Posted on Wednesday, July 18th, 2018 by Peter Sciretta
As we prepare for another year at San Diego Comic Con International, I wanted to take a look back at the best moments in Comic Con history. What are the coolest and most eventful things to happen over the last decade while sitting in Hall H? What makes a great Comic Con moment? Lets take a look back at the best comic-con moments of all time.
Posted on Thursday, May 3rd, 2018 by Matt Donato
(Welcome to The Soapbox, the space where we get loud, feisty, political, and opinionated about anything and everything. In this edition: Marvel has no idea how to make death matter in its movies.)
We’ve come a long way since 2008’s Iron Man introduced Marvel Studios’ ambitious Phase One initiative. Ten years, nineteen movies, one sacrificial offering of Kevin Feige’s soul to ward off genre fatigue – but despite critical, monetary, and filmmaking successes that continue to redefine the increasingly iconic Marvel Cinematic Universe, the elemental truth of insufficient stakes remains the franchise’s greatest foe.
Marvel stresses event-level entertainment and exhibits the ability to spectacularly deliver on that promise, proven by my continued desire to witness the Avengers pound tyrant after tyrant into submission. Plucky do-gooder confidence plays into ultimate showmanship, yet it cannot be denied that hero sendoffs are scarce and oddly unaffecting when implemented.
Does death even matter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? At this franchise milestone, I submit that it does not. Warning: spoilers ahead. Read More »
Posted on Friday, April 27th, 2018 by Ben Pearson
Avengers: Infinity War is not only the biggest movie Marvel Studios has ever made, it’s also one of its bleakest. This is not a film that sends people out of the theater laughing and high-fiving. It’s more akin to a cinematic concussion grenade, something that knocks the wind out of you. But it’s not entirely hopeless: the Avengers: Infinity War post-credits scene leaves us with the tiniest sliver of optimism.
Major spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War follow.
Posted on Friday, April 27th, 2018 by Tre Johnson
Avengers: Infinity War opens today, and with it comes the promise of an epic storyline that not only represents the biggest assemblage of Marvel Cinematic Universe characters in one viewing, but potentially some canvas-cleaning to up the stakes too. Any one of the key Avengers team members — Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, in particular — could be sacrificed in some dramatic storytelling fashion.
The avid Marvel comics reader will recognize much of this storyline as drawing from the 1991 “Infinity Gauntlet” arc, where mad god Thanos acquires the powerful Infinity gems (stones in the movies) and uses them to wipe out half the universe’s population in order to impress his muse, the Mistress Death, resulting in an all-hands-on-deck brawl between him and scores of Marvel superheroes ranging from Captain America to She-Hulk in an epic space battle.
Posted on Thursday, April 26th, 2018 by Ethan Anderton
Starting tonight, fans everywhere are going to have Marvel fever as Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters and blows everyone away. The movie is a spectacle the likes of which you’d never dream you’d see on the big screen. It’s full of jaw-dropping moments, unbelievable action, and it will leave you breathless and exhausted when all is said and done.
But before all that, beloved pop culture artist Olly Moss wanted to deliver some adorable Avengers prints that would be the perfect way to decorate your kid’s room. But they’re also cool enough to frame on your wall anywhere in your house. There’s a total of 12 small prints each featuring one member of The Avengers looking cuter than ever. Check them all out below. Read More »
Posted on Monday, April 9th, 2018 by Siddhant Adlakha
(Welcome to Road to Infinity War, a new series where we revisit the first 18 movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and ask “How did we get here?” In this edition: The Avengers is a big party of a movie…and a party that may have changed studio movies forever.)
The Avengers is the quintessential blockbuster experience. No film before or since has resulted in the kind of global celebration that followed in May of 2012, something even its second sequel Avengers: Infinity War may or may not be able to top despite bringing together twice as many franchises. Only time will tell, but time has been kind to Marvel’s first culmination, and not without good reason.
It’s a film that changed the way movies were made and watched, impacting everything from industry goals to the mainstreaming of “nerd culture” and fandom. Its lasting legacy isn’t just the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe, which drops its nineteenth entry into theatres soon (not to mention its seventeenth seasons of television, if you’re a complete-is)t. The mark left by the MCU can be felt in almost every other studio’s failed shared-universe franchises, from Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man spinoffs, to Paramount’s shared film/television Terminator-verse, to Universal’s The Mummy-led Monsters series, and of course, to Warner Bros.’ own superhero crossover world, which all but fizzled out with Justice League.
And while the failures of its imitators are hardly cause for celebration, it stands to reason that Marvel was far ahead of the curve even before its purchase by Disney. Kevin Feige & co. have been doing it right before anyone else was doing it at all. The proof is in the pudding, and the pudding set to perfection at one very specific moment…
This past weekend saw the release of Marvel’s Black Panther and the debut of Michael B. Jordan’s striking new villain. So you know what that means: it’s time to update our Marvel villain ranking.
If you’re still reading, there are two things to keep in mind regarding this particularly ranking of Marvel’s bad guys. One, I’m judging them all based on Personality and Plan Points. How magnetic are they? How stupid is their plan for world domination (or whatever else they’re seeking)?
Two, Thanos isn’t on it because he doesn’t count. He’s not a villain; he’s a Postmates customer with the munchies. I’m sure we’re all looking forward to Infinity War, when he can legitimately join this list.
Posted on Wednesday, February 14th, 2018 by Ethan Anderton
As we get closer to the release of Avengers: Infinity War in May, more and more details about the Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel will come to light. Thanks to the extensive merchandise coming to shelves in the months leading up to the release of the film, these kind of revelations are unavoidable, but we’ll do our best to keep any major spoilers hidden for those who don’t want to be spoiled.
The official Avengers Infinity War LEGO sets have been revealed, and many of them highlight key actions sequels from the Marvel sequel. In fact, a few of them may spoil a few surprises in store for the movie. So if you don’t want to possibly ruin some key moments in Avengers: Infinity War, you may not want to read any further. You’ve been warned! Read More »
Posted on Tuesday, January 30th, 2018 by Ethan Anderton
Before the end of 2017, a huge deal in the entertainment industry was announced with Disney acquiring 21st Century Fox, which meant the House of Mouse would own 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, the FX and National Geographic channels, Fox’s regional sports networks, and a majority ownership of Hulu. The details of this purchase are still being worked out, but there was one result from this deal that had comic book movie fans buzzing, and that was the expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Disney purchasing 20th Century Fox meant that Marvel Studios would again be in control of the rights to X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool, characters from Marvel Comics who were previously off limits from being in the MCU. This has fans fantasizing about when and how we’ll see some of these characters introduced to the MCU, but according to head honcho Kevin Feige, they shouldn’t be expecting those characters to meet up with any of The Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy until after 2019. Read More »
Posted on Tuesday, January 30th, 2018 by Ethan Anderton
The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fanmade productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows.
In this edition, see how some of cinema’s most famous monsters compare to each other in size. Plus, a closer look at how acts are structured in Marvel movies by taking an in-depth look at the script for The Avengers and also take a 360-degree tour of the Saturday Night Live studio from the main stage. Read More »
7/20: The Equalizer 2, Unfriended: Dark Web,
8/10: The Meg
8/17: Mile 22
8/15: Crazy Rich Asians
Future:
