Reading roundup (with Seven Surrenders) and Infinity War
38. Jonathan Kellerman, Heartbreak Hotel -- another Alex Delaware novel. I enjoyed this one less than Motive, but it was still fun (I mean, this isn't Great Literature by any stretch, but I've read 36 of this man's books and keep reading, so he's doing something right). In this case, no particularly strong secondary characters stood out (one of the
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I'm not goint to watch and I hadn't even known it's coming, so that trailer was a surprise, but I considered it my duty to say "Pfft" on behalf of my much younger self. So, pfft. Sorry, Dear Current Actor, whoever you are, nothing personal. XD
We also got Facebooks "sorry we fucked up but we're better now!" commercial, which was rather weird.
We got some social campaign vid which passed 'rather weird' area and landed firmly in the 'cringe inducing'...
Other people have remarked that the movie feels surprisingly coherent and not-too-confusing while giving so many characters a fair bit of screentime and good character moments -- I definitely agree.
I kind of think it's a pity they don't give the 'big' Oscars for blockbusters of MCU sort, because frankly, in purely technical terms the Russos pulled off quite a feat of good directing. Not their fault that MCU doesn't belong in the Oscar drama genre. I consider what they did a good example of "do your job best you can, no matter what job it is".
Spider-Man
To my surprise, I found 'Homecoming' one of most enjoyable in MCU, and it definitely sold me on Peter more than 'Civil War' (where he mosly annoyed me).
Drax
...Uh, actually he's the only character about whom I really, really wish something would eat him and not spit back out for once... Sorry :}
I also like Spider-Man's spider legs
Yeah, disturbingly accurate. I was all the time between "Whee!" and "Eek!" XD
Not a fan of either Steve with the longer hair and beard
Blasphemer! :D
Thanos didn't make much of an impact on me when he showed up before, but OK, he is a pretty good villain.
As I see it, he's an unexpectedly not-bad end effect that came out of a cringingly bad starting position. A kindergarten level of villainy in visual terms, but making up for the look by his ideas and acting. As the Russos, he's playing best he can with the cards he got. I still snicker a little, but I can appreciate what is due of appreciation. The less mwahahing I see, the more I approve.
And, OK, so, Strange giving the Eye to Thanos was a ploy, presumably?
Oh, definitely. It was written all over him.
What is going on with Bruce, though, and the Hulk sulking? That was weird.
Meh, I think Hulk just chickened from Thanos, aka the first who actually beat him, how lame. :P Though making a comic relief of Bruce became old very fast. They even threw him under the bus to marysue Shuri as hard as possible and more than possible, which was the only moment I really rolled my eyes. I still haven't managed to see BP yet, but I feel they made a mistake making her a teen. I'll take another Single-Handed-Arch-Genius without batting an eye, I do it all the time in MCU after all, but a teen snotnose outgeniusing an already established much older and battle-experienced Arch-Genius who has exploded his share of labs in life is not even a step but a corkscrew backflip dive into the field where Mary Sues grow and bad writing creeps like weed.
Thor just kept calling Rocket a rabbit, and he just kind of rolled with it after a while.
I think he's of a firm opinion that all human(oids) are idiots, so correcting them is a waste of breath. XD
(Hm, so at this point we have two Peters and two Stev/phens, although one of them goes by Steve, and I guess also two Jameses, though neither of them actually uses his first name.
Heh, my thoughts, too.
So we're just gonna ignore Bruce/Natasha from now on, right? Excellent call.
What Bruce/Natasha?
(I actually thought at her first reaction to him "Ugh, so we're not done with this yet???")
"Why was she up there all this time?" or something like that -- she voiced exactly what I'd been thinking.
Keeping guard on Vision? I mean, as soon as she goes, the evil Whatwashername orders an attack on the lab.
"hamsterwheels of death", which -- yeah XD
XD
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Pretty much this, yes XD He seems like a perfectly nice kid! But come on. :P
We got some social campaign vid which passed 'rather weird' area and landed firmly in the 'cringe inducing'...
Huh. I wonder what's bringing them all out of the woodwork...
I consider what they did a good example of "do your job best you can, no matter what job it is".
Yes, it was definitely an impressive way to juggle a huge cast and multiple storylines and strike a good balance of catching up people who haven't been following every movie (B has been watching sporadically, and he was fine) and payoff for the people who have watched everything multiple times. Good job all around!
To my surprise, I found 'Homecoming' one of most enjoyable in MCU
Same! And I'm glad to hear that you liked Peter there because I do seem to recall you being annoyed by him in Civil War. Anyway, we all think Holland is a wonderful Spider-Man, and he and his friends actually look and act like high school kids, which is really refreshing. And his dynamic with Tony is really cute. (I just remembered the scene in this one where Tony "knights" him while pronouncing/promoting him to Avenger.)
And, ahaha, I'm sorry the new spider-legs were too realistically spidery for your enjoyment. XD
Not a fan of either Steve with the longer hair and beard
Blasphemer! :D
Its really weird, actually! I normally like guys with long hair and beards, right? But Steve I prefer cleanshaven and trim. *shrug* Tony, on the other hand, needs to bring back to more elaborate facial hair.
