Ranking the Marvel Universe

It's been a while since I posted, and since I've missed out on reviewing the last couple of entries into the Marvel Universe, I figured I'd do what everyone else is doing and rank the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, based on the incredibly objective scale that is my own personal preferences.

Cap Trailer, Thor "review" etc.

There are trailers out for Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past. They both look awesome, and I saw both on the big screen today in front of Thor: The Dark World, which was also awesome, though I think it missed few opportunities. I still call Iron Man 3 a better film. I'm not sure how to fault a story for being character-focused (Thor's major problem). Anyway, Thor: The Dark World is my #2 for the year. It's problem is possibly that it doesn't have any action that's as badass as what you'll see in the 5-minute Winter Soldier trailer that plays in front of the 3D shows... or maybe it did but I've been desensitized by seeing that scene in every trailer.

Finally, Zachary Levi as Fandral

Edit: Now with U.S. version from Marvel.com. German version here. Original: Chuck was one of my favorite shows, so I was pretty excited when Marvel added Zachary Levi to Thor: The Dark World. Now, just a month ahead of release we finally get a chance to see the new and improved Fandral on this German version of the poster (note the alternate title), and he looks awesome. You can check out the trailer over on YouTube, plus there's other posters of Thor and Sif, and others floating around the interwebs. Thor: The Dark World opens on November 8.

My Favorite Moments from The Avengers

In celebration of The Avengers release on DVD and Blu-Ray, here's a blog about the movie that set the opening weekend domestic record. Joss Whedon and Marvel have turned in one of the best comic book movies ever, and I suspect that whether you pick it over or after Spider-man 2 or The Dark Knight depends more on your preference for the heroes involved. Personally, I can only say The Avengers was the greatest movie I have seen in years. Whedon crafted a script filled with humor and the all-important "F*** Yeah" moments that superhero movies thrive on. More importantly, the film lets every character shine, and that, more than anything, is what makes The Avengers work. This is a movie about a team, and not any one character. After the jump, I'll take a spoiler-filled look at my favorite scenes from my #1 movie this year.

Spoilers follow, but it's out DVD so you should have seen it by now.

Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and more movies and comics

Iron Man 3 just started filming, and here's everything you need to know about it. Also, updates on Thor 2 and beyond. Other studios are moving on. Also, GI Joe 2 got moved, supposedly for 3D conversion. but there could be a different reason. It's all after the jump, and depending on the validity of certain rumors just might contain spoilers.

The Avengers: Now with more in-fighting and Scarlett Johansson

The second full-length trailer for The Avengers was released this morning, along with a this new poster that came out yesterday. It's an iTunes exclusive, so you'll have to head over there to watch it until Marvel puts it up on YouTube and I can embed it. A lot of the action is stuff from the Super Bowl spot, but that's hardly what matters. This trailer finally gives a sense of the way Joss Whedon is going to handle the team dynamic, and that, as promised, is going to be just like a family. So we have siblings fighting, mom and dad disapproving, and some weird Arrested Development-style cousin stuff. Basically, it's brilliant. There's a lot more of Scarlett Johanssen and Colbie Smulders' Maria Hill finally makes an appearance. Of course I did more screen grabs, so they are in HD after the jump.

Week Links: Posters, Thor, and more

Still working on the 2011 recaps, so don't worry about that. So this week, it's another collection of links. There're more pictures from The Avengers, a couple pieces of news from Thor 2, a new promo for The Amazing Spider-Man, and a few other pieces of non-superhero movies news, including a film version of one of my favorite musicals. Also, I got a chance to see Martin Scorsese's Hugo, since its star is going to be playing Ender's Game, and I'd heard the 3D was actually well done. Turns out it was pretty good movie (#11 for 2011), though I had some trouble with the tone. Hugo was clearly made as a celebration of film, and made great use of 3D in juxtaposition to the works of Georges Méliès, but it jumped from fantastic to historic and back. Also, Hugo is a family film, so it's a little strange to see from Scorsese, but now I'm waiting to see him make a Departed-style film in 3D. He seems to understand the format better than most other directors, so you will believe you are being splattered in blood! Everything else is after the jump.

