Donomark

Also, I think from this whole list Ian doesn’t like any of the Avengers films...🤔

Endgame. I get time travel being an uncomfortable solution to the problem, but it’s really common in comic book storytelling, Hate to say. Plus there wasn’t 45 minutes of cartoon characters yelling and screaming in my goddamn face.

A better match-up would be The First Avenger vs one of the good Spider-Man movies.

I don't buy into much of the pats on the back people give Ragnarok for critiquing imperialism as much as it does, on the basis that it doesn't really seem to change much. T'Challa got a scene where he confronted his father for his past sins which lead to turmoil in the present. Odin gets to have both the shady background and the heavenly spirit image while Thor seemed to not give a shit about learning anything he learned of his dad. Like, yeah, Odin was a shit, with Hella conquered and killed untold billions of people and from those crimes created Asgard, but it's still awesome that he encourages Thor at the end. Like, how sincere is Waititi's inclusion of that thread, really?

An interesting match-up would be Ragnarok against either of the Guardians movies, since they're made from the same think-street of irreverent wise-assery.

Even though Ragnarok is cynical as shit, it’s first act is IMO the peak of Thor action.

Thunder Cap

Guardians 2 has irritating, forced humor and the Mantis abuse is inexcusable, buuut it has a clear and coherent thematic and emotional core to it. It’s a beating heart of a film and continues its story in its own terms. May not always be my thing, but I recognize what it’s going for. Ant Man is okay. Fun but anything but special.

I think Ian's flogging of Ragnarok is my favorite rant of episode 1100. And we had a lot of them.

Silence! Nick Hammond is awesome and underrated.

Yeahhh, this looks dope and interesting. UtRH is easily their best comic book adapted movie and this seems like a fun, fresh revisit.

This is tricky for me, as I really don’t like Far From Home much, but Captain Marvel I think is way less interesting. Far From Home does have Mysterio. Also, it’s Spidey. I’m biased.

Psh, SHIEEEEEEET...

Ant Man and the Wasp is far more interesting, has more going on and is less asleep at the wheel than Dark World.

I can’t imagine an argument for Homecoming against Winter Solider, but I’m up for the thought experiment.

I don't agree with the Mjolnir thing, I took as read that his sacrifice earned the hammer returning to the one it belonged to. But I 100% noticed all the dutch angles in the movie. I was swaying back and forth when watching it.

Civil War is peak MCU potential (which itself was crested with Black Panther). It's humor isn't off-putting or jarring, the fight scenes are top notch, it has genuine suspense, grim in parts but not gritty when it doesn't need to be. The characters are rendered believably, it's arguably the most sympathetic Tony movie ever (maybe Infinity War too), and its utilization of the characters is the most successful in its intent. What I held back on during the podcast is that, despite what Ian said, the film isn't cynically Avengers 2.5. Like Mike said, the inclusion of Spider-Man adheres thematically to both Tony and Steve's conflict of using power responsibly, and how that is both interpreted and affects the rest of the heroes. Every hero in the film gets their say on how to best operate for the sake of others, and Cap's dilemma is taking that idea of relying on oneself as the final line of doing the right thing despite all opposition. Tony, to the best of his ability, tries to do the right thing but becomes morally compromised in the end when he tries to kill Bucky, which in essence justifies the need (or at least idea) of some kind of superhero registration. In the end, neither Tony nor Cap can come together, and it destroys the Avengers as a result. But it tracks with Cap's character in the development of someone who never had any problem doing the right thing even if it cost him his life. In Civil War, it's not so simple. It costs him his reputation, his (admittedly murky) legal status as a superhero, and his friends. But the film ends with him assuring Tony that despite all they've lost, he can still be counted on to do what's right by everyone else, no matter what - which is the heart of the story's question, being what's the right thing for heroes to do. Also, I didn't see no Hawkeye family or nothing, so the idea of it being an Avengers spotlight story never really entered by brain.

My enjoyment of both films isn't widely spaced out from one another, but Guardians didn't upset me to the extent that IM3 did with it's bait and switch of expectations.

AOU might be the most ignored billion dollar movie out there, but Black Panther fires on nearly every cylinder more intensely.

IW is an altogether better movie...but Thor is so slept on, I wish I could vote for it.

Yeah I remember BP staying in theaters in Nashville well into Infinity War's run, which was over three months later. Spider-Man Homecoming also stayed in theaters for a long time.

I love Sophie Marceau's performance. One of my favorite Bond girls...

LOL I liked X-Men Evolution. It started out so-so and got way better in the second half of the series with seasons 3 and 4.

I Am Not Your Negro: As someone who fell into James Baldwin in the past couple of years, this was more of the same which simply means it's great fodder but nothing new if you're familiar with him. Highly recommended anyway because it's Baldwin. SLJ does a terrific narration, embodying Baldwin's spirit through his reading. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher version): I've not made up my mind on this. What I liked about it is Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander. An iconic performance. Just hypnotic in every scene, an awesome character. I also enjoy seeing Daniel Craig in anything other than Bond. The scene where he was loudly crying out in pain over his head-wound contrasted in my memories with a similar scene in Casino Royale where he's completely silent. Stellan Skaarsgard was great too, and this was the same year he appeared in Thor. The brutal rape scenes however just left me completely paralyzed. Having not read the books, IDK if they could've been cut out from the film or were left in just to show how intense and crazy Lisbeth can get, but they were far and away the most disturbing scenes of violence I've witnessed in mainstream film. True, a them - the theme of the story is misogyny, but was Fincher the right director for those kinds of scenes? I don't know...I need more time and other voices to speak on it.