that light; now I went into this movie on the side of a particular team but boy if you don't start questioning your loyalties during this movie then something's wrong; there were points being made that actually made me see the other guy's side so I was happy to see both sides presented equally, after all it is a Civil War. Black Panther gets his movie debut here and what an introduction it was, he is a fantastic character who I cannot wait to see again, his motives were solid and clear and his third-party angle to the war made it really intriguing to watch, definitely looking forward to seeing Chadwick Boseman in his own Black Panther film. The two sidekicks, as it were, Falcon and War Machine were great to see again and do a lot more plot-wise I think so it was nice to see everyone used really well. Vision and Wanda were fine in their roles again, I think I preferred them in Age of Ultron for some reason, they just seemed more interesting then whereas here, although they were great to see again, I didn't feel as invested in their characters as I was others. Ant-Man was fun to see too and boy do we see him, I'm obviously not going to spoil anything here but he was definitely one of my favorite parts of the movie. 

  Now during all this Civil Waring there is actually a villain in the movie and for me, he was one of the best villains Marvel have done in their Cinematic Universe; I felt his motives were valid, his intelligence was shown very well and his scenes were just really interesting to me.

  

Just before I get into what I wasn't such a fan of I'll mention Spider-Man. Tom Holland is a great actor and does a great job in this, it was really cool to see Spider-Man interact with the Avengers and see him do his stuff. That being said, this Spider-Man was not quite what I was expecting; I don't read the comics so from just a movie-going viewer with the past five Spidey movies to go on, this incarnation was quite different in the way of how they handled him. I've been told it was the most comic-accurate Spider-Man and the best version they've seen of him on screen so I have no place to complain but for me it was a little jarring to see such a change from what I was used too. But I did of course enjoy seeing him on screen and really look forward to seeing him again.

 Now some things I wasn't so struck on. The first action piece; a battle near the very start of the movie just seemed off for some reason. I don't know what it was but it just didn't flow for me, I didn't enjoy who they were fighting and although it does set up something important a lot of it felt unnecessary. The first quarter of the film I'd say was very much a going from set-up to set-up sort of thing and was a little shaky script wise but the plot eventually straightened and it was great. Another negative I have was that once or twice the CGI was quite noticeable, in some of the action scenes and particularly Vision sometimes it wasn't great. And then something that wasn't necessarily wrong with the film but those darn trailers again. We'd go to one location and I'd instantly recognise it from the trailer so I knew what was going to happen, and that occurred nearly every time they went somewhere else; not all the time mind you, but quite a lot I was already knowing what scene this was leading up to.

  In the end Marvel roll out another blockbuster with one of the best ensemble casts and an investing, emotional story. For me it wasn't the best film they've done but a real strong shot from the Russo Brothers and set's up a lot of cool characters for the future.

8/10

OJ's Movie Review - Ant-Man

Not bad, not bad at all.

So the final film of Phase 2 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Ant-Man; as some of you may know this film has been in production a long time and has had various troubles behind the scenes but how did it end up? Well for starters, the cast is brilliant; Paul Rudd is perfect as this everyman kinda guy who also is a bit of cat burgler, he has some great comedic lines and has good chemistry with the rest of the cast. Michael Douglas is an awesome Hank Pym, he does the dramatic moments excellently and even pulls off a few jokes too. All the other cast were great as well but I do have to mention Michael Peña, he delivers some of the best lines in the movie and is an all-round entertaining character.
  Next I'll come to the story. Much like the superhero himself, this plot is scaled down tremendously compared to the other films of the MCU. He's not unearthing a huge government conspiracy, he's not guarding the galaxy and he doesn't have to deal with an apocalyptic A.I. robot; Ant-Man is a heist movie which takes almost a civilian view of the rest of the world, and that's what makes this movie stand out I think. Of course you get references to the Avengers but this really does feel like a small event we're looking into, like a side mission in a game, and I enjoyed that.
   Being a Marvel movie the special effects would of course be top notch but Ant-Man goes beyond and has some really breathtaking visuals, the shrinking/growing effect is awesome and the shots of Ant-Man when he's small are so photo-realistic because they blur out all the background and it really does look you've entered this tiny world. The action sequences were pretty impressive as well, some of the best in the franchise, because of his powers they used some very clever ideas to make it very entertaining.
  Now for some of the negatives of the film. Mostly the first half; there were some clunky exposition scenes and it just seemed to go really slow in parts; of course they need to explain a lot to new audiences but for some, if you're not that interested or you already know it all then I've heard people call it boring. I for one wasn't bored at all but I did feel the need for the pace to get going a bit. Another negative was the villain; Yellowjacket was fine, he was awesome, menacing and cool to watch but the character controlling it, Darren Cross came across as bit ciche at times and just wasn't generally threatening as a person.
  In the end Ant-Man was very funny, very clever and one of the most unique films of the franchise. Be sure to smile at the obligatory Stan Lee cameo and stay through the credits all the way to the end. I give it...

