Marvel

REVIEW: X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

When the world’s first mutant Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) re-emerges after thousands of years, the X-Men must unite to defeat him and his plan to destroy all of humanity.

X-Men: Apocalypse see’s the return of Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and his students. There’s many familiar faces including Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Alex Summers/Havok (Lucas Till) and Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver (Evan Peters) as well as a host of new students. These newer characters, playing younger versions of characters we’ve seen before, all fit in well with the action and do a good job – especially Kodi Smit-McPhee as a young Nightcrawler. Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) also returns and she plays a bigger role and is on a different side to the one you might expect.

Quicksilver steals every scene he’s in. Much like in Days of Future Past, there’s a scene in X-Men: Apocalypse which really shows off his power and it’s both funny and exciting. Plus, he bounces off a lot of the other characters well and brings a level of humour to an otherwise potentially very grim movie.

X-Men: Apocalypse is surprisingly violent comic book superhero movie aimed primarily at kids. There’s scene where characters get brutally beaten and there’s a lot of blood, there’s what could be described as body horror with Angel (Ben Hardy) and overall it’s definitely the darkest and goriest X-Men movie to date. It is jarring and disturbing to see though it does the job of showing how powerful and threatening Apocalypse can be.

While Apocalypse is sometimes an opposing figure, he is not a terrifying villain. His four horseman, bar Magneto (Michael Fassbender) who gets another tragic backstory, are seriously underdeveloped. Angel’s character is non-existent and Psylocke (Olivia Munn) is given little to do, Storm (Alexandra Shipp) fares only slightly better as you encounter her before she becomes a disciple of Apocalypse.

X-Men: Apocalypse is an entertaining film, it’s gripping and exciting but it’s the heroes you find yourself more invested in than an average villain. 4/5.

I Love My Framed Prints

I moved into a new place recently and one of the things I was most looking forward to was that in my bedroom there was one completely empty wall I could do anything with. So naturally I wanted to get my various fandom-related pictures, posters and prints framed and hung on the wall. I absolutely love how they all look so I just had to brag about them, but I will be nice and share where I got them from so if any get your fancy you know where to go.

The two canvases, the Avengers one and the Rey one came from B&Q. I went there with my mum to get paint and wallpaper, you know actual DIY supplies, and then I saw the canvases they had on sale. There were a bunch of Marvel, DC and Star Wars canvases along with the usual nature and cityscape ones and I just couldn’t resist. (more…)

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY: Characters You Are Most Like

Top 5 Wednesday is a feature created by GingerReadsLainey and hosted by ThoughtsonTomes. To find out more about Top 5 Wednesday and the upcoming topics, check out its Goodreads page. This week it’s all about the characters you are most like, whether it’s just one element of their personality that’s similar to your own or all of it.

Clint Barton/Hawkeye – Marvel
I have a lot of personality traits similar to Clint Barton, I’m often underestimated and have a weird sense of humour. But the main is, like Clint Barton, I often don’t make it obvious that I’m smart. While other people would be showing off I, like Clint, am happy to get on with things and if I surprise people with how much I know on a certain subject then OK.

Hermione Granger – Harry Potter
Just like Hermione, I love to read. Whether it’s huge non-fiction books about something completely different to what I’d normally read, or some fun chick-lit or a comic book, I love discovering new books.

Edmund Pevensie – The Chronicles of Narnia
Edmund is a bit of a black sheep in his family and he doesn’t always feel like he fits in. I know that feeling, though mine is more when it comes to friends and groups of people than my family, and I guess we all do sometimes.

Mia Thermopolis – The Princess Diaries
The only way Mia can really explain how she feels or what’s going on in her head is in writing, that’s very much like me. I always find it easier to get my feelings down in writing rather than saying them to someone’s face.

Elizabeth Bennet – Pride & Prejudice
Elizabeth is fiercely independent and likes to speak her mind. While I might not always feel confident to speak my mind all the time, I do sometimes and I definitely am an independent person.

REVIEW: Captain America: Civil War (2016)

After a string of dangerous and deadly missions that put the public at risk, the Avengers are told they must be regulated by the U.N. While Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) agrees with these measures, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) doesn’t trust them. This causes a divide between the team that’s only exasperated when Steve’s best friend and former assassin Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) resurfaces.

Anthony and Joe Russo return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the way they put together this film is great. The action sequences are well-shot, there’s only a few instances of shaky-cam and most of the time fight scenes are framed in a wide shot so you can see exactly what’s going on. Also the way they manage to film multiple characters fighting but you never lose focus of where each character is and what they are doing is truly commendable.

