Guilty Pleasure Series #4: Frozen and Enchanted

It's time for another addition to my Guilty Pleasure Series! Check out my previous guilty pleasure movie posts: #1 Mean Girls and Rat Race, #2 Ben Stiller movies and #3 Cadet Kelly and Wild Child. This time I chose 2 Disney movies that might not seem very similar at first but let's take a closer look...

FROZEN (2013)

Frozen movie poster

(SPOILERS) In case for some reason you live in a cave and didn't hear of this giant movie, it's about two sister Anna and Elsa whose parents have died. Elsa has ice powers and Anna knows nothing about it because Elsa closes herself off due to her dangerous powers. Anna meets Hans at Elsa's coronation and they decide to get married and tell Elsa who gets mad and loses control of her powers, runs away, sets off an eternal winter, etc. Anna goes to find her and meets Kristoff and Sven and they help her find Elsa. They come across Olaf who Elsa created and is a living being. That part gets glossed over. She literally created a living thing.... anyway they find her and she wants nothing to do with them and she strikes Anna in the heart with her magic and Kristoff takes her to the creepy trolls who say she needs an act of true love to cure her. Hans and team go to hunt down Elsa and manage to capture her. She escapes but Hans tells her that Anna is dead when really Anna is just freezing to death until Olaf helps her. Hans has revealed himself to be the bad guy, wanting to take over their kingdom because he'll never get one of his own. He leaves Anna for dead because he is not her "true love" so he doesn't kiss her. Olaf helps Anna to realize that Kristoff is her actual true love so she runs to find him to cure her frozen heart. Then she sees Hans about to kill Elsa so she goes to stop him and is then frozen solid. However, her act of bravery was an act of true love for her sister so Anna becomes unfrozen. Elsa also realizes that love can unfreeze all her winter mess. Anna and Kristoff kiss and all is happy ever after. 

Kristoff, Olaf and Anna

So overall, not a bad storyline and the music of course is great. Still some classic Disney tropes like losing a parent or in this case both and a young girl being locked up is pretty ignorant about the world. It's at 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.

ENCHANTED (2007)

Enchanted movie poster

(SPOILERS) Enchanted is a unique story in the Disney cannon because it begins in the animated world then transition to live action for the majority of the movie. The idea is that it takes the classic Disney story and flips it. Giselle is a daydreaming girl in a tower who fantasizes about her prince coming to rescue her. Prince Edward comes along and battles a troll to save her and claims that they will be married in the morning. As Giselle is on her way to her wedding an old woman tricks her and she falls down a well and into the real world, specifically New York City. The old woman is actually Prince Edward's mother who doesn't want to lose her crown by having her son married off to some girl. Giselle wanders around Times Square until Robert and his daughter Morgan find Giselle and are kind enough to help her and let her stay in their fancy rich New York apartment. Giselle and Robert get to know each other as she is waiting for Edward to come and rescue her and bring her back home. Edward makes his way to New York with the help of Giselle's chipmunk friend Pip and they search for her while the Queen's lackey, Nathaniel tries to get Giselle to eat a poisonous apple in various forms (candy apple, apple martini, etc.). Robert tells Giselle that he is planning on proposing to Nancy, his long time girlfriend but she seems constantly upset with him for some reason or another. Towards the end of the movie once Edward finally finds Giselle she is somewhat changed. She doesn't sing all the time, she's experienced emotions other than happiness and she asks Edward to go on a date so they can get to know each other. Giselle doesn't seem as smitten with Edward anymore and they go to a ball before they leave. Robert and Nancy are there and Robert and Giselle dance together while Edward and Nancy watch them. They are clearly in love but both with different people. The Queen manages to interrupt the ball as Giselle is leaving with Edward and she finally agrees to eat the apple. Giselle falls into a deep sleep and the Queen tells Edward and Robert that she will be dead by midnight. Robert suggests true love's kiss and Edward steps up to kiss her but nothing happens. Then Edward tells Robert he should try and he does and it works. Giselle wakes up and tells Robert that she knew it was him all along. Then the Queen turns into a giant cheesy talking dragon and takes Robert as his damsel in distress and Giselle must save him. She does and they all live happily ever after and Nancy and Edward go back together and get married. Giselle starts a fashion line and stays in New York with Robert and Morgan.

The Queen and Edward

It's definitely a cute film that comments on women characters saving themselves and being strong, which I really enjoy. The cast is well assembled and Amy Adams does a great job going from bumbling love sick princess to a grounded and realistic heroine who fights for herself and what she wants. It has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.

I chose Frozen and Enchanted because I noticed a few similarities between the two and while technically neither of these movies are "Guilty Pleasures" they're aimed at a younger audience so I'm just going to say that qualifies in my book. Like the photo above says, Enchanted also commented that the first guy isn't always the right guy. Both films show strong women who save themselves and don't need the men to rescue them. These musicals both have helpful sidekicks with Pip and Olaf/Sven who help the heroine and care about her above all else. 

Our red headed heroine is called out by the man who is not her fiance (but she spends most of the movie with and gets to know him and connect with him) tells her that her she's crazy for marrying a man after only knowing him for a day. 

She also has to pick between two men and doesn't realize until the end of the movie that the one she actually got to know is the one who she's care about more (Go figure!). Also, Hans is evil so there wasn't that much of a choice in Frozen...

