MCU Sunday #18: Black Panther

 

 Preface: As promised last year, I plan to review every single currently available movie in what is known as the  Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) over the year 2024. These will appear in order of their release over that time period. This is the eighteenth installment. (Oh, and by the way, after I've exhausted all of the currently available MCU movies I will be rounding out the year with some of the other available movies made from the Marvel comics pantheon.)

Notes: In each of the MCU installments you will be seeing references to two recurring events that occur in nearly every MCU movie.

Where is Stan Lee?: Stan Lee was the driving genius behind Marvel Comics.  He usually shows up in a cameo.  Sometimes these are so quick you gotta be sure you don't blink. Occasionally he gets a line  of dialogue.

And the Credits Roll: You should always stay in the theater for the credits when watching a MCU movie, because during the credits and at the end there is a teaser (or two) that is worth the wait.  Often they were a teaser for the next installment of the films.

 

 

 

Way back in 2005 a project to bring the character to the big screen was going to be made starring Wesley Snipes.  I imagine Snipes would have acquitted himself quite well if this had come about, since he had already done a quite decent job as another "superhero", Blade, beginning in the late 90's.

Eventually when Marvel Studios began producing their own movies, Black Panther became one of the hopeful superheroes they wanted to bring to the big screen.  He was first introduced in Captain America: Civil War. The mantle of the character has always passed down to the current king of Wakanda.  When King T'Chaka (John Kani) was killed, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), his son was destined to be the new king and thus also the new Black Panther.

Black Panther garnered a lot of accolades over the awards season.  It was one of the few superhero movies  to be noticed by the Oscar committee.  Of course, you may know 1978's Superman won the first Oscar (a Special Achievement for Visual Effects). And, usually, if a superhero movie did manage to get attention it was for one of the lesser awards like Best Sound.  Superhero movies rarely got beyond that level however, and one of the rare exceptions was when Heath Ledger was given the award for Best Supporting Actor. (Not that  his award was not well deserved, but I really think some of the attention was due to his untimely death.  You can argue that point, but I remain convinced of  that.)

The technical and script writing and even the acting in Black Panther surpassed the standard  fare that had been the standard, enough so that it became the first superhero movie to ever garner a nomination for Best Picture.  And in another year, maybe it would have even won.  But it's competition that year included Green Book and BlacKKKlansman, either one of which was probably fated to win the award. (As it turned out. Green Book  walked away with the statuette.)

 

 

 

Black Panther (2018):

The film opens with a little background as the history of Wakanda is told. Millions of years before men rose to become the predominant species on the planet Earth, a meteor made of vibranium crashed into the African lands.  When men started to come into play, the people of the area that became Wakanda banded together and put it to use in creating a technologically advanced  society.  Four of the five tribes banded together, with the fifth becoming an outlaw band.

In 1992, the king T'Chaka (Atandwa Kani) comes to California to confront his brother, N'Jobu (Sterling K. Brown), to accuse him of betraying his country by intending to sell some vibranium to a nefarious black market weapons dealer, and has plans to have him taken back to Wakanda.

In the present, not long after the events which led to the death of his father, T'Challa is preparing to take on the mantle of king.  During the proceedings, all of the tribes resoundingly back him as the new king, with the exception being the outlaw tribe, the Jabari.  M'Baku (Winston Duke), as the champion representing the Jabari challenges his right, which is settled in combat.  T'Challa defeats M'Baku and is installed as king, with the rite of passage that is required; one in which he meats his dead father during the "burial" ceremony.

After he becomes king, T'Challa is tasked with a new quest.  He is required to bring the weapons dealer, Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) back to Wakanda to face trial for his crimes against Wakanda. T'Challa finds out that Klaue is planning on selling a stolen Wakandan weapon on the black market in South Korea so takes a member of his security force / bodyguards, Okoye (Danai Gurira). (The security force is all female and all with shaved heads.  I'd like to have these women on my bodyguard team.  They are damn good fighters.)  

He also  takes his ex-lover (and would-be queen, i he had his way.) Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), who is not only a former member of the bodyguard elite, but has apparently been spending the last few years as sort of a female James Bond.

Where is Stan Lee? 

Before Klaue shows up, T"Challa attempts to retain his cover by gambling, but leaves the table just as 014he has won a bet. Stan shows up a gambler and retains his winnings for himself.

At the casino where he deal is supposed to go down, T'Challa meets up with a former acquaintance. Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) with whom he had an association while trying to t5rack down Helmut Zemo (See the Captain America: Civil War link above).. Of course, you know things aren't going to go smoothly when both forces have opposing goals.  In the ensuing chaos, Klaue attempts to escape and Black Panther and his limited group give chase.  (And we get some of the most destroyed car scenes this side of The Blues Brothers). But eventually Black Panther and ross capture Klaue.  And he IS talking.  He tells Ross that his limited view of Wakanda and its resources are somewhat naive.  They actually have more vibranium than you can shake a stick at.

And Klaue  has a few more cards up his sleeve.  Including some allies who rescue him. But before he escapes he takes a pot shot at the group, and Ross, attempting to shield Nakia, jumps in front of her and takes a bullet. While Klaue escapes, T"Challa takes Ross back to Wakanda where, hopefully, his life can be saved. Meanwhile he noticed that one of Klaue's rescuers was wearing a ring that supposedly belonged in his family.