9/10

OJ's TV Review - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2

Coulson and his team are back! Well, they added some new people and technically one old member left... also Coulson isn't really feeling himself, so... S.H.I.E.L.D. is back!...oh wait.

As you know, the first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was not great, only getting better in the final
episodes; thankfully this season continued on it's path of better quality as it is now actually a pretty decent show.
  Since the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Coulson has collected a few more team mates and is running special little missions as a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. organization; which is cool to see them as this special task-force in contrast to the big shiny S.H.I.E.L.D. we all used to know. Unlike the first season, this one doesn't do the whole different-case-every-week format, I mean it does have those kinds of episodes but for the most part it's story arcs influence the events which makes it flow nicely and very entertaining as the mystery and revelations make it worth it. It of course had a mid-season break so two different story arcs which are connected but still very different entities, both of which I enjoyed seeing play out.
  Character wise, I loved what they did with them. Fitz & Simmons had a great arc exploring the relationship they have, Skye had a huge role in things and was the main focus of more than a few episodes, we got to see a bit more about what kind of background Melinda May had so the original team were excellent. Three new members joined, one of which was Mac, he was good in his role moving the characters to do certain things when the plot needed; the others were Bobbi and Lance, I enjoyed those two a lot and were very well-defined characters. The only people I weren't as impressed with were Coulson, unfortunately he's quite a bit far from the fan favourite when he showed up in the movies, now because he has so many problems and worries it brings his character to a more serious and sometimes uninteresting personality. Grant Ward as well, although was a really cool character to watch, he had an odd story in the second half of the season which I was not a fan of.
  In the end, the second run of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has vastly improved and look forward to it's future!

7.5/10

OJ's Movie Review - Avengers: Age of Ultron

So after a very successful first film in what is a very popular franchise Avengers: Age of

Ultron brings the team back together for another world-saving event.

This time, instead of Tom Hiddleston's power-hungry Loki, it's the menacing A.I. robot played brilliantly by James Spader. And that's what is a really great addition to the film; Spader is such a good bad guy, his voice didn't go through any filters, he did motion-capture for the face so you get all his mannerisms and in an 8-foot robot, that is very effective. The other two new cast members I enjoyed more than I expected too, they did a great job as the enhanced twins and their powers were very enjoyable to watch on screen. Of course our main heroes are always brilliant in their roles and it's great to see them all interact both while battling and in casual situations.
  Plot-wise, it's a very different film from the first, the Avengers are known-all over the world so it's interesting to see what various countries think of them and what they do which they play on well; it also shows that they're not always that invincible, the team gets hit hard in this film more than they have done before and we get to see how they overcome that. All-in-all I really enjoyed the story.
  The only negative things I have to say about the film is that the opening segment lasted a bit long and the final battle didn't quite seem as good as the first film but other than that this is a another fantastic Marvel movie; there are some exciting easter eggs of what's to come and Paul Bettany's Vision is a fascinating addition to the franchise who I am very much looking forward to seeing more of. I give it...

8.5/10

OJ's TV Review - Agent Carter season 1

Marvel's last series wasn't received to well, I think a redemption has come though.