Prince Hans

Prince Edward

 

                                             

Kristoff

 

Robert

P.S. I love that shot of Kristoff racing to get to Anna and save her from being frozen because he realizes that he loves her. Those are just a few similarities between Enchanted and Frozen, which are both excellent movies. Did you notice any other similarities between these movies? COMMENT BELOW!

Guilty Pleasure Series #3: Cadet Kelly VS. Wild Child

For my 3rd installment of my guilty pleasure series I've decided to compare two of them instead of review them separately. I've chosen two very similar movies: Disney Channel's Cadet Kelly (2002) and Wild Child (2008). Ready to compare some mediocre yet totally fun and enjoyable chick flicks? We're reforming "rebellious" teens so let's get to it!

Check out my other guilty pleasure posts #1: Mean Girls and Rat Race and #2: Ben Stiller Movies

ROUND 1: Popular Teen Actress Carries the Film

CK: Who doesn't love Hilary Duff? She's great in everything and I will always watch her stuff. She's likable in Cadet Kelly because we all sympathize with her. Honestly, if my parents were moving to a military academy and didn't ask/ consult me but just told me I had to go one day, I'd be pissed off too. She's not really that much of a rebellious teen that she would even need to go to a military academy. There weren't any regular high schools nearby for her to attend?

WC: Emma Roberts has had some hits and misses but always seems to shine in these types of teen movies and now older, has found her footing successfully in shows like American Horror Story and the upcoming Scream Queens. She's great in Wild Child and actually does a pretty convincing job of being a bratty girl who actually does need to be reformed. With the help of her friends and her boarding school teachers she learns how to be a better, honest person.

ROUND 1 WINNER: CADET KELLY because Hilary Duff is the greatest.

ROUND 2: Transformation into the Environment

 

CK: Kelly Collins is cooky because her dad is free spirited and she twirls baton ribbons around with her friends. She also has blue hair extensions but is unfocused and unmotivated. She transforms and turns out to fit in quite well at military school. Successful (yet tame) transformation here. She has a best friend from home who is genuine (yet annoying) and a military school bff who is easily jealous and has no idea how to be a friend to anyone. It's overly forced in the first half of the movie how much she doesn't fit in there but eventually learns to. She tries mediocrely to get kicked out but doesn't really try that hard at it. It doesn't take much for her to start fitting in.

WC: Poppy Moore is actually bitchy and rebellious. She's rich but ungrateful. She's cruel and uses bad language constantly (the first line of this movie is literally her saying, "SHIT!"). She hates the beautiful British countryside and the rain. She has a totally fake best friend who Poppy thinks is genuine. She stands up arrogantly to her teachers and disrespects them. Luckily her roommates (and eventual friends) don't put up with any of her nonsense. Her boarding school is basically like a military academy though, lots of rules and restrictions. Poppy is high maintenance to say the least and enjoys standing out. She makes a truly impressively performance of trying to get kicked out. She even gets her friends to help her get kicked out. Get it? They become friends by helping her try to get kicked out but she turns out to actually like them and wants to stay there. Her transformation into a normal, nicer girl who fits in is enjoyable to watch. 

ROUND 2 WINNER: WILD CHILD the character arc here is much stronger and a better story to watch.

ROUND 3: Getting Dirty... Literally

CK: Kelly has to actually go through a training course and a lot of that includes her traipsing through the mud on her hands and knees.

WC: Poppy's stuff gets wet from the rain and her make up runs down her face. 5 seconds later her soaking wet hair is back to looking perfectly straightened. Unrealistic. Also she fights in the mud with the bitchy girl who ends up covered in mud but Poppy has no mud on her but a tiny bit on face.

ROUND 3 WINNER: CADET KELLY it's realistic and points for Hilary Duff actually getting down in the mud and going through that training course.

 ROUND 4: CUTE MALE LEAD

CK: Shawn Ashmore plays Brad. There's probably TONS and I mean TONS of hot guys at a military academy and probably one that's a bit younger for Kelly to actually be interested in but that's not the case. She doesn't really even have a chance for a romance with Brad but she just wants to stop Jennifer Stone (the mean girl) from getting with him. It doesn't really help much. They still pretty much stay together even if we don't see it specifically. I do love me some Ice Man though.

WC: Alex Pettyfer plays Freddie. He's the only guy in a women's boarding school because he's the headmistresses son so he's around occasionally. The mean girl likes him and is convinced (mostly incorrectly) that he's interested in her. It's actually my favorite Alex Pettyfer movie because he's not the lead and he's not that annoying. Also, he uses his natural British accent. Obviously he is attracted and becomes interested in Poppy. He (along with basically the whole school minus the teachers) likes her rebellion. (Fun fact: Johnny Pacar plays Poppy's American love interest who cheats on her with her "bff" but Pacar was actually in a Disney Channel movie called Now You See It...)

ROUND 4 WINNER: WILD CHILD because I mean come on. He's beautiful.

ROUND 5: The Mean Girl is Jealous of the Romantic Competition

CK: Jennifer Stone and Brad actually do have a legit history of... going to the welcome back dance together every year. She could easily be in a relationship with this guy if she wanted to. He's pretty chill when it comes to girls being interested in him. Kelly gets in the way only because she thinks Brad's cute but mostly because she wants to annoy Jennifer. There's not much romance in this movie in general. Jennifer tells Kelly that she's moving away at the end too so maybe Kelly and Brad do get together?