It turns out that T'Chaka's brother, the one who betrayed Wakanda at the beginning of this movie, had a child with an American woman, but that child had been left behind.  The child grew up,. and is now Erik (Michal B. Jordan), also known as Kilmonger,  who is now at odds with T'Challa (who is in reality ,his cousin), because he is now claiming a right to the throne of Wakanda. He has killed Klaue aqnd delivered the body to the Wakandans, but now he wants to be king. Of course, his claim is righteous, on the face of it.  He wants to give black people the power to rule all over,

He challenges T'Challa for right through combat. and ends up seriously injuring him.. Although many are willing to stay on the tradition route and serve the new king, who is now known as N'Jadaka. But his ex, Nakia, has more loyalty to T'Challa, and with the help of ross and a limited supply of allies, goes to the Jabari tribe, the same ones who challenged T'Challa's right to rule.  The Jabari, it turns out, although they objected to T'Challa's right to rule, have that unknown virtue of respect, since T'Challa spared the life of M'Baku in that original combat, even though it was within his rights to kill him.

The Jabari help revive T'Challa who goes on to challenge the new king.  But now the new king has his own power as the new Black Panther, so it's not going to be easy. Especially since N'Jadaka has that more well-known "virtue" on his side, revenge.  You see, he knows that T'Challa's father killed his father, T'Chaka's own brother.  Hence one of the driving forces behind his real desire to take the throne.

The group do manage to revive T'Challa so he can pose a threat to N'Jadaka's claim to the throne.  

And the Credits Roll:

In a mid credits scene T'Challa appears before the United Nations to reveal the true existence of Wakanda and its technology, and in a post-credits Shuri (Letitia Wright), T'Challa's whiz-kid kid sister helps Buck Barnes in his rehabilitation, so the Winter Soldier is hopefully on a new path.

This has been a very good movie, despite the fact that, like another movie in the series that I genuinely liked, the real slam-bang action is kept far too low for my tastes in superhero movies.  And although many lists put Black Panther as the top movie in the pantheon, that lack of intensity serves to lower this one on my own personal list.  But it is still in the top 5, so don't sweat that.

BTW, gotta tell you, those African names gave my spell check a run for it's money. But we got a couple of great African-American actors on this one whose names are not only familiar, but far easier to spell.  (Forrest Whitaker as Zuri and Angela Bassett as T'Challa's mother, Ramonda).

I wish I had some of those spaceship-like flying machines that the Wakandans have, though.  They are reminiscent of some of the alien spaceships that appeared in other movies in the series.  It makes one wonder why Stark industries, with the intelligence that they had with the likes of Howard and Tony Stark only managed to create a lousy bullet proof shield (Captain America).  But then, the Wakandans had centuries to work with vibranium and Stark Industries only had access to it for less than 1 century...  

Time to fire up the old Plymouth now.  Too bad it's body isn't made of vibranium.  But I won't be traveling in dangerous territory on the way home.  Drive safely, folks.

Quiggy

 

MCU Sunday #17 Thor: Ragnarok

 

 Preface: As promised last year, I plan to review every single currently available movie in what is known as the  Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) over the year 2024. These will appear in order of their release over that time period. This is the seventeenth installment. (Oh, and by the way, after I've exhausted all of the currently available MCU movies I will be rounding out the year with some of the other available movies made from the Marvel comics pantheon.)

Notes: In each of the MCU installments you will be seeing references to two recurring events that occur in nearly every MCU movie.

Where is Stan Lee?: Stan Lee was the driving genius behind Marvel Comics.  He usually shows up in a cameo.  Sometimes these are so quick you gotta be sure you don't blink. Occasionally he gets a line  of dialogue.

And the Credits Roll: You should always stay in the theater for the credits when watching a MCU movie, because during the credits and at the end there is a teaser (or two) that is worth the wait.  Often they were a teaser for the next installment of the films.

 

 

 

OK, first off, according to Wikipedia, Chris Hemsworth had started to get a little bored with playing a straightforward serious Thor.  So with this entry you get Hemsworth with a chance to show off his comedy chops. And I like a little comedy in my action movies, although actually I prefer one liners to actual long extended sequences.  But this film doesn't overdo it, even when the sequence is extended (such as the opening tête-à-tête  between Thor and Surtur)

Thor: Ragnarok:

Thor is a prisoner. Surtur (voiced by Clancy Brown). is preparing to initiate the Norse "end of the world" known as Ragnarok. To that effort, he must go to Asgard and unite his crown with The Eternal Flame.  But since it is being kept in Asgard under lock and key, as it were, Thor tells him  that might prove a bit difficult.  But Surtur reveals that Odin is no longer in charge at Asgard, and the throne is empty: Asgard defenseless.  

But Thor is not exactly a prisoner, after all.  He was apparently just lulling Surtur into a state of confidence in his capture.  He summons his hammer, Mjolnir, and does battle with Surtur and his devilish protectors. (all to the background music featuring Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", which any time you get Zep as the background music, the scene improves 100 fold.)

 

With Surtur (apparently) defeated and his crown in Thor's possession, Thor returns to Asgard to find that Odin is still in Asgard....  Only he is idling and watching a play performed by Asgardian actors (and very pitiful actors at that, but that's not due to the REAL actors in the roles... after all, on that stage you get cameos by none other than Chris Hemsworth's brother, Luke, Sam Niell and Matt Damon.  They pull off the terrible acting with panache...)

 

The "play" is one that is a retelling of how Loki, the hero of Asgard, saved Asgard from destruction... Hmmm.  You know it and I know it and even Thor knows it.  That's not Odin.  The king is a fake.  It's really Loki posing as Odin.

Thor makes Loki take him to where Odin is, but Odin is not where Loki left him (a retirement home on Earth, ye gods).  And while Thor and Loki stand by observing the demolition of the rest home where Odin supposedly was, Loki disappears leaving behind a calling card that Thor finds that leads him to...

Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch).  And the doctor has basically one goal, to dispense with any perceived threats to the peace on Earth.  So he helps Thor find Odin (Anthony Hopkins) on the agreement that once he is found both Thor and Loki will return to Asgard, thus eliminating the threat to Earth that Strange perceives them to be.

 

In Norway they find Odin who informs them that Thor did not actually prevent Ragnarok.  The Goddess of Death, Hela (Cate Blanchett), is on her way and Ragnarok, which had only been kept from happening while Odin was still alive is now imminent.  (And yes, sorry folks, but Odin must make his exit... sorry Hopkins fans...) And one final reveal from Odin before his departure.  Hela is Odin's firstborn, ac sister that neither Thor nor Loki knew about.

 After Odin disappears (in virtually a puff of smoke) Hela makes he appearance. And proves to Thor and Loki that she is one Hela of a woman (sorry couldn't resist.) When she tells them both to kneel before their new queen, Thor decides that is not an option and tries to show her the error of her ways by throwing Mjolnir at her.  But she dispatches Mjolnir to rubble in quick order.  (OK, now we're really getting somewhere with the Thor saga.)

 

She ends up going to Asgard and naming herself queen, leaving behind Thor, who is not  exactly the same man without Mjolnir.  He ends up on the planet Sakkar, and attacked by warriors. 0And he ends up being captured by  them.  But he is rescued by Scrapper 142 (Tessa Thompson) who defeats said warriors and captures Thor for her own purposes.  (Gotta love these warrior women in the Thor saga, they are some real badasses,) And what are her purposes?  She intends to sell Thor to the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) of Sakkar as a gladiator to fight in his battles, known as the Contest of Champions. Basically the same thing as those entertaining battles the Emperors of Rome used to entertain the masses in Ancient Rome, I guess.

 

He is helped to adjust to his new life by a rock man named Korg (played by the movie's director Taika Waititi). Meanwhile, back on Asgard, Hela lays waste to the entire army of Asgardians who are not so receptive to their new ruler. Not exactly the best way to treat your new subjects, if you ask me.  Killing off all your subjects and you rule a world, sure, but rule over whom? Well, for starters an army of undead warriors brought to life from the power of the Eternal Flame.

So ultimately, back on Sakkar, Thor has plans to get his freedom back.  After all, all he has to do is defeat this Grandmaster's ultimate champions and his reward for doing so, as promised by the Grandmaster will be the freedom he wants. 

Where is Stan Lee?

In preparation for his fight, Thor has to get cleaned up. Including a trip to the barber.  And guess who the barber is?  (Man this guy really gets around...)

 

So Thor enters the ring to face the champion.  And surprise, surprise, the Grandmaster's champion is none other than... The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). (You were wondering where he had been all this time, weren't you?} 

 

Although Thor eventually starts to win the battle, The Grandmaster stops Thor from his win.  It seems the Grandmaster is not one who appreciates having to concede anything, especially if it is not in his favor.

Also during this time Thor discovers the true identity of Scrapper 1t seems she is the last of a race of warrior women called the Valkyrie. (And my hopes rise up  that somewhere along the way in this film,  the music will cue of for one of my favorite classical pieces... you know which one I mean...) Thor tries to appeal to her as a former vaunted warrior of Asgard, but initially she refuses to even acknowledge she is a Valkyrie.

Back at Asgard, Hela charges Skurge (Karl Urban) with the task of rounding up all the dissenters to her claim to the throne.  (Author interjection: I liked Urban as Skurge for the most part, but I found his choice of using a Cockney accent for the character a little off-putting.  Every other Asgardian uses a cultured accent for their roles, but he sounds like a dockworker from the  backwaters of London.)

 

Thor and Hulk try to escape from the Grandmaster, and eventually the Valkyrie comes on board to help.  It seems that, as the only surviving Valkyrie who were all defeated at the hands of Hela before Odin cast her into exile, she wants revenge on Hela just as badly as Thor.  Thus Thor forms a group called "The Revengers".

The escape from Sakkar is eminent.  Through a wormhole named "The Devil's Anus" (I didn't make that up... Really.. That's it's name...) Of course, the Grandmaster doesn't like it when he is not totally in charge.  So he intends to do everything within his power to prevent The Revengers from escaping.  The Grandmaster is not really a villain here, he's more like the comic relief of the film.  (And after all, have you EVER seen a movie in which Goldblum was an entirely evil villain?  I find it hard to hate him, even when he is not a sympathetic character.)

On Asgard, the final battle occurs as the sibling rivalry of Thor and Loki has now been replaced with the sibling rivalry of Thor and Hela.  And while Heimdall (Idris Elba) and the rebellion fight Skurge and his army of enforcers, Thor and Hela fight for supremacy on Asgard.  But will Asgard survive to be a realm worth ruling? One way or the other, we get to see a final battle which includes (oh, happy day!) Led Zeppelin's return to the soundtrack.  (OK, I'll try not to let it go to my head...)

 

And the Credits Roll:

In a mid credits scene Thor and Loki discuss whether it is a good idea to bring Loki back to Earth. And a spacecraft appears.  In the post credits, The Grandmaster confronts the revolution to take over Sakkar and proclaims it to be a "tie"... Maybe not.

OK. Final words on Thor: Ragnarok.  At this point it is a fight between Captain America: The First Avenger and this one for supremacy at the top of the rankings.  I haven't quite made my final decision at posting, but both are really good.  You know, if you've been following along this series of posts, that I prefer action over character development, and this one does not disappoint on that level.  I doubt there is anything longer than a 5 minute interval where something cool is not happening, and the battles in this one rival anything in that other movie.

On a personal note; I'm pretty sure that there are many alternate choices to have played Hela and she would have been just as intimidating.  But I don't think anyone else could have pulled off the role of The Grandmaster that Goldblum did.  Even though he is basically just a side story to the actual plot, I enjoyed every moment that he was on screen and was somewhat disappointed when his presence finally came to an end. 