When I heard there was going to be an Agent Carter TV series, I thought that was great because I loved the Marvel One-Shot they did, I think it's the best one. I think the majority of what's riding on this shows success is the lead; fortunately Hayley Atwell pulls it off perfectly as the titular character. You're with Peggy every step of the way and you know she's a strong, independent character who holds her own. Atwell does brilliantly in this role and am always glad to see her in the films and TV series. Dominic Cooper also returns as Howard Stark who is OK, but can never have the charm and charisma of Robert Downey Jr, so he serves his purpose the show but it doesn't bother me that he's not in every episode. Next I'm going to come to James D'Arcy who plays the brilliant butler Edwin Jarvis; we all love Iron Man's A.I. computer and now I think D'Arcy had done extremely well in portraying it's namesake; Jarvis is one of the best characters in the show, he has some great lines, he is used well in the plot and he really does have great chemistry with Carter which is fun to watch. There are some other characters too who filled various roles for Carter to interact with, mostly the other SSR agents who were all well and good; so all-in-all the cast wasn't bad but Atwell and D'Arcy definitely owned the stage.
      Next I come to plots and story arc. Unlike Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. which in the beginning, the majority of plots relied on something which had already been set up in the films and had few original ideas, and also Agent Carter had only 8 episodes thankfully, which negated the need for pointless filler episodes which moved the overall arc more smoothly. So because it all happens before any of the films (except one obvs.) they had to get some good writing; in the end I was intrigued with the mystery and the individual episodes themselves were entertaining enough. The only problem I would say it has was the fact that there wasn't really a specific enemy, no one target; some could argue that there was but he only appeared mid-way into the series and wasn't that impacting. So on the antagonist front, a little weak.
    As a conclusion I will say Agent Carter started off much better than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. it really worked well in the Marvel universe and set up some exciting stuff along with showing us some great characters, old and new.

7.5/10

OJ's Movie Review - Guardians of the Galaxy

I am Groot.

Guardians of the Galaxy. For me, one of the most anticipated movies of the year; it's set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but features characters that the majority of us have never even heard of. I was very excited going in to this so lets review. The basic premise is that a group of criminals, of various degrees, join together to stop a villain from destroying a world, I know, it sounds like a lot of sci-fi films, but that's it! This movie has so many science fiction elements but no where does it ever feel like a rip-off, it is most definitely it's own thing. I'll start with the story, as I just said it covers some familiar ground but it does it so uniquely it is extremely entertaining, from not just a plot view but also nostalgia from the great sci-fi epics you love; you do get a Star Wars feel, and then you start getting a Star Trek vibe and even Indiana Jones for some of it; but because James Gunn does a fantastic job writing and directing it is comprised of brilliantly unique twists and scenes and characters that any comedy/sci-fi fan will love. Chris Pratt as Peter Quill was entertaining, Zoe Saldana was both interesting and fun as an alien assassin; of course the voice work to both Rocket and Groot were top notch with Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel respectively. Even the wrestler-turned-actor was really good in his role as the very literal Drax bent on revenge for his family and delivered some awesome lines. Talking of lines, the dialogue in this movie is the best; the comedy, the tone, the banter it all works, definitely a few laugh out loud moments. Obviously it's a Marvel movie so the special effects are some of the best you're going to see, with mixing huge real sets with visually stunning CGI of space, and worlds and the colours are very pleasing to the eye. The only bad things I've heard about this movie was that it had a weak villain but for me Ronan had a very powerful presence, I feel that a lot of villains in the MCU have been quite weak (with the exception of Loki and possibly Red Skull) but this guy I enjoyed, he felt like a threat. My personal gripe with the movie was only very minor, first off, the beginning had a very dramatic scene and then literally seconds after it went full comedic which I thought was an awkward transition and secondly was Thanos, he was OK in the plot but Josh Brolin's american accent I felt was very obvious for an alien titan and took me out of the movie slightly. Apart from that Guardians of the Galaxy was, and always will be, AWESOMENESS.

OJ's TV Review - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D season 1

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a juggernaut of a franchise; can it translate well to television?

When I first heard that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was being made I was very excited; I couldn't wait to see how they were going to do it. I think nearly everybody loved Phil Coulson in the movies and were sad to see him go during The Avengers; now we have a entire TV series with him as the main character! Even the trailer look promising but that night I sat down and saw the first episode, it was unfortunately one of the biggest disappointments of 2013. I was expecting a clever spy thriller packed with awesome sci-fi concepts and Agent Coulson being cool; instead as the series went on all it was we got was stereotypical characters, cheesy dialogue and cliche scripts. Even a Nick Fury cameo didn't cut it for me. I am a Marvel fan though so I kept with it, I held hope and eventually it payed off. That's right, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. went on a break for a while and then episode 11 aired and this thing picked up. I was interested in the story, the lines were less cheEsy, the action got good. basically from that point each episode got better a better, towards the end I'd even say it had some strong emotion. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for me is a two-way split. First ten episodes were rocky and unentertaining shoving Avengers references down your throat like there was no tomorrow. After that it's a pretty fun ride; good fleshing out of the characters and even the ones tying into the movies didn't feel like it depended on them. After watching the whole series it is Very hard to rate it. After some thought though I'd give Marvel's first live-action television series a strong 7/10 - IT WAS OK+.