WC: While Freddie is the only guy that's around throughout the movie, there is a co-ed dance where lots of flumpy (I made that word up but it's accurate) boys ignore all the girls. Poppy and her friends dress crazy and cute and she grabs Freddie's attention away from Harriet (which isn't that hard to do since he doesn't even like her). This does give Harriet more motivation to mess with Poppy but don't worry, Poppy breaks out her "sexy" dancing moves to get the guy. Obviously, it works. Harriet gets kicked out at the end too so no more competition for Freddie's heart... not that there ever was any.

ROUND 5 WINNER: CADET KELLY because I respect that there's not some forced love triangle drama that would be unnecessary to the story.

ROUND 6: Single Parents, Father's Rule

 

CK: Kelly's parents are divorced but she's close with both of them and they're both civil with each other. Her mom is remarrying (hence the military school) and Kelly and her step father learn how to get along and connect. Her mom though is pretty passive and inattentive to Kelly's difficulties adjusting to military school (which was never her choice to attend). Her mom loses points too for not talking to Kelly at all and doing a crappy job of telling her that she's being forced to go to military school. She just tries to subtly bring it up and it seems like if her parents were better communicators that they would have conversations with Kelly before actually making a decision about it. They also tell her like 2 days before they actually move too. Not cool mom. Also, not cool for her step dad to be fine with that too.

WC: I have MAD respect for Poppy's dad. He knew that she definitely needed to be away from Malibu and to be self reliant and learn responsibility. He's tough but doesn't put up with her complaining and actually follows through with his punishment of sending her to boarding school. He even gets to be there in the end to see how much she's transformed and belongs there. She also gets to connect with her deceased mom who went to the same school. Poppy respects her dad in a new light for sending her there in the first place. 

ROUND 6 WINNER: WILD CHILD in a landslide. Her dad is strict but you know he loves her and she loves him for sending her in the end too.

ROUND 7 (Final Round): Making New Friends

 

CK: Kelly has a best friend from her old school who is totally annoying well meaning. Once she's at military school the only person who befriends her is Carla. The problem though is that Carla is helpful but easily jealous. Whenever Kelly talks about her best friend from her old school Carla walks away sad as if she's betrayed. She acts like Kelly is only allowed to be her friend and no one else's, which is ridiculous. Kelly has to actually have a conversation with Carla and reassure her that even though she's loved her other best friend longer, she has room to have two best friends. (Um... DUH!) and Carla accepts her explanation. That probably explains why Carla doesn't already have friends there. She never introduces Kelly to anyone that she says is her friend. 

WC: Poppy has to learn how to make genuine friends. Her Malibu best friend is fake, bitchy and just plain evil in every way. She ignores Poppy when she's sad and needs someone to talk to. She sleeps with Poppy's "boyfriend" (although he's never established as her actual boyfriend because Freddie comes into the picture later). She has no interest in actually being friends with Poppy. Well, negative points to Poppy for being so wrapped up in herself that she couldn't spot how phony her bff was. On the other hand, her boarding school friends are much better in comparison. They don't put up with her selfish ways and when she doesn't get her way she learns to change and be humble. When she changes they become her true friends and she definitely loves them and enjoys being with them. They're a great influence on her and because of them she ends up not getting expelled and gets to stay with her friends. Her dad also goes to see her play lacrosse and fit in. Moral of the story? If your daughter has bitchy friends and is disrespectful send her to boarding school and she'll heal the wounds of losing her mother and find where she's meant to be.

ROUND 7 WINNER: WILD CHILD because really the friendships are much better in that movie.

WINNER OF GUILTY PLEASURES CADET KELLY VS. WILD CHILD:

Cadet Kelly: 3

Wild Child: 4

Wild Child is the winner! While both movies are fun, guilty pleasures to watch, Wild Child is a better movie. Disagree? Watch them both for yourself and tell me your thoughts below!

 

Re-Watch: Marvel Cinematic Universe Phases 1 and 2 (Iron Man- Cap Am: Winter Soldier)

Back in 2008 a little known movie called Iron Man premiered in theaters and we all rejoiced . Now 7 years later, we're getting ready for an Avengers sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron. We've all had the privilege of getting to see some of our favorite superheroes come to life with Marvel Studios. That short clip at the end of the credits of Iron Man seems like a distant memory. To prepare for Age of Ultron (opening May 1, 2015), I've decided to re-watch and re-cap all that's happened in Phase 1 and Phase 2 movies (This does not include the Marvel One Shots or Guardians of the Galaxy). I will also be ranking my favorites of all 9 films listed below at the end of each review. So fasten your seatbelts comic book movie nerds, we're going in!

I loved Guardians of the Galaxy it was awesome but due to this post already being SUPER long and it doesn't have much significance to the plot of Age of Ultron I have chosen not to review it (But yes it does qualify as a Phase 2 movie).


Phase 1:

Iron Man (2008)
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Thor (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
The Avengers (2012)

Phase 2:

Iron Man 3 (2013)
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

PHASE 1:

Iron Man (2008)

"I'm Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

Meet Tony Stark. He's the CEO of Stark Industries, a weapons manufacturer, who lacks incentive to do much more than drive his fancy cars and pick up women to have one night stands with. Don't worry too much though, he's a billionaire. While out giving a weapons presentation in Afghanistan, Tony is captured and held hostage by The Ten Rings. While being held captive, Tony learns that there is shrapnel inside his body making its way to his heart and he needs a battery powered chest piece to keep it from killing him. He decides to make a miniature arc reactor chest piece instead to keep the shrapnel from entering his heart and also to power... a weaponized suit. 

