Capt Marvel & Wonder Woman ... Is It Just Me?

Once again I feel conflicted with a superhero movie. At least this time my post isn't another bash of Superman because I so don't want to go back down that rabbit hole of crazy DC fans. However ... this Marvel movie, to me, didn't hold up to the enormous anticipation and hype that it received.

I can just picture my hubby's friend Alex giving me crap for this post, his eyes are rolling and he's shaking his head laughing at me for what I'm about to say. I swear I am not anti-women, I promise! But I just somehow cannot get on the bandwagon that 98% of the others in the female gender get on. Yes I love women empowerment and yes I love equal rights but I just ... ugh ... I did not feel like this movie was 'All That' for women.

Let me back up a bit and start with the meat and potatoes of the movie.

Overall I give this movie a solid B+/A-. I was not blown away by the movie. I believe I've said this before but I hold all movies to the same standard. The first superhero movie I was blown away with was Batman Begins with Christian Bale. I go into each and every superhero movie comparing it to that moment when I left the theater after Bale's performance that made me have that feeling of being blown away.

That did not happen in this movie. Much like Wonder Woman was for me I felt it was over hyped, just because it was a female lead, and we need more of those.

Overall I thought the acting was great, I really loved the lines and Jude Law was great, IMO. I think the plot was well developed and from start to finish I stayed engaged in the movie and never once was I bored. Now, Jude Law won't take the place in my heart as bad guy fav, Loki will always hold that, but his character I really did enjoy.

That being said, I just thought it was 'okay', it wasn't amazing, it wasn't Oscar winning, it was just a good movie. Now the soundtrack, that was my jam!

Sometimes I worry that there must be something wrong with me because these 'women' driven movies just don't do it for me. I am not the type of strong female who believes I can do EVERYTHING a man can do. I would make a horrible construction worker, I can't lift 100 pounds consistently. I wish I could pee standing up at ease while camping. I can't do a lot of things that men can do, and men should do. We have different roles for a very good reason. But this is a rant for another day.

However, I don't really feel like Capt Marvel or Wonder Woman for that matter, were shoving down our throats a feminist agenda. I felt like both movies were balanced and while they had female leads they weren't anti-men. Both movies had male co-stars to help their story along. I loved that part of both movies because I know for me, I do need a man, my partner! That's why I got married.

Both of the movies were good for any movie standard. Now WW on the other hand compared to almost all of the DC movies was by far one of the best. (My Fav order is the 3 with Bale then WW) I really need to do a podcast with Alex over this stuff to explain myself better. But CM just did not blow me away. It is one of my least favorite Marvel movies

I did a Google search to see if it was 'okay' to not love CM. Good to know it is allowed.

It would be easier to talk about it in a not so favorable light if the acting or writing had sucked but it's a Marvel movie so you know it was top notch on those aspects.

Sorry I know I am rambling and probably not making a lot of sense with how I felt about these two movies but either way, I do think what they are doing for women is a great thing. Specifically the younger women of this world.

The best part of both of these movies was my daughter Sierra. The look in her eyes as she watched these characters becoming strong and invincible gave me hope for her, hope she can have her own hero to look up too. But I don't think there is anything wrong with girls looking up to Batman, Superman, Iron Man or Thor as awesome people too.

I truly think that we put to much into these fake characters as 'hero's'. Teachers, police officers, doctors, MOTHERS & FATHERS should be the real hero's in the young generations lives. But that's a rant for another time.

Obviously this isn't a review ... but just a compilation of thoughts on where the direction of movies and our society may be going.

Infinity War had me in tears, that movie blew me away. Part of me is annoyed that now this chick, someone we have only had in our 'theatrical lives' for a couple months, is going to come and save the day. When The Guardians & The Avengers have been with us for what, hell, over a decade? No offense to Carol Danvers but she just came to the table and now she is going to save the world? Kinda annoys me.

What about Black Widow, her and Hawk Eye should have their own movies .. maybe they couldn't carry a full 2 hours alone but still ... This chick is new to the scene and now she's going to steal the show.

Like I said I know this is a very odd blog and I'm sorry, Alex don't come down to hard on me! You and Tony can, I'm sure, come up with many reasons I am wrong and I look forward to that discussion later on. But for now ... I'm just disappointed at how the feminist way of things is putting so much pressure on these female lead movies. There is nothing wrong with ensemble casts & there are women already in the Marvel world that would have been great to have save the day, not this new chick to the story.