And so, really, the only disappointing part of the film, as I stated earlier my hope, was that the classical piece "Ride of the Valkyries" did not make it on the soundtrack.  Of course, that piece was meant as a battle of multiple characters (it is "valkyries", after all not "valkyrie") so I guess I can give it a pass.

Well folks time to board the spaceship (or it's substitute, the old Plymouth0 and head to Earth (or home, as it were.  Drive safely.

Quiggy

MCU Sunday #16 Spider-Man: Homecoming

 

 Preface: As promised last year, I plan to review every single currently available movie in what is known as the  Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) over the year 2024. These will appear in order of their release over that time period. This is the sixteenth installment. (Oh, and by the way, after I've exhausted all of the currently available MCU movies I will be rounding out the year with some of the other available movies made from the Marvel comics pantheon.)

Notes: In each of the MCU installments you will be seeing references to two recurring events that occur in nearly every MCU movie.

Where is Stan Lee?: Stan Lee was the driving genius behind Marvel Comics.  He usually shows up in a cameo.  Sometimes these are so quick you gotta be sure you don't blink. Occasionally he gets a line  of dialogue.

And the Credits Roll: You should always stay in the theater for the credits when watching a MCU movie, because during the credits and at the end there is a teaser (or two) that is worth the wait.  Often they were a teaser for the next installment of the films.

  

The first thing to note here is that Spider-Man: Homecoming is not an origin story. For the origin of the current Spider-Man you will have to wait until after the MCU Sunday series ends, because The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 are not considered a part of the MCU series. These will appear in the Marvel Movies series that will follow after the MCU series has been completed.  

Andrew Garfield, the actor who had original played Spider-Man in those first two Spider-Man movies' was replaced.  Apparently there were some issues with Garfield and the studio, the best I can figure is that Garfield was not entirely on board with the way that the brass wanted to promote Spider-Man..  A story I read was that was a no-show for a promotional event, which probably wasn't the only issue (otherwise his ouster would seem rather egregious..)

Tom Holland was the next one in line for the role.  And Holland, in my opinion, was just a substitute for Tobey Maguire. His performance is mostly indistinguishable from Maguire's portrayal in those earlier Spider-Man movies. But by the time Captain America: Civil War came out Maguire, at about 40,  was way too old for the role.  But Holland did the part justice, especially as a teenager who is over-exuberant about his potential role as a superhero.

In the tradition of previous entries in the MCU, the studio got yet another big name to play the role of the villain: Michael Keaton as Vulture.  Having Keaton in the role was probably one of the better decisions made by Marvel.  Considering that Parker is a young, inexperienced (read: not-hardened) superhero, he really needed a (somewhat) sympathetic villain, and who else but Keaton (or maybe Tom Hanks) could have pulled that off?

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017):

The movie opens just after the Battle of New York (see The Avengers).  After the Avengers defeated the Chitauri's plans to invade, New York City was a mess.  Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), the owner of a salvage company, is running an operation to clean up the damage. But a government bureaucracy gets involved and shuts down his salvage operation.  (And surely, his wasn't the only company involved in salvage, I'm sure, but then, I guess he was the only one who turned to super-crime as a result.)

But Toomes finds out that all of the Chitauri stuff they got had not been turned over to the authorities, and he decides to use it to make stuff (including what will become known as the suit he uses to be The Vulture.)

Flash forward to the present.  After having been called in to help in the fight with Captain America (see Captain America: Civil War), Peter. "Spider-Man" Parker (Tom Holland) is desperate to become a part of the Avengers. But less important things...you know...things like school, and keeping his role as Spider-Man a secret from his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), keep getting in the way.  And then, of course, there's that whole "I want to be  a superhero", but he doesn't have a clue when his help is needed and when he is just butting in on regular things that aren't really crimes.

For instance, stopping a guy from trying to jimmy the lock on his car with a Slim Jim because he locked his keys in the car, thus not only annoying the actual car owner but setting off the car's alarm and annoying the rest of the neighborhood, too,  Including..

Where is Stan Lee?:

One of the neighbors, who was just trying to get some sleep, apparently, opens up his window and yells "Don't make me come down there, punk!"

 

The good thing is Spidey finally gets to do some good when he spots some guys trying to rip off an ATM. The bad news is the bad guys have some wicked technology that proves to destroy not only the building, but pretty much mess up half a city block.  When he finds the backpack he had his regular clothes in stolen he has to sneak home.  Only to find his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon) waiting in his room 

And Ned, being the total nerd, is stoked that his best friend is Spider-Man. But struggles with that whole "can you just keep a secret identity a secret, dude" thing.  Thus causing some seriously difficult situations... such as causing a girl he really likes, Liz (Laura Harrier), to invite him to a party because she wants him to bring his friend, Spider-Man, whom she is crushing on.  (Because, you know, Ned told her that Peter knows Spider-Man).

But while Peter is changing into the Spider-Man suit on the roof he sees something dirty going on across town and goes to check it out instead.  Where he finds a couple Toomes men engaged in trying to sell some of their advanced weaponry to a small-time hood who really only wants something like a simple revolver, not a super ray gun.

As the bad guys try to get away, Spidey gives chase. But just when he is about to catch up, in pops The Vulture, who wraps him up in a parachute that is part of Spidey's suit arsenal and drops him in the East River.  (Which would be bad enough, even if he wasn't tied up with trying to get entangled from the parachute... have you heard how much a mess that river is...?)

Spidey ends up having to be rescued.by Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.)  Or at least one of his remote controlled suits, since Stark is elsewhere.  And even though Peter tries to explain that he had a handle on it, Stark tells him to lay off the big stuff and just try to be the "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."