Mark I suit

Tony uses this suit to escape but in the process learns that these terrorists have Stark Technology and use it to terrorize civilians. Once back in the US, Tony has a press conference to stop his company from developing weapons all together. Obadiah Stane, Tony's business "partner", tries to get Tony's miniaturized arc reactor piece. Pepper Potts is Tony's assistant and right hand woman, she helps Tony even when she realizes that he is building a new suit to protect civilians from his weapons. In the end, Obadiah steals Tony's arc reactor piece to build his own Iron Monger suit and he battles Tony's Iron Man. With the help of Jarvis, Tony's digital assistant, and Pepper, Tony manages to defeat Stane. The end of the film shows Phil Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D. giving Tony an alibi for the public fight in the suits with Stane, where Stane ended up getting killed. Tony ends up telling the press that he is Iron Man, making his identity public.

*After the credits we see Nick Fury in Tony's house making a snide comment about announcing his identity to the public but he has come to speak with Tony about the Avenger Initiative. (See the video of the post credits scene above)

My MCU Ranking: #3 out of 9

Comment: Great beginning to start off the MCU and still holds up as an enjoyably redeeming origin story for a much beloved yet complicated hero. He's not as straight forward as Rogers and I like that about Stark.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Let me just preface this by saying the previews that are on this DVD include a Beethoven movie that has Eddie Griffin in it. 2008 feels like a long time ago.

"I've been wondering if you were even real, and if you were what would it look like? A person with that much power lurking in him. Nothing could've surprised me more than this unassuming man shaking my hand."

First off, I love this movie. It opens with a quick 5 minute introduction of how Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) became the Hulk instead of another origin story movie. For that I wanted to give a special shout out to director Louis Leterrier.

For those who might be new to the origin of Bruce Banner/ Hulk here's the low down. Bruce Banner is a brilliant, quiet scientist with his girlfriend Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and they work with Ross' father "The General"- he's a military guy. The three of them are doing an experiment on Banner with gamma radiation (later on in the movie they reference the super soldier program with Steve Roger's serum that they tried to recreate with these experiments). Their's goes awry and he is turned into a giant green monster. They try and research to find a cure (this intro includes some Stark Industries graphics and some papers with Nick Fury's name on it). Banner injures Betty while he is the Hulk and this causes him to hide, living alone in Brazil. There is a nice graphic that we see occasionally during the movie that says "Days Without Incident" letting us know it's been awhile since he's Hulked out.

Look, science!

Bruce works in a factory job to get by. He accidentally cuts himself and we see a drop of blood fall onto a glass in the factory that Bruce doesn't catch. (Stan Lee cameos as someone who drinks the bottle and dies of gamma poisoning but this clues General Ross to where Banner is hiding). Bruce is communicating with someone named "Mr. Blue" and is working on a science experience to see if a special plant can cure him of the Hulk but it doesn't work. So he sends Mr. Blue a blood sample. Blonsky is a tough guy soldier who goes with Ross to Brazil to find Banner. They chase Banner to the factory and we hear his pulse watch speed up significantly. You can guess what happens next...

"Something really bad is about to happen here"

Finally we get to see an exciting Hulk vs. military guys fight. Obviously Hulk wins, between them being unprepared and him being well.. The Hulk it's a bit one sided. Later we see Bruce wake up in the jungle in human form and he makes his way back to the states. He goes to "Stanley's" Pizza (get it STAN LEE) who is an old friend. He poses as a pizza delivery guy to sneak into the University to get his data from a computer. (Cameo from Lou Ferrigno who played Hulk in TV Show). The data isn't there but Bruce accidentally runs into Betty and it's super romantic in the rain. She brings him back to her house and she gives him the data that she snuck from the lab. Bruce tells Betty that he has to keep running from The General because he wants to make the Hulk serum into a weapon. He's leaving in the morning.

Hulk vs. Blonsky

Blonsky is given a small dose of a similar serum from Ross to make him stronger. The next morning Blonsky and Ross find Bruce and Betty. Bruce swallows the data to keep it from Ross. I love seeing his eyes turns electric green right before he Hulk's out. Ross brings sonic cannons to disable the Hulk but Bruce hears Betty's and it gives him the strength to destroy them. Ross brings in a helicopter with major weapons and Hulk shields Betty from being hurt by the explosion. Hulk takes Betty with him and they wake up in a cave somewhere in the woods. Also, you get to see Edward Norton's butt in the shower once they make their way to a motel. Also a funny shout out to the purple Hulk pants. Also, Banner can't have sex because he'll get too excited with his pulse racing. Bruce makes contact with Mr. Blue and Ross intercepts it through the SHIELD database. Blonsky gets another small dose of the super serum while Bruce and Betty make their way to Dr. Sterns aka Mr. Blue.

"Hulk Smash"

Sterns attempts to help Banner cure him of this gamma radiation but it's a dangerous experiment. He induces Bruce and we get to see a close up of the transformation finally. It seems like the antidote might be working, he comes down from the transformation back into human form. The military finally captures Bruce and Blonsky threatens Sterns to put more serum into him. Stern warns him that a combination of serums would cause an "abomination". Blonsky turns in the Abomination and Bruce jumps out of the helicopter hoping to turn back into the Hulk to fight him. He does turn into Hulk and an epic battle ensues between Hulk and Abomination. Also includes a thunder clap and the epic line of "HULK SMASH", which is worth watching the entire movie for that one moment. The movie ends with Ross letting Banner/ Hulk escape before he hunts him again. Bruce ends up in British Columbia and the last shot is him about the Hulk out on purpose to perhaps try and control it?