And yes I realize if I read the comics then she wouldn't be 'new' she would already be part of my world. But I am not a comic reader I am a movie go-er.

So that's my two cents for this week ... Hope I don't end back up on those shit lists from the Comic Lovers again ... although that was a fun summer ... so ah well if it does happen.

You know what superhero I really miss ... Hugh Jackman. #BringBackWolverine ... 

Avengers: Infinity Wars - Movie Review

I just want start off by saying, WOW, Holy Shit, WTH!!! I mean, WOW.

I am going to do my very best to give nothing away but I know there are a few things I was expecting going into this movie so I am going to mention them. If you were not expecting them then, I’m sorry.

Hell I don’t even know where to begin because dang it had so much in it. This movie seems to pick up where Thor ended with Asgard being destroyed and his people fleeing. It was such a powerful opening scene I didn’t think that the entire film would carry that strength through each minute of it.

I honestly don’t think there were any points where I was bored or thinking it needed to move faster. There were a lot of great one-liner moments. I will forever be a Loki girl, I just love him. But I am a sucker for a good bad guy.

One of the great parts about this movie is it really does tie in all of the movies into one solid story line. There wasn’t any parts of the movie that felt like certain characters weren’t getting enough screen time. It was pretty well divided up.

I went into the movie expecting either Iron Man or Captain America to die. I even joked with my husband ‘do you want to bet’ on which one it is. The reality of the actual loss in the movie was so painful. My kids, 16 and 13, were with us and my son, god love him, was in hysterical crying and my daughter had tears streaming down her face. Had I not been comforting my son and reassuring him that it was just a movie and fake I would have been crying too. It had such an emotional pull at every heart string.

My husband reassured me that in the comics there are ways for things to be reversed and that brought comfort knowing that maybe, just maybe, the ones we have come to love over YEARS of our lives of devotion won’t be gone for good. Sometimes I love that he knows the comics and knows what’s coming up next, or that it is truly playing out the way it is supposed to.

Man, it has been about 12 hours since my family walked out of the theater and I still feel it reeling inside of me.

Marvel does such a fantastic job with their movies. I don’t know why they can do such amazing theatrical films and others cant but I am so glad to have it to turn to some days to remove the boredom of daily life.

Obviously I am giving this a 5 Star Review. This is probably easily the best movie of the year. I wasn’t a fan really of Black Panther, it just, didn’t do it for me. But after seeing how Wakanda participated in this chapter of the story I can now appreciate what Black Panther’s movie was doing much better.

Fantastic job Marvel, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt and the entire cast. You all just amazed me.

Stephen King's Movie Adaptation: IT

Hey there ... Today's review is going to be in the form of an approx 120 second review podcast.

Love to hear your comments on what you thought of the movie too.

Talk soon everyone!

4.5 Stars from me!

 

Movie Review: The Dark Tower

You know how you sometimes wonder what it's like to be an actor standing around between scenes just horsing around for no reason, that's what this movie was ... unfortunately.

I first want to say, I am not exactly 'sold' on the Dark Tower novels, I have issues with the novels thus far and I am only starting book 3 tonight. So that being said I went into the movie theater hoping that maybe the movie might be better than the book. Because let's face it, there was as shit ton of walking in book 2 and that just got under my skin.

Anyway, I am not sure what the Director/Co-writer Nikolaj Arcel was thinking when he jammed these novels into 95 minutes of nothing. Not one scene was entertaining. My husband just said "I was more entertained by Captian Underpants." Seriously, this film took movie adaptations to an all time low.

How on earth can you have two amazing actors like Academy Award Winning Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba and give them nothing, and I mean NOTHING to work with? Men full of talent and you leaving them just aimlessly passing through the night. It was such a pointless movie and I am sure there will be the one or two, and I legit mean one of two, people out there who loved it, this Stephen King fan and her husband certainly did not.

As an author I was outright mortified at seeing someone's work bastardized like this movie was. As a fan I was saddened and let down that King would allow anyone to ruin his work to this degree.

I won't let this stop me from continuing on with reading the series but this movie certainly wins for least favorite movie of my 34 years of movie watching.