Drax has been my favorite part of GotG since the first movie. I just find his deadpan really funny. And we keep quoting "Nothing goes over my head. My instincts are too fast." So :P
but making up for the look by his ideas and acting.
Yes, agreed. He looks ridiculous, but has been winning me over with acting and surprising depth (for a MCU villain, I mean).
Meh, I think Hulk just chickened from Thanos, aka the first who actually beat him, how lame. :P
spiffikins below suggested the same thing.
And, re: Shuri -- I also haven't seen Black Panther yet, although I hope to remedy that in the next couple of days, but, yeah, I'm not a fan of establishing someone as a super-genius by having them out-genius already established geniuses so facilely. She does seem to have potential to be a fun character in her own right, though, so I'm looking forward to getting to know her in BP.
I think he's of a firm opinion that all human(oids) are idiots, so correcting them is a waste of breath. XD
Heh, fair point, and that wouldn't surprise me :)
(I actually thought at her first reaction to him "Ugh, so we're not done with this yet???")
Me too. And then was subsequently very happy when the "Awkward" seemed to be all we were going to say/see about that.
I mean, as soon as she goes, the evil Whatwashername orders an attack on the lab.
Yeah, I guess, but like pretty much everything about the battle in Wakanda, it seemed really contrived. Like, I never fully bought that they had to open up a section of the wall to distract from circling around the back. And if the bad guys had those things that could tunnel under, why not deploy them FIRST? And if Vision was the main target, why not just array all their forces specifically around the lab? I mean, I enjoyed those fight scenes rather a lot, so I'm not complaining per se, but it didn't make much sense to me.
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Yes, and that's actually a disadvantage in this case... XD
Anyway, we all think Holland is a wonderful Spider-Man
Not an expert on Spider-Man here, but he's an actually convincing teen. Wait, this sounded like I'm an expert on teens...
and he and his friends actually look and act like high school kids, which is really refreshing.
This. And humor, actually funny instead of forced and icky.
And his dynamic with Tony is really cute.
Right, you reminded me it had much more Tony than I actually expected, so I was happy on all fronts. :D
I just remembered the scene in this one where Tony "knights" him while pronouncing/promoting him to Avenger.
Yep, I noticed that, too. *g*
ETA
btw, this
And, ahaha, I'm sorry the new spider-legs were too realistically spidery for your enjoyment. XD
Not like I didn't love the idea and execution, actually. ;D
I normally like guys with long hair and beards, right?
Very much right, same here, and...
But Steve I prefer cleanshaven and trim. *shrug*
...that fits him more, indeed, but A. while I think it fits him, I never really liked it on him, and B. I saw him now and was "OMG", so... :)
I mean, I enjoyed those fight scenes rather a lot, so I'm not complaining per se, but it didn't make much sense to me.
Gathering foot soldiers and letting them go medieval on each other as the crown of battle tactic in Highly Advanced AliensTM vs supposedly The Most Developed Country on EarthTM doesn't make much sense to start with anyway... (And funny, considering that the whole MCU starts with Tony presenting Jericho rockets. :P)
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Haha, well, as a parent of two of them, I can confirm that he does make a convincing teen :) And, yeah, I really like the humour, which is not that common in a movie with teen protagonists.
btw, this
Oh... OH! Oh man, as if that scene needed to be any more heart-breaking... :(
I never really liked it on him, and B. I saw him now and was "OMG", so... :)
It actually took me a little while to get used to Chris Evans's Cap look, because I originally knew him as The Human torch from the Fantastic Four movies. But sandy-haired, bulked up Cap grew on me over time :)
(My "OMG"s are taken up by RDJ in Iron Man 1, so I guess I didn't need another one :P)
Gathering foot soldiers and letting them go medieval on each other as the crown of battle tactic in Highly Advanced AliensTM vs supposedly The Most Developed Country on EarthTM doesn't make much sense to start with anyway..
True XD I guess it just needed to be more dramatic than lobbing rockets at each other from safely remote locations...
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*pat pat*
(And Tony suddenly wants children? He already has plenty, and they all keep dying!)
Hee, I'm lucky in not really knowing majority of MCU cast before MCU, so it all works for me... XD Well, with an occasional minor disappointment here and there, like ScarJo.
I guess it just needed to be more dramatic than lobbing rockets at each other from safely remote locations...
Oh, rockets are dramatic af! :) Just not for those lobbing them. Tony certainly didn't earn any points from me for all this desert turned upside down, as epic as it was. Who cares about terrorists hiding in holes, there were gerbils! snakes! marmots!
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They do, don't they XD (And, yeah, I thought it was rather odd that he wanted children all of a sudden, or was dreaming about children or whatever.)
It's really only Chris Evans that I had strong pre-MCU associations with. I'd seen Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana in other things, not they weren't favorite characters of mine there. And I might've seen ScarJo in something, too, but I didn't really like her there or here particularly.
Who cares about terrorists hiding in holes, there were gerbils! snakes! marmots!
XD Think of the jerboa and the lizards, Tony! XD
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