OJ's Movie Review - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Wow, now that's a game-changer.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier, film number 9 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a most relevant one at that. The directors, producers and writers all said it was the one that followed most closely to The Avengers and would go almost directly into Avengers: Age of Ultron and all-in-all a big game-changer; they weren't kidding. The movie is unlike the rest, it doesn't quite seem like a Marvel movie most of the way through but rather a really unique spy movie, which it is. The plot is extremely well done, I loved it from beginning to end, very good points that flowed the story and even some twists that pleasantly surprised me. The new characters they brought in were fantastic, the Falcon I especially enjoyed, his character was cool, comedic, and just an enjoyable person to watch; Robert Redford's political character was also on top form although the characters' traits and ambitions I have seen in other movies. Now talking of characters, the movie's subtitle the Winter Soldier was a fantastic, unique character who's life was deep and interesting to watch, the majority may know of his true identity already as Marvel haven't really done anything to cover it up as it is obvious from about 5 mins of casting research, but I felt the character wasn't used as much as I thought; his name is in the title but his story isn't the main arc, he was in less scenes than I expected. Another disappointer for me was that the climax seemed to have a lot more violence than previous ones, not as graphic as Thor: TDW, but certainly quite strong, almost distracting - although that may have been the cinema experience. In the end I thought Captain America: The Winter Soldier was one of the best of the MCU, and even Marvel movies in general. Pure AWESOMNESS.

OJ's Movie Review - Thor: The Dark World

It sure lives up to its title - a very dark film indeed.

So a year on since the Avengers assembled and Loki has been in prison while Thor is making peace in the Nine Realms while the Bifrost was being rebuilt. So after all that is explained in the first 10 minutes we get to the story line which revolves around a Dark Elf known as Malekith and his search/revenge plans. Christopher Eccleston did a very interesting role although after watching I think he didn't own it, other people could have done it as well, if not better. That didn't ruin it though as another, unexpected,  plot point revolves around Loki and the issues of trusting him which make for some very twisty and questionable scenes. I'd have to say I enjoyed the parts set on Earth more rather than in space for some reason, but all in all I liked how it looked although some elements I had seen before in other media. There were of course references to past films as the Tesseract got a mention as did New York. So my final thoughts are this: the special effects were great, the plot was ok but I've seen better, and all-in-all I have the same feel about it as the first, it didn't wow me but neither was I bored, it was just in the middle. I give it an OK+.

 You can see my review of the first Thor by clicking this link: http://bit.ly/1fhRxQU

OJ's Review - Marvel One-Shots (Phase 1)

Just a quick post about my thoughts on the first three Marvel One-Shots that tie in to The Avenger's universe.

The Consultant

The Consultant was a little bonus short film found on the Blu-ray edition of Thor. It has Agent Coulson and Agent Sitwell talking about something they've been assigned to do and how they go about it; the entire thing takes place before, during, and after the final scene of The Incredible Hulk. Even though its only about 4 minutes it has a slight humorous tone and ties up a few loose ends, an enjoyable watch if you can see it as it can be found on YouTube.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer

The second little one-shot from Marvel takes place just before the post-credits scene of Iron Man 2 and follows Coulson's journey to Thor's hammer in New Mexico - purely for laughs but a nice insight to the life of Phil. This Marvel One-Shot came on the DVD for Captain America: The First Avenger, but is also available on YouTube.

Item 47

Now this One-Shot is very different from the previous as it has its own poster and it is considerably longer; it takes place after the Battle of New York from The Avengers/Avengers Assemble and follows a mission for Agent Sitwell. This third one-shot I think was an interesting take on the MCU and I am expecting the upcoming Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D. to be very similar. Item 47 came on the DVD release of The Avengers but you can find a few official clips on YouTube.

OJ's Movie Review - Iron Man 3

Okay, so this review has come a little later than intended, but for a good cause!