Save your money ... don't waste it on this one. I can't even give it 1 star because there was absolutely nothing redeeming about what they did to these novels.

And even if i hadn't read the books, looking at this as just a movie goer, I still shake my head and wonder what in the hell did I just watch for 95 minutes.

I hope the next King book to get screen time has a better writer and director.

Razzie Award here you come The Dark Tower ... at least you may win something this season.

Signed - a disgruntled reader.

Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - A Review of the movie...


Last night (Opening Thursday) I took my two kids with me to see this movie at my favorite spot, Movie Tavern. I have been looking forward to this release ever since I heard about the movie being made. Especially since I hated Superman so much in 2013.

Fans of this blog may remember that when Superman: Man of Steel came out my hubby and I received early release passes and I posted my review and the 'nerd' community ripped me apart for my opinions.

Last night after this movie was over I instantly wanted to hop on my blog and post my thoughts but memories of those cruel comments and attacks on a multitude of websites due to this previous review kept me from reliving that moment. (To read that 3.5 Star review of MOS please click here.)

Well I've woken up from a sleep and my opinions are still on my mind so to hell with all those haters I am going to post what I think!

Please beware this review contains a lot of spoilers and if you wish to not read them please stop at this point. Continuing to read is acknowledging you will not attack me for spoiling things ...

Overall I am also giving this movie a 3.5 Star to match it's Superman brother. Like before I will run through the good, the ehh and the bad. I just ask that everyone please remember this is America and yes I am allowed to express my opinion, even if the rest of the world disagrees with me. So try not to rake me over the coals this time.

Although I will add ... after I posted my review in early June 2013, Kevin Smith came out with extremely similar comments to my review and people still loved him so ... there ya go!

The Good:
The opening of the movie was very well laid out. I enjoyed the 'action scenes' that showed what was going on to Bruce Wayne during Superman and the Kryptonian's fight scenes. Honestly I thought those were the best action scenes of the movie. While I know that it was all CGI, there was very little CGI feel to them. Ben Afleck played a good Bruce Wayne. An aged Bruce Wayne. Now like before my knowledge of the comic core material isn't as sharp as my husbands but my memory of The Dark Knight trilogy is. And I really liked that it appeared they continued on that path that was already set up. Meaning Wayne Manor was still in ruins from when it burned down in a previous movie.

I think Jesse Eisenberg's performance of Lex Luthor was very good. I enjoy the bad guy castings usually in the Batman movies so this did not surprise me. He played an eccentric man who turned crazy quite convincingly.

I did however love that Batman, a human, kicked Superman's ass. (Not the scenes and plot but just that it happened). As I am team Bat this made me extremely happy. It was good to see one wish come true in the movie. So yes, even gods can fall!

The Ehh:

The love romance between Clark and Lois (Played by Henry Cavill and Amy Adams) was not full of heat. It was two actors saying lines. I personally love Amy Adams usually so this was disappointing. I think in the MOS movie she had more emotion than in this one. Some of that could be this movie was split between two leading men so her screen time was cut as a result.

The kidnapping of Martha - I thought Lex's plan was good but the acting delivery, lines, scenes, etc was ehh. Wasn't horrible. This fight sequence when she gets rescued was just alright. It did make me miss the days of Christian Bale as Batman.

The Bat Branding ... I don't know how I feel about this. I LOVE that they show Batman really isn't a 'good guy' in this sense and he does kill people, but the branding? I think in some ways we kinda went to far. But I love that kinda stuff in bad guys so should I really judge it in a good guy? I don't know so it's an ehh...

Lex's file on the 'meta humans' - yeah I just, eh. Didn't like it, didn't hate it. I did however think the person they showed as the Flash looked very blah. Maybe it is because I have been spoiled by watching the TV series and I actually do enjoy that Flash.

The Bad:

Everything else? Alfred was very much a lack luster character. Bruce seemed way more concerned about his employee dying in Metropolis at the start of the movie than any amount of emotion he had while doing scenes with the man who raised him from childhood. 

The dream sequences of Batman - just WTF? I am not sure why they were there to begin with. They did not progress the story much, if any, in my opinion. Especially the one where there was a nod to the Wizard of Oz and flying monkey type creatures (I assume they were supposed to be giant bats) swooped in out of the sky and carried the dead bad guys off. Just what the hell??