*Then we see a scene of General Ross drinking heavily in a bar and Tony Stark walks in. "That super soldier program was put on ice for a reason General." "Stark, you always wear such nice suits"... "What if I told you we were putting a team together?"

My MCU Ranking: #7 out of 9

Comment: This movie is overall fun and I love Norton as a quietly powerful Bruce Banner. It's lower on my list due to the change in actors (I still love Mark Ruffalo) and a lack of follow through with some of the SHIELD universe that they seemed to be setting up in this film. It still kind of feels like the MCU's less popular step child.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

"Don't say wind farm, I'm already feeling gassy."

Immediately we hear a voiceover from the press conference scene in the last film where Tony announces that he's Iron Man. This time we see that it's being watched by Ivan Vanko and his dying father. Vanko has blue prints of Stark Technology's Arc Reactor and he makes his own miniaturized version. 6 months later Iron Man is at the Stark Expo opening ceremony. Backstage we see Tony testing his blood toxicity levels with a grave expression on his face. Stan Lee cameos dressed like Larry King. Tony is seated in front of a senate hearing with Sen. Sterns (any relation from Hulk?) to discuss turning over the suit to the government claiming it's a weapon. They call up Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) who is a "weapons expert" and owns Hammer Technology. Rockwell is in fine form. Then Rhodes is called up and they make a snide comment in the dialogue as Terrence Howard is replaced by Don Cheadle now. Tony makes an embarrassment of the committee and refuses to let them own the suit. His blood toxicity is continuing to increase and the paladium in the chest piece is killing him.

"I told you I don't wanna join your super secret boy band."

Tony appoints Pepper as his replacement for CEO of Stark Industries. Ivan Vanko gets a passport and ticket to the Grand Prix. We meet Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) of SHIELD who is undercover and Tony hires her as his new assistant. Tony and Pepper arrive in Monaco for the Grand Prix. Tony decides that he wants to drive in the race. We see there is a tense rivalry between Stark and Hammer but Tony doesn't see him as much of a threat. Ivan Vanko shows up on the track in a menacing suit with electrified whips, he's known as "Whiplash". Happy and Pepper drive to the track to give Tony the suit. Whiplash cuts Tony's race car in half. Happy runs him over in the car and its both hilarious and frightening all at once with all three of them yelling. Once Tony gets in the suit he manages to overpower Vanko who is immediately arrested.

Whiplash

Tony goes to visit Vanko in jail to ask him about the arc reactor that he made. His idea was that showing Iron Man as weak will cause others to try and destroy him themselves. Tony and Pepper head back to California for Tony's birthday party. Ivan receives a bomb with his food, which lets him escape from jail. His escape is orchestrated by Justin Hammer who hired Vanko to build suits for him. Rhodey comes to see Tony and expresses his concerns for his health. Tony gets drunk at his party and Pepper and Rhodey try to reign him in. Rhodey ends up putting on one of the Iron Man suits to disperse the party and get Tony to calm down. The fight ends with Rhodes leaving in one of the suits. Rhodes goes to the military base to show them the suit. 

War Machine

Tony is hungover and Fury finds him and Romanoff reveals that she works for Fury to keep an eye on Tony. Fury tells him that Howard Stark was working with Anton Vanko to create something huge in energy that could cure Tony's paladium problem. Tony learns that his dad was one of the founding members of SHIELD. Natasha and Coulson are there to babysit Tony and make sure he doesn't leave his house. They give him a box of his father's stuff. Hammer meets with Rhodes to put some of his weapons on the suit that Rhodey stole. Tony watches old videos and reads notes of his father's from the box that Fury gave him. He finds a video of his father talking to him about a model of the Stark Expo saying it's the "key" to the future and that Tony will change the world. 

Tony takes the model of the Stark Expo and makes a digital manipulative projection of it. He realizes that what his father built was a new element. Tony also finds a version of Captain America's shield in with some of his father's things. Coulson comments that he's off to New Mexico for a new project (this turns out to be Thor). Tony manages to create the element that his father discovered and use it as a replacement for the paladium. Ivan has secretly been modifying his Whiplash suit using Hammer's resources. Vanko calls Tony and threatens him. Tony uses the new element and makes his way to the Expo for Hammer's presentation. Vanko rigged Hammer's drones and Rhodey's suit so that he can control them remotely to attack Iron Man. Tony comes in at the end of the presentation and the battle ensues with Vanko controlling Rhodey and the drones. Hammer has no way to control the drones and he can't reach his team at his facility.

Black Widow

Black Widow does a badass job of beating up everyone in Hammer's security team while she tries to reach Vanko to stop him. Vanko is gone but Romanoff is able to reboot Rhodey's suit so that he can help Tony fight off the rest of the drones. They defeat them fairly easily and Hammer is arrested. Vanko makes his way to the two guys and fights them. They work together and defeat Vanko by combining their blasts. Unfortunately Vanko rigged all of the drones to explode. Tony flies off to find Pepper and save her from an explosion. He saves her and they kiss. The film ends with Tony speaking with Fury about The Avenger Initiative file. Fury tells him that Iron Man is recommended for Avengers but Tony is not. They want to use him as a consultant. There's also background footage on a screen from the Hulk battle. 