 Iron Man 3 is the first movie set after The Avengers/Avengers Assemble and the first movie in Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It of course would be Iron Man as he started the franchise and is the most popular of The Avengers; so, how does his third movie do? Well, I first went to see  Iron Man 3 late last month in 3D and the again tonight in 2D, so it has marinated in my mind a bit and also had a refresh and in the end Iron Man 3 is just..... AWESOME! Yes I love it! The third installment if a brilliant piece of cinema and is just an enjoyable experience to watch. This movie has a different directer from 1 and 2 and you can defiantly see that; its differs so much from what we've seen of Iron Man movies, the story, the settings, the characters; Iron Man 3 has some scenes where your just like "WOW" especially one scene - it was in the trailer - where Iron Man has to save people who have fallen out the plane, that bit there was so thrilling to watch, I like how instead of green screen they used a stunt team with parachutes; you can defiantly see the money was used wisely. The film's story arc, although its nothing quit like you are expecting, did remind me of a few films such as The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible - yes I know, but you'll see where I'm coming from if you watch. And as some of you may know there is a twist in the middle of the movie that will split fans straight down the middle, I myself enjoyed the twist and rolled with it but I know that others will hate it. Talking about hating I couldn't really find anything wrong with this movie but a little surprise to me was the setting: Christmas, yes a summer movie is at Christmas time; it's not a major thing to the plot but it makes you aware of it which I thought was weird  and also I mentioned watching it in 3D - don't bother, I've seen much better 3D at LegoLand, it didn't really do anything for the movie but in 2D its a great watch with great references to The Avengers and of course the post-credit scene, so do go see Iron Man 3 and enjoy every minute!

OJ Reviewing: The Avengers

Yes, where I come from it's Avengers Assemble, but lets go with the rest of the world.

Well, finally! The big one! They all come together and assemble! Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America come together with Hawkeye & Black Widow to take down Loki. I saw this at the cinema (not in 3D) and I really enjoyed it. The way I put the trailer clips together into a story in went completely a different way which I was glad of. I enjoyed how they did it and how they brought them together and how they disagree and then find out they need each other. There are a few twists in this that I really wasn't expecting. The dialogue in this movie absolutely awesome and so funny, more jokes and hilarious quips than I expected which were really good. I'm glad it wasn't really bad and it was the complete opposite as there are no origin stories and it's just The Avengers. Even people who haven't seen the rest of the MCU I think will enjoy it as there isn't much depth and a lot is explained like why the Hulk is why he is and how they found Cap alive; so with very slight back stories and awesome plot I will get this DVD and everyone else needs to too! YES, right now! Go!

OJ Reviewing: Captain America: The First Avenger

The First is the Last.

So, I have to tell you now, this is my favourite ever Marvel film. It is brilliant. It tells the story of Steve Rodgers who is a little person who is defiantly not strong but because he has a good heart he is chosen by an eavesdropper to take part in a military experiment known as: The Super Soldier program!, sound familiar? Well they did mention it in The Incredible Hulk. From then on it is really good with awesome action sequences and one of my favourite villains. The best thing about this film I think is the humour; Tommy Lee Jones is hilarious and some some of the scenes in this film will have you in stitches. I loved every moment watching it. The special effects where really good and the tech was awesome which was powered by the Tesseract which appeared in the post-credit scene of Thor and then the end defiantly said it all; Nick Fury appears and says that line about being "asleep for almost 70 years" and then Steve seems to take no reaction and just states that he had a date. So I do recommend this film to everyone and it is a really good adventure and I really hope the Red Skull makes a come-back because he didn't really die did he?...

OJ Reviewing: Thor

Heimdall is an awesome character! No questions asked.

Thor. Initially I didn't want to see this movie because I thought it was all about magic and stuff which I hate but when I learnt it was in the Marvel Cinematic Universe I thought I'd see what it was like and to my surprise it is mostly Sci-Fi with elements of fantasy. I liked the outer space setting and different planets and that was really good; I liked the humour in this film as it is very good in most MCU films. The other characters where great and Phil Coulson was awesome giving us an Iron Man mention, and then Dr. Selvig references Hulk so that was interesting that they could tie it all together. There were a lot more special effects in this movie as there are aliens and wormholes and all that kinda thing which I like. So in the end It was a good film with brilliant special effects and an okay story.

OJ Reviewing: Iron Man 2

His last enemy was in a robot suit! But this enemy IS..........in a robotic suit. I'm starting to see a pattern.

Iron Man 2! The only sequel in Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Everyone knows who Tony Stark, everyone wants the  Iron Man suit, and some Russian guy is out for revenge. I have to say this is my least favourite of the MCU so far mostly, I think, because you've pretty much seen it before, with the first film; he is still a big-headed billionaire who saves people and he wears an awesome suit (which is nothing bad) but your not surprised by much, you know what tom expect. The story line wasn't bad though, it goes into Tony's past and we get to see his dad (who actually appears in Captain America: The first Avenger) and we get to see Agent Coulson again, Black Widow, Nick Fury, and even Cap's shield! The villain was a little predictable but I liked it and it was the movie where War Machine begins so he can help Iron Man in the final battle and that was really good; but like I said, the reason most probably don't like this much is that you've seen quite a lot of the elements before.