The final fight scene with Doomsday left MUCH to be desired. Wonder Woman was hot and all but even she couldn't have saved this scene in my opinion.

I think what annoyed me the MOST was Bruce's line "I failed him in life, I won't fail him in death." You failed him in life? How? That whole three minute friendship really solidified that bond between the two of you, was it just because both of your mothers names are Martha? Please - that was so dumb. I mean I get it, I'm sure it's a line out of the comic Doomsday somewhere blah blah blah but the on screen chemistry between two supposedly BFF's was totally not there for a statement of that magnitude to have been said.

To give you a point of reference on how 'bad' this movie was .... My two kids, 13 and 11, they LOVE The Avengers, can watch it over and over and stay focused. They Love Star Wars, my son has seen it three times in the theater and doesn't talk through it at all. Last night these two kids would not shut up. They talked through the whole damn movie because they just couldn't stay focused long enough to capture their attention.

Except for the final scenes. These were my favorite scenes with the Death of Superman and not just because this horrible character's acting finally stopped. My daughter cried and I felt the tears forming in my eyes. That did pull the emotional response for the first and last time of the movie. It was at this moment that I was very glad to know that I listen to my hubby when he talked about the comic Doomsday so I know what is to come and that gave me reassurance. (Unlike in Civil War where I fear they are going to kill the Captain and then I will weep real tears.)

So overall I give this a 3.5. What bumped this review from a 2.5-3 to a 3.5 for me was the final scenes. Anything that can get a tear to form in my eye means that it did get me to connect and that is worth something in my opinion. I do not think I am a fan of Zack Snyder's directing. I just pulled his Imbd and yeah ... I HATED Watchmen so I think I am going to stick with, I am not a fan of Zack Snyder. His constant stealing of ideas from my favorite films (see MOS Review on this and the Wizard of Oz comment here in this review) annoy me to no end. 

Is Ben Afleck a good Batman? I don't know. We saw him as Bruce Wayne and I can see him being that playboy millionaire type person. I don't think we got to see him truly as Batman long enough to determine. Because his big fight scenes were in a suite made of metal fighting Superman. That isn't a suite I would say "Oh man my hubby would look sexy as hell in that!" (unlike Bale's.) However Afleck did look mighty nice with his shirt off so hey there is that! I think if I had to pick a side today I would say Afleck should leave the super hero career to the men of Marvel because after DareDevil and now this ... I can't see him rescuing anyone really.

So here was my 4 am review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ... Remember ... don't hate me for my opinion ... but you are welcome to politely disagree.

AccAmazing! Pitch Perfect 2

Now that was one killer freaking movie!!!

I've said before that the way i judge a movie is that feeling I have at the end of it. That one that is hard to duplicate ... the last time I felt it was with Guardians of the Galaxy.

And now, with Pitch Perfect 2!

I cannot believe how much my face hurts from laughing and smiling. It took all my might to sit in my chair and not sing along to the songs.

It was such a light, fun and fantastic movie!

There were some major surprises for me, like Snoop Dog, The Greenbay Packers and  ... of course ... the BUMPER story!

No spoilers but OMG such a freaking fantastic movie.

This is going to go down as the best movie of 2015 - mark my word! Check back December 31st on this blog but I am 99.999999% sure you will see Pitch Perfect 2 as the best of the best!

Obviously overall this is a 5 star review because there is not any other movie out this year that will make you laugh and smile this much. Or make you burst out into awesome 90's songs singing and swaying to the beat.

PS...If you haven't seen the first one you should. You can get it on Amazon and it is totally worth it.

But I think it is a decent solo movie too except you miss all the back story.

Movie Review - X-Men: Days of Future Past

What's it about ....
The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The characters from the original X-Men film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from X-Men: First Class in an epic battle that must change the past - to save our future. The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.

Review
WOW ... More like a Holy Shit WOW!

Okay so for those of you who follow my blog you know that I am not shy about confessing my undying love for Hugh Jackman. I mean SERIOUSLY LOVE HIM. And I think I actually purred out loud a time or two in this movie. Because he was hot. I mean like the HAWT you write home about and read in romance novels. I realize I am digressing before I even begin the review haha. Sorry, but he was amazing!