Meanwhile, Toomes, still as The Vulture, has some serious words with the guy who is supposed to be "discreetly" getting rid of some of the weapons. Like the anti-gravity gun he left behind at the scene. He shoots the underling, who had been also known as The Shocker, and gives the moniker to the next guy in line, who is now The Shocker (Bokeem Woodbine).

And back on the home front, Peter, who has found the discarded anti-gravity ray-gun is trying to figure out what makes it work. And it turns out it has a tracking device that tells him where the bad guys are. Which turns out to be the same area where his school is going to a Jeopardy-like school function.  And since Peter is the smartest guy in the school, he gets on the school team.

But while he is doing his thing as Spidey, the team has to do their function without him.  After they win they celebrate by going to the Washington Monument.  Where the tracking device, which his friend Ned has in his backpack, also turns out to have some capabilities you don't want in a tall building.  Like turning into a bomb...

Spidey has to show up to save his friends who are on the elevator at the top of the Washington Monument before all hell breaks loose and the elevator makes an unscheduled descent. After saving the day, Spidey, who is gradually learning the things he can do with his suit by trial and error begins to track down The Vulture.  (If you've ever watched the old TV show The Greatest American Hero, you know how much difficulty he's going to have with that whole "trial and error" thing.)

(And hey, BTW, just in case you think I've been a little flippant in this review, I think the whole point might have been to kind of use that old TV show as a template for this entry.  The film has more funny moments than the entire series of MCU movies up to this point.  Which is not necessarily a bad thing.  The MCU could use a shot in the arm at some point.  It was getting a bit serious.  But it is going to get serious again real soon...)

So back at home base, Toomes is starting to get a little perturbed.  8 years without any frustration from either the government or even, God forbid, those "costumed bozos in Stark's tower". And then along comes this red-suited pipsqueak to put a kibosh on his work.  So he has only one choice; kill him.

When Spidey tries to stop the transfer of illegal weapons on a ferry, The Vulture shows up and tries to convince him that's a bad move.  To make his point he uses his own weapons to cause the ferry to split apart.  Even though Spider-Man makes a valiant effort to keep things together, ultimately it requires the help of a convenient appearance of Iron Man. And Iron Man/Stark is disappointed in Peter and takes away the enhanced suit he provided.

So Peter has to resume a normal life as what he is supposed to really be; a high school student just trying to get through the daily grind of life as a teenager. (How boring!)  But guess what?  The bonus is that, by just being a regular kid, he gets to go to the high school homecoming dance with Liz.  But when he shows up to picker her up for the dance he discovers that Liz's dad is Toomes. (geez, from bad to worse.  I mean your would-be girlfriend being the daughter of your would-be arch-nemesis?  That's really gotta suck...)

And because good old dad is driving the two to the dance he gets to chat a little with Peter.  And gradually comes to the conclusion that Peter is actually the guy who has been giving him problems in his illegal activities...  And he tells Peter in no uncertain terms that he'd better lay off or some really bad things are going to happen to the people he loves.  Especially, and make that ESPECIALLY, don't try to stop him from his current plan.  Which turns out to be a hijacking of a plane loaded down with advanced weaponry that belongs to the Avengers.

Without the advanced suit that Stark had provided him, Peter has to go back to his old suit.  Which may (or may not) be up to the task of defeating The Vulture.  The end result is Toomes is captured, of course, but in doing so Spidey also saves his life.

Once again, the ultimate battle in the tradition of superhero movies is the part we've all been waiting for, and the ultimate showdown between Spider-Man and The Vulture does not disappoint.  One thing I'd like to say: of all the villains and their advanced gadgetry that has appeared so far, I think my favorite is the Vulture suit. Although you don't get to see the villain's face when he's wearing it... (at least the comic book version of the Vulture wasn't afraid to let everyone know who he was.  And I do miss that neck line.  Although just before the final confrontation, Toomes is wearing a tufted jacket reminiscent of the comic book villain.)

And the Credits Roll: 

Toomes, now in jail, meets up with a former associate who says he heard a rumor that Toomes knows the secret identity of Spider-Man, but Toomes pretends ignorance.

So where does Spider-Man: Homecoming rank in the MCU pantheon?  I loved the comic twists that appeared in this one.  And as I said way back last year, because I was a teenager when I discovered Spider-Man, he is one of my favorites in the Marvel comics world.  Personally, however, I don't think Tom Holland is quite up to Tobey Maguire in terms of presence on screen.  But he will do for now.  He is definitely more entertaining a character than say Norton as The Incredible Hulk, and somewhat better than Ant-Man.  And thus, Spider-Man: Homecoming gets into the upper third of the pantheon on my rankings list.

Time to get all this spider goo off the Plymouth and head home.  Drive safe, folks.  You never know.  With Spider-Man on the job, you might have to deal with him thinking you are a criminal on the run from the law if you speed...

Quiggy

Hot Time in the Old Town

 

 

 

 

 This is my entry in the 6th Annual Golden Boy Blogathon hosted by The Wonderful World of Cinema and The Flapper Dame

 

 

 

 

The 50's were a different time altogether.  One can look at the average 50's drama and either wax nostalgic for lost innocence or maybe cringe at the closed-minded mores that governed what constituted "polite" society.  I have to admit I would probably have not fit in well in the 50's.  But then again, that stems from an upbringing that began sometime around 1970 (when I would have been 8, BTW).

Even so, those halcyon days did have a few things going for it that you would be hard pressed to find in today's world.  In the 50's people actually did things like give an itinerant bum a meal for doing a few chores around the house. And people did not look askance, and with a touch of suspicion at said stranger when he showed up.

William Holden, the aforementioned "bum", was 37 when this movie was made.  Not sure how old he is supposed to be in this film. For the sake of talking about the character, I'm going to say his character, Hal, is about 25, though.  Hal went to college (but flunked out in his junior year) and did a stint in the Army, and then bummed around for a bit.