A big part of the film is obviously this conflict between Steve and Tony and the sides various characters choose. The great thing about Captain America: Civil War is that you understand why these characters disagree and as the viewer you can see it’s not black and white and there’s pros and cons to both sides of the argument. At the beginning of the film there’s a sit down discussion between a lot of the characters and you get why the stakes are so high and what these regulations mean to them all.

The tension builds between all the characters as the film progresses and in many ways it’s similar to a Bourne thriller as characters go on the run and try to figure out the truth. While I won’t go into any depth of the different characters motivations, I can’t not mention Prince T’Challa aka Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). He is a guy who has the weight of a country on his shoulders but he is still fallible. He isn’t particularly on anyone’s side, he is on his own side and it makes him an interesting third party to this conflict. Civil War gives Black Panther a brilliant introduction and there’s going to be many people excited about his solo film.

There are a lot of characters in this movie but thanks to a great script, they all get their moment in the spotlight though some may have that moment longer than others. Really while Civil War is in a way both a sequel to Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, at the heart of it, it is a Captain America movie. It’s the relationship between Steve and Bucky that drives a lot of their character motivations, and the motivations of a lot of the characters around them. the two of them are the heart of the film and it’s a good job Evans and Stan have such a good understanding of their characters and give such great performances because if they didn’t, Captain America: Civil War really wouldn’t be as good as it is.

Captain America: Civil War is a phenomenal film. While there’s all this conflict and amazing action sequences, at the heart of the film is the characters and their relationships. It’s what drives the plot and makes the film so great. 5/5.

P is for Peggy Carter

Peggy Carter is a badass. There’s no two ways about it, she’s smart, resourceful and can throw a punch.

Peggy may have been a love interest for Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger but she was always capable of looking after herself and she saved Steve just as many times as he saved her. Through having her own TV Show and having cameos in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, Ant-Man and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, you get to see how Peggy is a well-rounded character with flaws and how she can be feminine and kick ass at the same time – something that “strong female characters” aren’t always allowed to be.

While Peggy has been in the army and is now a spy so she’s had working relationships with men, some which are great and full of respect and some which aren’t respectful at all, it’s the way she can work in this man’s world but still have great relationships with women that I really love. There’s that thing that girls do (I admit, I’ve done it myself) where they say “I’m not like other girls and I prefer spending my time with boys because girls can be so bitchy” and Peggy Carter shows that doesn’t have to be the case. Yes she can fight which is a bit different to most female characters we see in her world but she still has great friendships with Angie, a civilian waitress, and Rose, a fellow agent who people underestimate because of how she looks.

Peggy Carter is awesome because she works hard and loves to prove people wrong but she can be stubborn and act rashly. She is a good person and a good spy but she still makes mistakes.

I love the fact that Peggy Carter has gotten her own TV show and I have my fingers crossed we will be getting a season three because how on earth can they leave it after that cliff-hanger in the season two finale?!

M is for Malcolm Ducasse

Malcolm Ducasse is a wonderful character. When you first meet him he’s the junkie who accidentally breaks into other people’s apartments when he’s trying to find his way to his own place but he ends up being so much more than that.

Malcolm is one of those characters that you think is going to be the butt of the shows jokes. When he breaks into one of his neighbours apartments it’s often seen as a comedic moment but as the show progresses and you find out why he’s such a mess it’s kind of heart-breaking. Malcolm does have some of the best lines though.

Malcolm is a really observant guy and because he seems like a joke and a mess people often don’t give him a second glance which allows him to pick up stuff about people. Malcolm is a sweet, caring person that has had some bad stuff happen to him. His friendship with Jessica Jones is amazing because in many ways they are complete opposites but they balance each other out and still care about each other a lot.

I just want to give Malcolm a hug!

J is for Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones man. God she’s messed up and bitter and she has every right to be. She suffered a horrendous trauma but managed to come out of it with a bit of PTSD and an attitude where she won’t let anyone control and take advantage of her like that again.

Jessica is a sarcastic, cynical and sharp-tongued private investigator. Her methods are often unusual and she’s not afraid to throw a punch when cornered. Jessica’s “superpowers” are the fact she is incredibly physically strong and she can also jump great distances. Really though, I think her superpower is that no matter how tough things might be and how sometimes she really does feel like giving up, she still fights.

She’s a badass that still gets hurt, both physically and emotionally, but she works through it. Admittedly the way she works through it might not be the best way to do it, it often features a lot of whiskey and breaking things, but people cope in different ways and she has her best friend Trish Walker to help her, when Jessica lets her that is.