Anywho ... As most of you know I love the super hero world but I am not a 'comic super hero' girl so each and every time I watch these movies I am always surprised by what happens. The endings are never ruined for me, each character is brand new in that moment to me ... and I love it that way.

This will be my most favorite movie of the year. I am 99% sure of it. I left the theater crying. Seriously. 

So the movie starts out with the mutants being attacked and wiped out by the human machines that were created to destroy the enemy. AKA The Mutants. So Professor X and Magnito have to devise a plan and end up sending Logan (AKA my dream hubby) back into time to save the world.

I turned to my husband and said (yes in the theaters but it was a whisper) "Ohh so this is really going to be a Logan movie!" Yes I get so giddy over him. Hush, you know you do too!


Anyway .... He goes back in time and does his stuff. But the first scene where he is back in 1973 had me drooling. Here, let me show you a photo, or two, or ten, lol.

 Whoa Momma!

Ohh those abs....

But isn't he just gorgeous? Seriously!






I seriously purred here!






Moving on ... I think the plot/script was amazing. It all flowed perfectly. The cinematography was very impressive. The acting was top notch. 

I cried in two different parts. First when Young Professor X had a scene with Older Professor X. And I couldn't help thinking "Oh My God I have been in the same room as Captain Picard!" I know I know, super dork I am!

Then when Logan woke up from the past, immediately I knew what was about to happen and the tears just poured out of me. It was the most emotional feeling I have had in a movie when it didn't involve any character dying off or what not. My hubby looked at me smiling, I was like *sniffles* No I am NOT crying *wiping away tears*. 

I wish I could tell more but I can't. It would ruin it for you.

If you love X-Men, Superheros or Marvel then go see this movie. There is nothing that you will regret by spending 130 minutes enjoying Hugh Jackman and the rest of the cast.

Movie Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Title: Captain America The Winter Soldier
Release Date: April 4, 2014
Source: Watched it at Movie Tavern


IMDb Description

Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and battles a new threat from old history: the Soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier.

Review

Wow does Marvel know how to put out movies!

As always, when it comes to these 'comic book' movies, I know very little about the 'source' material. All I knew going into this was *** SPOILER *** Bucky was coming back and he was the enemy. I really should think about reading these comics I guess. If they came in novel form, I'd do better with that.

Evans was great. And for deff more than his nice muscles that made staring at him just simply pleasurable. Johansson did an excellent job in her role and I just loved the addition to Anthony Mackie.

One of the first scenes in the movie Evans is fighting Georges St. Pierre also known as Batroc the Leaper. All I gotta say is WOW. That scene was just phenomenal. My husband and I were discussing it and the thing I think I loved the most was the moves looked real, didn't look like stunts and most certainly felt believable.

I was just in awe.

Everything about this movie was fantastic. I felt very connected to all of the characters and the two and a half hours flew by.

Stan Lee was hilarious in it, his cameo's always make me smile.

I love how Marvel's action is always captivating. From the explosions to the drama of the story line and plot.

If you love Iron Man, The Avengers and the first Captain America - then this is a MUST SEE for you.

Five Stars for never letting me down!

Why I love Celeb Stalking - Veronica Mars Movie

Today is March 14th, 2014, the day all 'Marshmellows' have been waiting for since the end of our beloved Veronica Mars. The day that our television loves come back, and this time to the big screen. We are gifted with the amazing acting by  Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Francis Capra and many more. Rob Thomas's writing and directing, as always, was phenomenal and now all that is left is the book coming out on the 24th that will top everything off.

Yes, 'Pi Day' as my hubby called it, is upon us and today we are blessed. Blessed to the reunion of Logan and Veronica.

Now I know that it is extremely hard for me to be partial. After all, Jen and I (my comiccon partner in crime, celeb stalker partner) met Jason and Francis back at ComicPalooza 2010 a few years back.


 
The whole time I was watching that movie I kept thinking, "OH MY GOD I'VE HUGGED THEM!!!" And let us not forget that Jason Dohring gave ME, yes ME, Ashley Nemer a present! I still have the wonderful sign of his appreciation of his fans sitting on my desk, nicely hidden from potential thieves, my glowstick. (I would show you a picture but then my husband would know what it looks like and he might take it and play tricks on me! Best to leave some things to Mystery!)


Oh!! And lets not forget the fact he took pictures, YES of Jen and I standing in line on his cell phone.