But Holden looks damn good for 37, especially when his shirt is off.  According to my research, they had to shave his chest for those scenes.  (Possibly because they couldn't convincingly dye the hair on his chest good enough so it looked convincingly young?)

Picnic is based on an original play written by William Inge, a playwright who had some limited success on Broadway with four big hits, but later in life fell into depression because he felt nothing ever lived up to his first successes. Sad note: that depression eventually led to him committing suicide in 1973. 

 

 

 

 

Picnic (1955):

Pulling in to an unnamed town in Kansas (the opening train scene was filmed in Salina, as noticed by the sign on a building as it comes into town, but most of the film was shot in Hutchison), a train conductor lets Hal (William Holden) out of one of the cargo cars.  Hal tells the conductor he has a bigwig friend in town that he has come to see.  The conductor is, not surprisingly, unconvinced, but wishes him luck anyway.  Hal goes to use a nearby creek to wash up and then wanders in to town.

He sees young Millie (Susan Strasberg) playing in her yard, and while he watches her, the neighbor Mrs. Potts (Verna Felton) invites him in for a meal.  He repays the hospitality by doing some yard work.  Which is an excuse for him to take off his shirt.  Which garners attention from the whole family of girls next door; Millie, Madge (Kim Novak), and their mom, Flo (Betty Field).  As well as town schoolteacher, Rosemary (Rosalind Russell).

Madge

Millie

Mrs. Potts and Flo

Rosemary

Madge has a part time boy friend, Alan (Cliff Robertson), but she also has several admirers, including "Bomber" (Nick Adams).  She has plenty of potential prospects, obviously, but her mother says her time is short.  She only has her looks to snare a man for a short time because it is a quick leap from 20 to 40.  (She is just 19 at the time of the film).

Mom tells her that they made a mistake doting on her as a child, and that she spends more time and attention on Millie because she doesn't want to make the same mistakes.  She also tells her that she should get serious with Alan, because marriage to him, he being the richest prospect in town, would be a good thing for her.

(The idea that a woman is nothing on her own and needs to be married to be important in life is one of the issues I struggle with in watching 50's films.  But fortunately, that is one of the issues that this film addresses and, I think, attempts to dismantle, in it's own way.)

It turns out that Alan is the "old friend" that Hal has in town, so his tale of having a bigwig friend he told the conductor at the beginning is actually true.  Hal goes to Alan seeking out a job.  Hal has dreams of a cushy office job, but Alan tells him if he comes to work he'll basically have to start off small. Like as a laborer.

 At a local swimming hole, all the girls are entranced by this sexy new guy in town.  Millie tells her friends that Hal is taking her to the picnic. Although Millie is only about 15, if my math is right (Madge is 4 years older than Millie), and Hal is not interested in her other than just as a friend tagging along to the picnic, even Millie exhibits some attraction to him.

Mom is starting to get a little put off by Hal.  She wonders how he ever got in to college (it was a football scholarship), and how come the fraternity he joined with Alan pledged him, since apparently in those days fraternities usually had a little more :breeding" in their selection of candidates. (Mom is starting to show her feathers as an elitist, surprising since she is not in such an elitist environment.)

She is not the only elitist in the film.  Alan's father disapproves of Madge because she is from a lower economic class.  But elitism is not the main focal point of the film.  I may or may not be in the minority on this (and it's possible I am getting different signals, since this movie is often described as a tender and old-fashioned film), but I think there are a lot of proto-feminist ideas being put forth, at least in subtext.  The film seems to be saying that the old-fashioned view that women are nothing without a man in their lives is outdated. 

After all, Madge is resistant to the idea that she is only supposed to marry for the advancement of her status in town.  And Rosemary, who is on the verge of becoming the classic spinster and old maid, is desperate to get married. Not because she wants a man in her life, necessarily, else why should she try to latch on to a guy like Howard (Arthur O'Connell), who doesn't seem like all that much of a catch to me? Even Flo, as the mother whose husband left her to raise her two girls alone, seems to be a counterpoint to that tradition in the way she is portrayed.

The picnic scenes include several classic contests, none of which add to the movie in any way, but are apparently needed to convey the old-fashioned feeling of the small town  tradition. (And at least one reviewer I read during the preparations for this blog suggests that the director just took advantage of the use of the extras at a real celebration where he was filming to bulk up the film...)  But as the day winds down, we get a little more insight into the character of Hal and who he thinks he is (or who he wishes he was...) Never having become the man he wants to be in real life, he is not averse to building himself up in the eyes of the people with whom he is hanging out.

But is Hal anymore guilty than anyone else? It feels like everyone else in town is either running from their past, hiding from the future, or both. Alan seems to struggling with living up to his father's ideals Rosemary is, well, worried about becoming an old maid. Millie seems to hide behind books because she has to compete with her older sister who is "the pretty one" ( I kept expecting her to say "Everyone loves Madge. It's always Madge. Madge, Madge, Madge!) and she has to settle for what she can get. Flo has worries about her daughters futures because of the things she went through in her own past.  The only one who really seems comfortable in his own life is Howard..

At the end of the picnic is a dance.  Hal dances with Millie, which causes Madge to become a little jealous and she ends up dancing with Hal. (And James Wong Howe's lighting of this scene is one of the more impressive, because the camera makes the scene look more like a painting than an actual movie scene).  And Rosemary, who is getting drunk, decides she wants to dance with Hal, too.  But Hal rejects her advances and she tears his shirt in the struggle. And when Millie gets sick, and is discovered to have been drinking, Rosemary tries to pin the blame on Hal.