I’ve only seen the Jessica Jones Netflix TV show which I absolutely adored but I do really want to read the Alias comics because I need more Jessica Jones in my life.

F is for Frank Castle

Frank Castle aka The Punisher isn’t exactly a good guy, but you could say he does bad things for good reasons. Basically he kills people, but they are people who are murderers or rapists and who have often escaped justice so Frank dishes his own brand of justice. Frank is a vigilante who does whatever he can to take on criminals and his history in the military means not only is he comfortable in using a wide variety of weapons but he is also a tactical genius and is a master of martial arts.

Frank Castle is definitely an anti-hero but that’s what makes him so compelling. The first time I came across Frank was in The Punisher (2004) which I thought was an OK film and it got me interested in the character (have to say I love the scene where Frank has a bow and arrow), then I watched Punisher: War Zone (2008) which was brutal but brilliant. Now Frank is in the latest series of Daredevil which I’ve yet to watch but I can’t wait to see what he’s like in it – fun fact, I have only watch the first episode of the first series of Daredevil and don’t really care much about Daredevil as a character but the fact that Punisher is in the second series really makes me want to catch up.

I’ve now read some of The Punisher comics, mainly the series by Nathan Edmondson and Mitch Gerads which I loved. I love the art style and it was a great insight into Frank’s character and the fact he does care about people even though he tries hard not to. He sees things as very black and white – you’re either good or bad and he treats you accordingly, he can be terrifying but there’s something strangely reassuring about Frank Castle.

To get an introduction to Frank Castle, one of the best places you can go is watch Dirty Laundry, a fan-made short film that is really great.

B is for Clint Barton

I have a lot of emotions about Clint Barton aka Hawkeye. If you’ve been on my blog before or follow me on Twitter you probably already know that because I have semi-frequent freak outs about Clint Barton and how much I relate to him.

Obviously there’s a lot of different interpretations of Clint Barton in media, there’s animated TV shows, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and of course the comics. The first time I came across Clint Barton was in the awesome Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes TV series and I immediately fell in love. I’ve now gone on to read Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye comic run and various runs of Secret Avengers that feature Clint and of course the movies and I just love him a ridiculous amount.

There are many reasons I love Clint Barton but really it’s because he’s just a normal human who is very skilled at what he does and is a hero but he also makes mistakes and is sometimes a bit of a walking disaster. Clint always tries his best but sometimes life gets him down, he is after all just a normal guy running around with the Avengers. Clint is loyal, funny, self-deprecating and he is also a lot smarter than he appears to be. He sometimes keeps himself closed off but when he does trust and care about you he’ll do anything to protect them.

I think one of the reasons I will always want to protect Clint Barton when someone says he’s the most useless or boring Avenger, is because I see a lot of my personality in him and relate to him a lot – seriously, I always get Clint Barton in “Which Avenger are you?” quizzes. Clint Barton is just a guy with a bow with a terrible past, who tries to do the right thing but doesn’t always succeed – because he’s human – and he’ll always be one of my favourite characters.

TRAILER REACTION: Captain America: Civil War

civil war poster elenasquareeyes It’s been ages since I’ve done a trailer reaction – probably since the last Marvel trailer came out to be honest – but when I watched the first Civil War trailer, it got me so excited for the film that I had to just word vomit my thoughts.

I shall preface this by saying when it was first announced that the next Captain America film would be about Civil War I wasn’t that happy/a bit apprehensive because I’ve read the comic of Civil War and that as much more far-reaching than a Marvel Cinematic Universe film could be because it has all the superheroes, not just the ones that Marvel/Disney own. Also the shift to Tony Stark siding with the government after all his mistrust of SHIELD and authority in general seemed a bit strange to me plus I didn’t necessarily want Iron Man taking over a film that’s supposed to be Captain America’s.

But! After watching the first trailer I have to say pretty much all my fears have been put to rest and I’m now loving the look of this film and I can’t wait till May.

Captain America: Civil War looks like a deeply personal film for Steve Rogers as really all he cares about is his best friend Bucky and wanting to protect him now that Bucky is starting to remember who he really is. Captain America: Civil War still has the feel of The Winter Solider, it still feels like a political thriller but with superheroes and this great friendship at the heart of it. It feels gritty and real without being too depressing and the final wide-shot of Bucky and Cap beating the hell out of Iron Man was both an incredibly shot and actually kinda sad – things I didn’t think I’d get from watching this trailer, feeling sorry for Tony Stark. (more…)

Elena Square Eyes

Thoughts of a film fan, reader and geek