Ahh but lets talk about aboue Weevil. AKA, Francis Capra, the best smelling man at ComicPalooza. He had to be the absolute nicest man in the world. He let me take a bagillion (ok it was more like 40) photos with him. And God ...... he smelled heavenly. And the tats, just makes a girl purr, ya know?

The poor man probably thought Jen and I were psychos and lets face it, we kinda were, haha.

Then of course the arrival of Jason ~sighs~ he was so dreamy. He asked us what a good steak house was in Houston and my dumb ass only came up with Texas Roadhouse, LAME ASHLEY! Sheesh. But to be fair I was very shell shocked! Jason gave great hugs. And God that smile!

~double dreamy sigh at those two men!~

I digress, let us focus back to the movie at hand. It is hard to remember I'm trying to write a review when I keep flashing back to the most amazing Comic experience of my life!

All of these amazing moments deff enhanced this movie for me because the simple fact is these actors are just the best. So kind, considerate and friendly. More people should be like them.

Onto the review ....

This was a 5 star hit, deff! The acting was better than I remembered. The writing was top knotch and the shocks and awes were great. I just have jumped from surprise four times in my seat, gasped for a breath six times and verbally awed a dozen.

Rob Thomas did such an amazing job, and hopefully this kickstarter will empower the Hollywood Actors to embrace their fans and give them more of what they want.

Movie Review: Hunger Games - Catching Fire

Title: Hunger Games - Catching Fire

Creator: Marvel

Genre: Movie – Action, Book Adaptation

Released: November 22, 2013
Staring: Woody Harrelson, Josh Hutcherson, Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz and more...

Source: Date Night With The Hubby – Purchased Tickets

Blurb: 

 Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.

Review:  

When I go into a movie I want one thing - memorable.This movie was deff memorable and a really good adaptation from the books. I know I haven't read them in a long time but I can't think of any 'significant' event that was left out. There of course were things that needed to be cut, I would have liked to have had more back story from the other tributes. When I read the book I envisioned something gore filled. This didn't have the gore I pictured. The violence, while it depicted what was done in the books quite well, could have been more bloody. 

The movie did fly by. At over two and a half hours long it felt like I sat down and then only an hour later I was standing up and leaving. It flew by, full of quick action. I loved that.

 I am really looking forward to the third movie. This one was better than the first and I have high expectations for the third.

Overall I give it a 4 star review. I wasn't blown away but I deff will consider purchasing this DVD to watch again.

Movie Review: Thor The Dark World - My Random Toughts

Title: Thor The Dark World

Creator: Marvel

Genre: Movie – Action, Comic

Released: November 8, 2013
Staring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, and Rene Russo

Source: Date Night With The Hubby – Purchased Tickets

Blurb: Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Review: Thor is God…haha no, I mean, Chris Hemsworth is god-like. I am very unsure where to start. I’m afraid that if I just say what I feel/think I’ll end up leaving spoilers so beware … this may contain spoilers.

I’ll be honest when I say the ‘super hero’ movies have me leery lately. Superman was a bust and the Avengers didn’t knock my socks off. So when I was told we were going to see Thor for our date night I was hoping to just see a good shot of Mr. God-Like Hemsworth mostly cloths less.

I am very happy to say that Marvel has once again made a fantastic movie. They had everything that you needed, and then some. I am still unsure which part was my favorite. There was quite a lot of banter that produced some great one lines from the cast. The chemistry was there with all of the cast members. I laughed, I cried, I screamed and I mourned.

I’m not sure which character’s death struck me as most shocking. One of the deaths I reached over and grabbed my husband’s hand and said “NO!”

The most comical part of the movie and one of my favorite moments was the cameo by Captain America. I was cracking up laughing during that scene. I loved the scene at the end where Thor shows up and just grabs the girl and kisses her. Such passion. What every woman wants in a man.

Unrelated but one of the most shocking moments of the night when I realized that Stellan Skarsgard AKA Dr. Erik Selvig is Alexander Skarsgard’s father. That floored me. Glad I was sitting down for that one.

Now, the biggest shocker of them all for me would be Zachary Levi. Had my hubby not told me that was “Chuck” I’d have never known until the credits. He was fantastic. Loved him.