*After credits scene is footage of Coulson driving in the desert in New Mexico and looking at a giant crater that contains Thor's hammer and he calls Fury and says "We've found it".

My MCU Ranking: #6 out of 9

Comment: This movie is basically in the middle of the pack for me. It's not the weakest but is also not the strongest. The characters are fun but it's a much more subtle character evolution now that Tony's already gone through the events from the first Iron Man. It is the first time we see more Fury in the film and he's great so points for that. Overall, it's still a pretty well done movie with great acting.

Thor (2011)

"You made my men, some of the most highly trained professionals in the world look like minimum wage mall cops. That's hurtful."

We begin with Jane Foster, a master physicist, chasing a storm and looking incredible while doing so. She and her team, Darcy the assistant and Erik Selvig the scientist are with her. They find a grown man on the ground where the storm hit. (Hint: This is Thor). Then we get a voiceover of Thor's history. The Frost Giants were trying to create a new ice age in the mortal world but are defeated by Odin and his army, forcing them back to their own world. Thor is Odin's son and he lives on Asgard in the Realm of the Eternal. Odin and his brother Loki are very different and one will become king of Asgard some day. Cut to present day Thor, with an ego and hammer on full display in the suit all comic book fans are accustomed to seeing him in. His hammer, Mjolnir, is a powerful weapon with no equal. Just as Odin is about to proclaim Thor king, he pauses and Frost Giants have invaded the palace to get back their weapons that Odin stole when he defeated them.

We get to see lots of special Easter Eggs in Odin's Treasure room

Thor is mad that they managed to get in and gets in an argument with Odin about broken agreements. Loki baits Thor and his friends to go and attack the Frost Giants on their planet, defying Odin. Heimdall is the gate keeper who sees all and he lets them pass because he's mad that the Frost Giants got through to Asgard on his watch. Thor almost walks away from the fight but one of the giants calls him princess and the fight begins. This fight is cool, we get to see what the hammer, Loki, Thor and his team (Lady Sif and the Warriors Three) can really do. They are impressive fighters but are outnumbered. Odin comes and stops the fighting but it brings war. Due to Thor's brash actions and disobedience Odin tells him that he's unworthy. Odin takes his power and hammer away from him and casts him out to Earth. He lands and we see Jane and her team find Thor. As they drive off with Thor, we see the hammer land in the distance.

Selvig, Jane and Darcy

Jane and her team see photos from the storm and see the outline of a man within the storm (Thor) so they go back to the hospital to get him. Meanwhile, everyone has gathered around the hammer and they're all trying to lift it but to no avail. This is also a great Stan Lee cameo here. Coulson pulls up with the end clip we saw from Iron Man 2 saying that "we've found it". Back on Asgard, Thor's friends speculate against Loki saying that he might've been the one to let in the Frost Giants. Odin catches Loki in the treasure room and tells him that he is actually a Frost Giant and Odin stole him as a baby where he was abandoned. Odin thought that stealing Loki could help unite both worlds but now it's no longer an option. While Loki yells at him for not telling him the truth, Odin falls down and collapses.

"Did your silver tongue turn to metal?"

Selvig warns Jane about helping Thor get to the hammer saying that he's dangerous. Thor parts ways with them. Coulson shows up in their lab and is collecting all their research leaving them with nothing. Selvig makes a comment about how he knew a scientist in gamma radiation then SHIELD showed up and he was never heard from again (Banner perhaps?). In Asgard, Loki is on the throne as king because Odin has fallen into the "Odin sleep" and fears he will never wake up. Thor's friends ask Loki to end Thor's banishment but Loki says no and we get the feeling he orchestrated all this in hopes to get to this position. Jane finds Thor and they drive out to the site of the hammer. Loki's mother tries to reassure him that everything will be okay and there's a purpose to why Odin banished Thor.

SHIELD has built an entire facility around the hammer. Thor heads into the facility to break inside to get the hammer while Jane watches from the outskirts, hidden. It doesn't take long for SHIELD to discover there's a perimeter breach. Jane calls Selvig and tells him where they are in case something bad happens. Coulson calls for "eyes up high" and we get to see Clint Barton aka Hawkeye complete with bow and arrow waiting for Thor. Thor makes his way to the hammer but can't pick it up, signifying that he is not worthy of it's power yet.

Thor trying to lift the hammer

Coulson quizzes Thor about how he was able to beat up all his agents, thinking he's a spy and threatens Thor with finding out everything. Loki uses his trickery to visit Thor in his prison cell. He tells Thor that Odin is dead and says that his banishment and the threat of a new war was too much for Odin to handle. He baits Thor and creates blame, he says that the new truce and mother has forbidden Thor's return. This is obviously not true because in a previous scene we see the mother tell Loki that she wishes Thor could return. Loki, unseen, goes to try and lift the hammer but he can't and is disappointed. Selvig shows up at the facility and claims that Thor is "Dr. Donald Blake" and he got through their security with steroids. Coulson lets Selvig take Thor, knowing that the identity is false and has them followed. Selvig and Thor have a heart to heart and we see that Thor is starting to learn the lesson that his father was trying to tell him. Selvig asks Thor to leave town. Loki visits the Frost Giants to make a deal to conceal them into Asgard in order to kill Odin and they accept. Heimdall confronts Loki about him being hidden from his "vision". We get the feeling of Heimdall not trusting Loki but being sworn to obey him now that he's the king. Thor brings a drunk Selvig back to Jane's mobile home and they get to talking. They have an intimate connection and Thor is much more caring and grounded than he was and he tells Jane about the realms. 