Hal, struggling with his own demons, to be sure, is becoming less and less enamored of this idyllic setting. He leaves the picnic, but Madge tags along. The relationship between Madge and Hal comes to a head, because Madge, like nearly all the women in the town, finds herself attracted to Hal. But Madge's attraction is more than just superficial.  Made likes the way that Hal doesn't make her feel like just a pretty face and nice figure. And the two kiss.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Rosemary confronts Howard, making him come to a final decision over their long-term courtship. She insists that Howard HAS to marry her, and thus, we find that even Howard has his own little fears about the future.  As he he tells Rosemary, sometimes, as time goes on, you become complacent with the lot in life you've been given,, "until it becomes too late to change".  (and thus, for me, Howard becomes the most relatable character, since his lot in life is similar to mine.)

When Hal returns Alan's car, the police are waiting at his house. It seems Alan is a bit perturbed that Hal has been horning in on his relationship with Madge and has filed a report that Hal stole the car (when, after all, Hal has been loaned the car by Alan). Hal has a scuffle with Alan and then runs, but is chased by the police. He manages to elude them and shows up at Howard's house, asking for Howard to let him stay the night, planning to leave town the next day.

There is a (somewhat) happy ending to it all, as eventually, most of the people facing bleak or uncertain futures do find fulfillment.  (Of sorts. Perhaps Howard's eventual change may not have been fulfilling enough for him as it was for Rosemary.  And I can identify with his resignation to go forward even if he was initially reluctant.) 

But that's not necessarily how it was planned out..  Apparently the original Inge play had a grimmer and starker ending,  Note: I got this information from Joe Bob Brigg's phenomenal treatise on "Sexy Movies That Changed History" Profoundly Erotic. Apparently the director, Joshua Logan, wanted a less bleak ending to the film than the playwright, William Inge, had initially conceived.  The play, as originally written, ended with Madge having turned into an old maid herself, rejected not only by Hal, but also having lost Alan's love, too, and is living a life in despair and shame.  This from the days when it was still a Broadway play.

 So some interesting tidbits of information I garnered;

First: Even though Holden himself thought he was too old for the role, he took it, mainly to fulfill a contract he had signed. It was the last one he had to make for the contract.  And he did not like his co-star Kim Novak all that much. And he had such a hard shoot with her, especially the scene where they had to dance. According to my info, he finally asked to be allowed to shoot that scene drunk, because it was the only way he could feel comfortable with dancing, especially with her.

And Novak, for her part, felt she was not quite adept enough for her role.  And it sometimes shows, if you ask me, The director apparently begged and pleaded to be able to cast someone (ANYBODY) else.  But producer was adamant that his new "ingenue" be given the primary role.  I personally was never that impressed with her as an actress.  Even Vertigo, which is probably considered her top performance, just never really clicked with me.

Rosalind Russell declined to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the movie because she felt her good days were still ahead of her and didn't want what she thought would be the death knell for her potential starring roles if she was classed in a "supporting actress" mold. And since at least two bravura performances were still in her future (in Auntie Mame and Gypsy) perhaps she wasn't wrong.

Cliff Robertson was just getting his start in the business. This was his first credited role.  And you know he had a pretty good career.  After all John F. Kennedy himself tagged Robertson as being the best choice to play him in P.T. 109 and he an Oscar for Charly.

But the most interesting piece of trivia I found concerned the woman who played Mrs. Potts, (whom I consider the most likeable character in the film). She had a pretty good career up until her death in 1966.  But one of her most memorable "roles"? Her picture was the one on the desk of Colonel Potter (Harry Morgan), who was identified as his wife, Mildred in the series. And this long after her passing. (Morgan's connection with her had to do with his long term association with Felton in two other TV series from the 50's, December Bride and Pete and Gladys).

I don't consider Picnic to be a true gem of the classic 50's small town life that some critics seem to identify it.  To me it seems hardly a step above Peyton Place, which is definitely not a movie you would associate with being a love letter to life as it was in those days.  But is it horrible? No, not really.  I just come away from it with a different view.

For further review: Previous entries in Golden Boy Blogathons:

The Horse Soldiers

The Devil's Brigade

Bridge on the River Kwai (as well as The Bridges of Toko-Ri)

MCU #15: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

 

 Preface: As promised last year, I plan to review every single currently available movie in what is known as the  Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) over the year 2024. These will appear in order of their release over that time period. This is the fifteenth installment. (Oh, and by the way, after I've exhausted all of the currently available MCU movies I will be rounding out the year with some of the other available movies made from the Marvel comics pantheon.)

Notes: In each of the MCU installments you will be seeing references to two recurring events that occur in nearly every MCU movie.

Where is Stan Lee?: Stan Lee was the driving genius behind Marvel Comics.  He usually shows up in a cameo.  Sometimes these are so quick you gotta be sure you don't blink. Occasionally he gets a line  of dialogue.

And the Credits Roll: You should always stay in the theater for the credits when watching a MCU movie, because during the credits and at the end there is a teaser (or two) that is worth the wait.  Often they were a teaser for the next installment of the films.

 

One of the best parts of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol .2 is the reunion of Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone in another film.  Not sure why Kurt Russell was never cast in the Expendables, although one site said it was because he didn't like the idea of ensemble casts in films. (Sort of like, I guess, "I'm OK with another star sharing screen time, but 6 or 7?  No,  thanks.") Anyway, after Tango and Cash, which was a success at the box office, you would think the pairing might have happened again, but it didn't.

Now, admittedly, this is not the same, since they never appear in the same scene in this one, but to have both in one film again was pretty cool. And, by the way, if you have a quick eye, you might also spot Ving Rhames in Stallone's character's crew of associates. 