Waiting at the starting gate

I'm currently delaying any recap of the 2011 film slate until I can see Steven Spielberg's War Horse. Meanwhile, I've seen Tintin, Darkest Hour, and Sherlock Holmes. They're on the list, which is almost complete. Meanwhile, here's a couple pieces of news, and this picture of Thor and Captain America from The Avengers.

Week Links: Ender, Star Trek, Troopers, Thor

Okay, I was day late with this week's collection of links, hopefully it won't happen again. However, it's been an exciting week, especially if you're into probably unsubstantiated Star Trek rumors. Also random remakes, and problems for the God of Thunder. Meanwhile, I'm reading Micro, Michael Crichton's final work completed by Richard Preston. So far, it seems like a classic return to Crichton's great works.

Week Links: All sorts of awesome stuff

There's so much stuff to cover and I have so little time to do it. Seriously, I've actually had some work over the last week, which makes a nice change from the state of relative unemployment I've occupied since graduation. But in other news, I did make it to The Three Musketeers this weekend. I was pleasantly surprised. I mean, I aware the movie basically terrible, but it was also pretty darn fun. Only time will tell, but it could find itself with G.I. Joe on the list of terrible movies that I watch when I want to have fun without needing to pay much attention. Anyway, I'm putting Musketeers at #9 for the year. I'll probably comes to my senses later. We'll see. Anyway, this weeks links are after the jump.

Week Links: Thor 2, Phantom Menace, and more

Today's link collection sees some news about the Thor sequel, information on that Phantom Menace re-release you were hoping wouldn't happen, some good news about Netflix, and a really pretty awesome scene from one of my favorite sitcoms. And it's been a busy week, so I'll keep this short.

"Avengers" awesomeness

The first real trailer for The Avengers was released today on iTunes. Other than Loki, it doesn't show much of this threat that the Avengers are meant to be fighting, but villains are only part of a good Avengers story, and this trailer suggests that the team's dysfunction will be as important as the foe they battle. I've grabbed a few screenshots. They are after the jump.

"Avengers" videos and Marvel's first short

It's been longer than I'd like since my last post, but I'm writing that off to a busy week and rectifying the situation with some stuff about The Avengers. First off, there's some sweat promo art featuring the entire team and Loki. You can look at them here, here, and here (Spidermedia via /Film). Next, the first Marvel short film, titled "The Consultant" has been released. It features the estimable Agent Coulson and ties The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man to The Avengers. The full short is embedded after the jump, and there's a couple of other videos too, so click ahead.

Dwarves, heroes, and other stuff

The dwarves from The Hobbit are revealed in all their bearded glory, news from Marvel on bringing their heroes to the screen, cool commentary by io9 on a TV show that shouldn't be good, awesome LEGO, and some steps toward becoming Iron Man or Captain America. That right, it's time for another collection of links from around the interwebs.

"Thor" brings a hammer of awesome

Thor is the first superhero movie of the summer and my second most anticipated film of 2011. As of now, it's the best movie I've seen this year. I mentioned before that I was looking forward to Captain America blending the superhero genre with the World War II film. Well, it turns out Thor pulls a similar trick. It's a classic superhero story blended with Lord of the Rings-style epic fantasy and healthy dash of Stargate-style science fiction and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes even one of those genres. Director Kenneth Branagh--yes, the man that played Gilderoy Lockhart--brings his Shakespearian sensibility into play managing the father-son-brother story that's heart of the movie, and isn't half bad when it comes to the action sequences either.

I fully expect Thor to stay in my top 10 for this year. There's nothing conditional about that (unlike The Eagle), and I'll probably buy the DVD as soon as it comes out.

Quick note: If you see Thor (and this goes for all of the Marvel studios movies), STAY THROUGH THE CREDITS. They've raised that 30-second clip to an art form.

There'll be some SPOILERS in the next section, so don't read on if you're worried about that kind of thing.