Thor in his civi's

Thor's friends agree to go find him and Heimdall helps them. Loki sees him open the bifrost. They land in New Mexico near the hammer site. Loki releases a giant metallic monster aka The Destroyer to destroy (obviously) Thor on Earth. His friends find Thor to take him back. They tell him the truth about Odin and he realizes Loki was lying. Loki freezes Heimdall for disobeying him. Another storm forms and The Destroyer shows up in the desert. Everyone scurries to fight the monster. It shoots flames and seems to be indestructible.... I wonder if Thor will get his hammer back.... Anyway, Thor faces the giant as an ordinary man and apologizes to Loki for however he's hurt him and asks to take his life to spare all the others in the city. The Destroyer hits Thor and throws him and seems to kill him. Jane cries. Thor's sacrifice has made him worthy once again and the hammer comes flying over to him. Thor reaches an arm up and catches Mjolnir and is revived. In a giant thunder cloud with lightening, Thor and his hammer easily defeat The Destroyer. Coulson shows up at the end of the fight. Thor agrees to be SHIELD's ally to help protect the world when needed. Loki is waiting at the bifrost with Frost Giants. Heimdall begins to unfreeze slowly but when Thor calls for it to be opened nothing happens. Thor calling for him repeatedly unfreezes him and the bifrost opens with much effort from Heimdall (You go Idris Elba). Thor promises to return for Jane and they kiss. 

Hand kisses

The Frost Giants reach Odin and Thor hurries to stop Loki. Loki stops the Frost Giant before he can actually kill Odin and Loki destroys him to be a hero. Thor shows up angrily and confronts Loki about sending The Destroyer to kill him on Earth. Loki and Thor fight and Loki attempts to rip apart the entire Frost Giant's world. Loki wants to prove that he is a worthy son of Odin when he wakes. Thor defends the Frost Giants now, showing how much he's changed. Thor fixes the bifrost that's destroying the Frost Giant's world by breaking the rainbow bridge. This causes Odin to wake up and Loki yells that Thor will never be able to see Jane again. The hammer destroys the bifrost. Odin catches Thor who is holding on to Loki, preventing them from falling. Odin tells Loki that he was wrong and Loki lets go falling into outer space into a black hole. Jane and team see the sky clear and know that Thor is not coming back. 

Everyone seems to be joyful now that everything is back to normal, besides Loki being gone. Thor goes to Odin and he tells Thor that he'll be a wise king. Thor expresses his appreciation for his father. He tells Odin he still has much to learn before he becomes king. Heimdall tells Thor that there is always hope for him to get back to Earth and see Jane. 

*Post credits we see Selvig visiting Fury. Fury tells him that gateways to other dimensions aren't just myth and he shows him the cosmic cube and tells him it's "unlimited power". Loki watches through a mirror and whispers something then Selvig says it, i.e. he's somewhat under Loki's control. 

My MCU Ranking: #4 out of 9

Comment: I like this movie a lot, it doesn't ever feel like it drags on. The romance is fairly minimal but still believable. The fight sequences and outer space images are beautifully done. This movie is enjoyable and you can definitely see how Thor will be a great addition in The Avengers.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

"Well, if it isn't the star spangled man with the plan. What is your plan today?"

In the middle of a present day frozen snowstorm in the middle of nowhere, some "guys from Washington" come across a huge ship that's iced over. They break inside and discover a frozen shield (hint it's Captain America's shield). Cut to elsewhere back in 1942. Foreign country. Some military men with some evilness about them invade an ancient temple, Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) finds the cosmic cube and says, "The tesseract was the jewel of Odin's treasure room" and takes the tesseract. Back in America, still 1942 from now on, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is trying to enlist for war but has a huge list of health problems and is denied much to his disappointment. Enter Bucky Barnes, Steve's friend since childhood. He calls out Steve for continuing to try to enlist using falsified information. Bucky has successfully enlisted and they go to the Stark Expo for a double date. Bucky set up Steve with a girl but we see immediately that he's a third wheel. They watch Howard Stark (Tony's father) make a presentation showing a flying car. Steve wanders off to another enlistment office to keep trying his luck. Steve defends his nobility to Bucky and expresses his passion for wanting to join the war.

Bucky and Steve post serum

Dr. Erskine sees Steve's passionate plea to Bucky about joining and speaks with Steve. He asks Steve about why he's tried 5 times, he tells Erskine that he doesn't like bullies. He is finally admitted into the war. Dr. Zola is a scientist working with Schmidt to weaponize the tesseract's power. They successful harnessed the energy and say that it will change the world. Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) are training Rogers and his fellow recruits. Erskine is with them and watching them train. Steve struggles with physical training and Colonel Phillips tells them that one of them will be chosen to be the first one for a new program of super soldiers. Erskine and Phillips discuss how Erskine wants to pick Rogers, they are impressed with his bravery and intelligence despite his weak physical form. Erskine and Rogers discuss the operation that will take place the following day. He tells Steve about HYDRA (the Nazi's research division) and he tells him about Schmidt and his fantasy for power. Erskine and Schmidt worked together on an early version of the serum. He tells Steve that the serum amplifies what's inside the person, good becomes great and bad becomes worse. That's why they chose Steve because as a weak man he knows the value of strength and compassion. Schmidt has found where Erskine has been "hiding" and he suspects that he's perfected the serum.

