Batson's Blog

Everyone is talking about the Disney (Marvel) / Sony feud right now. It's a complicated situation, especially since we don't really know what the tone of all the discussions is like. There are some conflicting reports. Based on what I've seen, Sony and Disney made a deal. Spider-Man was successful in the MCU, so Disney wanted to renegotiate so that they had better terms in the deal. I don't blame Sony for saying 'Hold up' because legally they've been doing everything right. But the MCU is where all the action is, so of course fans want Spider-Man there. That being said, I think now may be the best time for Spidey to go solo with Sony. Both of Spider-Man's movies so far benefitted from having Nick Fury, Happy Hogan and Iron Man (or at least references to him in the second movie). Spider-Man got a huge rub from Fury and Iron Man. It's time to take that and move on and do his own thing. The crowded, crossover-filled MCU: It's ...

Wow! Wow!! On so many levels. Unlike some Star Wars movies, unlike The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings , Avengers: Endgame is not disappointing in any way. There are maybe two very minor things I could pick at, but that's it. Maybe two minor things in an entire 3 hour movie. Without giving spoilers, the most important thing I'd say is that nobody will be disappointed in this movie. You can't be disappointed if you liked any of the other Marvel movies ... at all. Some characters got more screen time than others, so fans of one particular character may not be happy about that, but the movie made sense for every character that so there's just no legitimate complaining about it. That's probably the most impressive thing about the movie: the writing. Sure, visuals were great (though I think I was more impressed by Aquaman in that aspect). Sure, the fight scenes (one in particular) was amazing. Yeah, the music was spot on --- taking you on a rollercoaste...

All the controversy about Captain Marvel . Who knew? If you've been paying attention to Twitter and other forms of social media, you probably did know about it. I heard bits and pieces a couple of weeks ago, but didn't bother to give it much research. I did take a look at the reports. I guess actress Brie Larson said while she was on a press tour promoting the movie that she wanted more diversity (specifically women) in the reviewers who get to see movies early. I can see why that may make some people upset. But then she clarified and said that she's not asking to take anyone's seat away from the table --- just asking for more to be added. I don't see an issue with that. That's a good way to put it. Then people tried to bomb the movie on Rotten Tomatoes, which caused the website to make some changes. Ehh, it is what it is. Let's get to the movie (no spoilers in this review). First, I really liked the way the movie handled the flashb...

I remember everyone groaning when it was announced that Sony was making a Venom movie. Then they saw the trailer and got excited. I was kind of in the ‘meh’ camp until I heard Tom Hardy was on board to play Eddie Brock. He did such a great job as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises that I figured he’d be a great hero/anti-hero in Venom. And he did! His portrayal of Eddie Brock was very interesting. Always likable but definitely a character with flaws. He was someone you were rooting for even when he was messing up. The symbiote storyline isn’t one that’s been told in this way before. Sure, Venom was in Spider-Man 3 but it doesn’t even compare to this version, honestly. This one was much better. It was done in a more comedic way. The only negative I have is that the comedy almost made the movie a little too cartoonish. Just a little. It felt like Venom could’ve been a little more diabolical. His lines were delivered in a way that seemed like they were supposed to be pun...

What an action-packed movie this was, huh?! Marvel and Disney have been working toward this for years and it really did come of as massive team-up movie. I really liked how they kept the feel of the individual characters while telling the overall story of Thanos and his quest for the Infinity Gauntlet. The story was pretty straightforward though they really made Thanos out to be a more dynamic character than just a power-hungry villain. The backstory of Titan made him almost human — just misunderstood. Still a bad dude but you could see where he was coming from and where he went wrong. Oh, and let's talk about his costuming.  I was very skeptical when I saw the trailer and he didn't have his battle gear on or his helmet.  He does adorn that at certain parts of the movie and I got used to seeing the movie version very quickly. It was a quick adjustment if you're used to the traditional comic book version, so good on Marvel for making that decision on the c...

I’ve been behind a bit in blogging so far in 2018 but I haven’t been behind in my movies. I have been keeping up with the superhero movies — I’ve just neglected to blog about them. I’d say it’s about time for a Black Panther review, wouldn’t you? First of all, I thought Captain America: Civil War was a great introduction for the character. He showed an insane amount of humanity and morals when he not only didn’t take revenge on his father’s murderer but also by preventing the man from committing suicide. That was one of the most powerful moments of that movie for me, so I was eagerly awaiting the release of the Panther in his first solo movie. I saw the movie on a Saturday morning (something like 9:30 am from what I remember) and it was a full house. The theater was packed! I can definitely appreciate the historic aspects of this movie: the first black superhero in a solo film (not as a sidekick), an almost entirely black cast, and a nod to Africa in the way Wakanda...

Several stars have had multiple roles in super hero movies or television shows. It’s bound to happen with so many different super hero offerings these days. Whether it’s on Netflix, on cable, in the theaters or on another subscription service, there is a lot of super hero content being churned out by Hollywood right now. That being said, there's a surprising number of actors who have I'm not the biggest fan when actors are cast as different roles in the same super hero universe. If it's one role in a DC movie and another role in a Marvel movie, that's different. However, I still like to see fresh faces. So which actors can Hollywood not seem to get enough of? Which actors keep showing up in the super hero genre? There's actually quite a few. I'm missing a few of the more minor roles, but here are 14 examples of actors who just couldn't stay away from the super hero genre. Josh Brolin This is his year. After making cameos in various Mar...