 

 

The opening scenes involve a young couple driving down the road, singing along to the looking Glass song "Brandy". as it turns out, the couple is Peter Quill's (Star-Lord) parents, Meredith (Laura Haddock). an Earthling, and Ego (Kurt Russell/Aaron Schwartz), an alien. 

(Author question: Obviously Ego has told Meredith he is an alien, but did she accept it on face value or did he have to show his anatomically enhanced prowess first?)

Ego has taken her to a forest to show here something he has planted, which he says will grow and soon be all over the universe.  (That's some serious reproductive capabilities).

Flash forward to present day.  Our heroes, the Guardians, have been hired to protect some fancy batteries from a inter-dimensional creature called an Abelisk. 

 

Having succeeded in defeating the giant alien squid, the Guardians return the batteries to their employer and collect their reward, which turns out to be Gamora's (Zoe Saldana) sister, Nebula (Karen Gillian).  The plan from there is to turn over Nebula to the Xandars in exchange for a bounty on her.

But Rocket (Bradley Cooper) has stolen some of the batteries for his own purposes.  And, of course, the employers, the Sovereign are not exactly sympathetic and seen forces out to take the batteries back, They need to escape and are helped by a mysterious figure who destroys the entire fleet of remotely controlled Sovereign ships and crash land on the planet of Berhert.

So who is this mysterious figure who helped them?  We don't have to wait long to find out, as he has followed through the portal to Berhert.  It is Ego, who informs Peter that he is Ego, Peter's long lost father.

 

It turns out that Ego is a Celestial, (possibly the only one his kind),  and he created life in order to find purpose in life. (or at least, that's what I gathered,) He met Peter's mother during his quest and fathered him.  After his mother died, Ego hired Yondu (Michael Rooker) and the Ravager's to bring Peter to him.

But Yondu, being less scrupulous, betrayed his mission and kept him. So Ego has spent his life trying to track his son down.  And after hearing that Peter had held an Infinity Stone in his hands without suffering immediate death, he knew that Peter must be his long lost son (because, apparently  only a Celestial, or his progeny, can do that.)

Back on Berhent, Yondu attempts to recapture the Guardians.  But only Rocket, Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) and the hostage, Nebula, are on the planet.  Nebula convinces Baby Groot that she must be freed from her bondage so she can help.  But her purposes are not exactly altruistic (of course).

When Yondu proves to be too sympathetic to Peter, a mutiny occurs and Taserface (Chis Sullivan) takes command, capturing Yondu as his prisoner and executing all of those who side with Yondu.  Nebula agrees to help them, but she wants Gamora for her own, because she wants to kill her sister. And also, she wants to collect the bounty on the Guardians by the Sovereign. Using the Ravagers sense of mercenary tactics, she convinces them to join with her, taking only as her part, her sister and 10% of the bounty.  The money she plans to use to buy a warship to take and fight her father, Thanos, whom she hates almost, but not quite, as much as Gamora.

Oh, and something I forgot.  Apparently Yondu had too much of a tendency to go out on his own, disregarding the edicts of his Ravager race, so he has been an outcast from his own society.  And Stakar (Sylvester Stallone) has been holding on to a grudge against him ever since. 

 

Yondu and Rocket break out of prison and go looking for Peter, while Nebula is also looking for Gamora.  They use a kind of warp drive to get to where he his, passing through 100s of other worlds, which includes one populated by a race called The Watchers (See the Marvel comic book or the TV series What If for more on these guys.)

Where is Stan Lee? 

Stan is on the Watchers world giving a background on himself as says "Well, at that time I was a Federal Express man" (referring to his cameo on Captain America: Civil War, which some people postulate means that he is basically playing the same character throughout the series, only in different guises...) 

 Nebula finds Gamora and attempts to kill her, but wrecks her ship and Gamora saves her.  The two end up reconciling after a heart to heart talk, although Nebula still holds on to her grudge against her father for pitting the two of them together in the first place (and his sadistic dismantling of her physical being to be replaced by mechanical things...)

Ego and Peter have a talk and Ego reveals to Peter his true nature as the son of a Celestial.  But Ego has some ulterior motives that are not revealed to Peter at the time.  Yet Ego's "ally", Mantis (Pom Kiementieff), has a line on what Ego really intends, which she eventually reveals to Drax (Dave Bautista).  Yet Ego does reveal that he has impregnated thousands of women on thousands of worlds, but when the offspring failed to show signs of Celestial power, he had them killed.  He also reveals that he was the one who caused this death of Peter's mother (which of course does not set well with Peter). 

So Peter, it turns out, is not on board with his father's plans to remake the universe in his own image.  And thus the real villain of the film is revealed.  And the guardians now have a goal to prevent Ego from following through with his nefarious plans.  But can a cadre of mortals really defeat a god?

And the Credits Roll:

 In one scene, Kraglin (Sean Gunn, brother of the director James) tries to learn how to use Yondu's mind arrow. In a second scene Stakar addresses some allies reuniting the Ravagers. In a third(!) scene, the leader of the Sovereign has created a new A.I. which she hopes will be capable of destroying the Guardians.  And it yet even another (fourth!) post credit scene, Peter admonishes a now teenager Groot for having such a messy room.

 

The final solution may (or may not) be satisfying. Personally I think it was too easy, considering that he is indeed one of the most powerful villains to appear in the franchise. Of course, if they didn't defeat him it would still be an ongoing battle even now.  As much as I liked the interaction here, though, I have to say that Vol 2 is not in the top 10 of my favorites (even now with only 15 movies reviewed.) It remains to be seen how long it stays as far at the bottom it is, however, since I am only ranking these upon this cycle of viewings.

Time to fire up the old Plymouth and head home.  I sure am glad I don't have to pass through 700 dimensions before I get there.  Drive safely, folks. 

Quiggy