Thor vs, Brad Pitt

Needless to say my baby sister is far to busy of a person to be considered a movie buff but she did manage to pull of the funniest line of the week. When we told here we planning to see Thor: The Dark World Monday on the IMAX she politely declined saying she wasn't much of a Brad Pitt fan. I would agree. Not much of a Pitt fan myself except Brad Pitt has nothing to do with Thor. Chris Hemsworth, the movie Thior is about 6 inches taller than Pitt, outweights him by a good 50 lbs of muscle mass, is about 20 years younger, and is an Australian. Other than that. Not much difference between the two actors

Needless to say that compared to Chis Hemsworth, Brad Pitt is pretty much of a squirrel (but truth be told, Pitt is a much better actor).

I Want To Like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D - But I Just Don't

I tried. I really wanted to like Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. but I don't. Take the other night for instance. I fired it up on the DVR, watched the first couple of minutes, then picked up my laptop and starting looking at other things while the show played. What the show was about or how it ended, I have no idea because I didn't care. Crap! I wanted to care but can't.

Clark Gregg is fine as agent Coulson but was more of a clever scene stealer when he had bit parts in the big Marvel movies. He's not a large enough personality to be a TV shows biggest star. And I really like Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May because she really is able to bring mystery, depth, and sensuality in a part that is severely underwritten. Wikipedia has her at about 50 years old which is amazing.

But the rest of the cast - yikes! - gawd awful, especially Chloe Bennett and the two scientists that speak with Irish accents. If ever a show could use a retooling, it is this one. 

The show is set to record new episodes on the DVR but I am running out of patience. It's not hard to delete a timer. 

Actually, The Goldbergs, the comedy following Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is a far, far better show.

Marvel One Shot - Agent Carter - A 14 Minute Lesson in Superior Female Butt Whipping

Perhaps the true jewel of the Iron Man 3 Blu-Ray set is the inclusion of Marvel One Shot's Agent Carter. Following his supposed death in a plane crash, Captain America's love interest has moved on with her life and become a field agent in the origins of Howard Stark's S.H.I.E.L.D. Constantly put in her place by the male dominate agency, Carter picks up a phone call one night that prompts her into action. And its action she delivers.

There is more action and interest in the 14 minutes of Agent Carter than the last 60 minutes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Perhaps Marvel may need to rethink this thing out.

Iron Man 3 - A Mixed Bag

Iron Man 3 was a big step up from Iron Man 2, perhaps the worst film in Marvel's Cinematic Universe, it kind of runs head and head with Thor at the bottom of the barrel. While Robert Downey Jr., probably out of shear boredom with the character, reaches and stretches his Tony Stark character in the new situations - now suffering from pannick attacks and severe anxiety. It's a bit over dramatic for this character and story the plot would be better served as a direct line ass whooping (see Iron Man 1).

Did we need to see 42 remote control iron men at the film's climax when one real would with Stark in ti would do? Do we need Don Cheadle's Iron Patriot / War Machine? No.... not really.

What we do need is more of Gwenyth Paltrow who become the real focal point of these movies. She shines while the rest of the movie throws in everything but the kitchen sink.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Bogs Down

So I watched the second episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D a few days ago. I've already forgotten about it except the appearance of Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury at the end. Forgetting about a show a within a day or two of watching it is a sign of I'm getting old or the show just was very memorable. Well... both could be true....but in this case, the second S.H.I.E.L.D installment just didn't do much for me. It was just king of plodding. Here is my big criticism of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D - too big of a cast requiring air time to develop uninteresting characters. I'd lop at least 2 off right now.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Check In

So the much hyped Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television show hit the ABC airwaves last night and the gang is now officially in action. From what I gather, Marvel has their superheroes to take care of epic battles that may lead to world destruction with the next up to bat being Thor: The Dark World coming to theaters in November. The agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. seem to be in place to take care of the next level of bad guys that threaten human existence in weird ways - the more day to day type stuff.

 

Leading the crew is the return of Nick Fury's right hand man Phil Coulson who last saw in The Avengers slumped to the ground - dead. Hard to die in comics so he was just artificially killed off to rally the dysfunctional Avengers team. The back story has Phil's phony death as something more, something even Phil doesn't know. The plot of Phil thickens. Anyway, Gregg Clark's sly, stoic portrayal of Phil Coulson has been a highlight of the Marvel Universe films. Though he seems completely one dimensional, he is often working from a completely different and surprising level. There's a lot behind that sly grin and off the cuff comments.

 

Anyway, the debut show was really good. Great? No.... but then again this is TV. Greatness is difficult to sustain but we can live with a really good and entertaining show from Marvel and producer Joss Whedon. And it also allows a regular connection with an organization that would only show up about once (or twice now) a year at the theaters. This is now a world where S.H.I.E.L.D is now among us.

 

 

 

 

Cool Marvel Posters - Wrong Place, Wrong Time

This Tuesday, September 24, is a big day for Disney, Marvel, and Disney owned ABC Television. First up, Iron Man 3 comes out on video. Not the best of the Iron Man trilogy (not including The Avengers) but not the worst either. I guess that puts it right in the middle but it should be gobbled up for home video collections in huge quantities. Then, on Tuesday night, the network premiere of the first Marvel TV series - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and the reappearance of agent Phil Coulsen who, if you remember, was killed off in Marvel's The Avengers with his last remembrance as a pack of Captain America blood stained trading cards. But its the comics. People are allowed to die and come back to life.

Well, Disneyland is kicking of this big day by passing out free promotional posters this weekend of Iron Man 3 and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  And since I'm 450 miles away, I'm basically in the wrong place at the wrong time for some nice Disney/Marvel freebies. Getting something free from Disney is extremely rare probably making these posters something that will be sold in mass quantities on eBay. Oh well....