The brother dynamic between Thor and Loki was heartbreaking and yet, wonderful. You watch them come full circle together and their story line twists really shocked me. I didn’t see it coming the way it happened. I was almost in tears at one point of it.

All in all this gets a 5 Star review because there wasn’t any movie in 2013 that was better than Thor The Dark World in this authors opinion. I really can’t wait to see where they go with the next installment of this series.

Favorite lines from the movie:

Loki: I was born to be king! It is my birthright!

Odin: Your birthright was to die! If I hadn't taken you in, you would not now be here to hate me.

Loki: [to Thor] This is so unlike you, brother. So... clandestine.

Loki: [tries to steer the boat into a tiny crevice in the mountain wall] If it were easy, everyone would do it.

Thor: Are you mad?

Loki: Possibly.

Early Review of Superman - Man of Steel

During the ComicPalooza event, the hubby snagged us two free passes to see the early showing of Superman - Man of Steel in Houston tonight. Since I've been all into reviews for books and what not I thought I would do a little blog about my thoughts on this not so new superhero in his new movie.

A little bit about me, so you know where I am coming from as I watched it. I didn't read any comics growing up. I actually just read my first comic a couple months back with Cat Woman and Batman. I did enjoy it but comics just aren't for me. That doesn't mean that I don't know WHO the superheros are (Marvel and DC) and that I don't enjoy them, because I do! Growing up my Ninja Turtle action figures were much more entertaining than anything Barbie and Ken had to offer. In fact my turtle at home was named after Mikey. It's why I only eat cheese pizza, still to this day. Gotta love the turtles. I also was a big fan of Batman. I even had my own little bat mobile as a toddler. My favorite superhero actually is the Batman. Always has been, always will be.

When I go into these superhero movies I always compare them to Batman Begins. I left that movie totally blown away. It was by far, awesome. I left the theater and picked up my cell phone to call D (one of my good friends) and ever since then that has been my benchmark of a good superhero movie. This movie deff fell way short of that.

The Good:
The action scenes were very good, it was jammed packed with movement after movement. I really enjoyed the different scenes and the way they were set up.
My Favorite moment was when Christopher Meloni showed up. I had no idea he was in this film and that made me really smile. I miss Stabler (on Law and Order SVU) and that alone had redeeming qualities in my mind.
My favorite character was Russell Crow's performance of Jor-El. I loved him!!!
Amy Adams was cute, as always. I don't think she can not be cute when she acts.
I think Kevin Costner did a good job as Jonathan Kent as well. The scene with the tornado was touching and pulled at my heart.

The Ehhh:
Superman himself was alright. Nothing to write home about.
The suit was better than just plain ole spandex but it's origins I was ehhh on. I always thought Martha made his cape or something and ehh. But it looked cool.
The bad guys were okay - I liked the premise of their story line, and why they did what they did. But, I wasn't in-love with their characters by any means. I think the best bad guys are ones that can really invoke fear in the person watching, and I wasn't feeling any fear.

The Bad:
I have major issues with parts of the plot. With out giving away spoilers I really feel like they ripped off scenes from Independence Day with Bill Pullman and Will Smith. You all know how I love my Will Smith movies and to see it all ripped off, yeah, that did it for me. I understand that there can only be so many original plots but come on, can you not think of something a little less obvious than a movie that came out in the 90's?
I HATE when movies that are based on books go in a different direction than the book itself. The hubs informs me that in deed, this plot isn't anything like the comics. THAT annoys me to no end. I was partly confused on a few things because I listen to my hubby talk about the comics and I quickly picked up that stuff wasn't in sync.
The Lois Lane and Clark Kent story  line I wasn't totally sold on. I mean, I get it's always the chemistry between her and superman, the big bad hero saves the girl, but I was just hoping for a little more.

The Overall:
I would rate this movie a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It was good, I enjoyed it. But when you stop and think about it, it just pissed me off. I can't get over the 'bad's' mainly because I expect two things: Originality and Staying true to the 'books'. Too much was like Independence Day for me to stay it was 'original' and the plot, while I did enjoy it, veered to far off the origins of the story.

Would I recommend it? Sure, it was one of the better movies I've seen as of late, would I rush out and buy it to keep, nope.

But - I did enjoy my date night with the hubby so all in all it was totally worth it. Even the standing in line and waiting forever to see if we were even early enough to gain entrance into the movie.