Steve pre serum

Steve post serum (DROOL)

Steve and Peggy share a friendly moment in the car showing they're relatable and have a bit in common. We see the sparks of a romance beginning between them. They enter the secret underground facility where the operation will take place. There are people watching it take place and Howard Stark is helping with the procedure. The scene of him being injected is pretty cool so check that out if you haven't seen it yet. One of the men watching was actually a German spy and he shoots and kills Erskine. Steve chases after the bad guy and uses all his new muscles for the first time. He catches the guy escaping in a submarine but he uses a poisonous tooth capsule to kill himself first and says "Heil HYDRA". Phillips and his team are going to stop Schmidt but says that Steve can't come. Another man approaches Steve to join a different path- he does promos and shows to help promote the war and get funds. He dresses as Captain America and the audience loves him as he travels all around the US. He doesn't ever do any actual fighting though.

Captain America, with his shield

Steve dresses in his costume to go and talk to actual troops but they make fun of him and throw stuff at him. He is disheartened. Peggy Carter is there and they speak after the show. Rogers learns that he's among the 107th and asks Phillips about Bucky Barnes, his friend. He tells Steve that he's most likely dead. Phillips has no patience or respect for Steve so he goes out on his own to try and save the troops that are captured. Peggy gets Stark to fly him to enemy lines. Steve approaches Schmidt's facility and sneaks his way in. He releases the prisoners and goes to look for Bucky who was taken to a separate room. Steve and Bucky make their way out just as the entire facility self destructs. Steve comes face to face with Schmidt who is also very strong. We see Schmidt take off his face (yes literally) to become the Red Skull. Red Skull and Zola escape as the building explodes.

Red Skull

Steve gets back to the camp with the rescued prisoners and is now welcomed into the planning team to help stop Schmidt. Stark makes him a vibranium shield and he gets an updated uniform as he goes into battles with his Howlin' Commandos team. Bucky and Steve are on a train to capture Dr. Zola. There's a quick second where Bucky picks up the shield nodding to the comics perhaps but then Bucky unfortunately falls off the train and dies. Steve captures Zola and brings him to Phillips. Steve can't get drunk due to the serum and he is bummed about Bucky. It gives him more motivation to get to Schmidt. They make their way into HYDRA's last facility and Steve gets captured. His team breaks in and they fight their way through to stop Schmidt's invention that will take over the world using the tesseract's power. Peggy and Steve share a kiss. Steve follows Schmidt onto his plane that has the tesseract aimed for New York City, he's going to destroy it. Steve finds that there are missiles for multiple big cities in the US. They fight and Schmidt holds the cube and it sucks him through a portal, presumably now dead in outer space. The plane has damage and Steve has to put it in the water to stop people from dying. Peggy and Steve stay on the phone together until he crashes, they are both sad about not being able to be together now.

Agent Peggy Carter

We now understand that the frozen ship they find in the beginning is Schmidt's crashed plane. Still in the 40's Stark locates the cosmic cube in the ocean and continues to search for Steve Rogers. Back to present day we are in an ordinary room and Steve wakes up to a radio playing and he seems to be fine. He hears the radio and has some sort of an unexplained recollection. Someone enters and tells him he's in a recovery room in NYC. He knows they're lying because the game that's playing on the radio was a game he attended in person. He breaks out of the room and runs to the center of Times Square which is very different and he realizes the change. Enter Nick Fury who tells him that they put on the "show" to break the news to him slow that he's been asleep "on ice" for almost 70 years.

Fun fact: Natalie Dormer is briefly in this movie

*The post credits scene shows Steve fighting a punching bag in the gym and breaking it. Fury walks in with a mission for Steve saying he's trying to save the world. Also shows a trailer for The Avengers.

My MCU Ranking: #5 out of 9

Comment: This movie is a great hero story and makes Captain America a likable guy with genuine characteristics. The cast in this movie is phenomenal, it makes me want to re-watch Agent Carter after seeing this again. While it's not as action packed as you might think, there is a fun story to watch Steve go from a puny looking kid to a super hunky soldier. Also, I'll watch anything with Stanley Tucci in it.

The Avengers (2012)

"What's the matter, scared of a little lightning?"

"There's only one God ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."

"That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry."

It really has all accumulated to this movie. All the origin stories were made so that we could watch The Avengers without having to spend most of the movie learning about who they are and how they got there. It opens with narration that the tesseract has been "awakened on Earth". It shows the Chitauri leader, The Other (Alexis Denisof), giving Loki a scepter to take over Earth. Cut to SHIELD base where Fury arrives and is greeted by Maria Hill and Phil Coulson checking out an energy surge from the tesseract. Fury speaks with Selvig (from Thor) about the tesseract acting strangely and turning itself on. Hawkeye tells Fury that maybe the cube is being activated by the other end of space as it's a "doorway". It emits a wormhole and Loki appears in its wake. Then Loki attacks and you know you're watching a Joss Whedon production when a bunch of people are already dead in the first 3 minutes. Loki uses his scepter to brainwash Hawkeye into following his orders. He controls a few other agents as well as Selvig and he takes the tesseract. Loki tells Fury that he intends to take over the world and rule it. Loki and his team escape the base with the tesseract while Fury and Hill attempt to catch up and stop them but to no avail. The base is collapsing due to the portal closing in on itself. Hard flashbacks to series finale of Buffy when Sunnydale collapses into a giant hole (spoiler alert?). Fury tells Coulson and Hill that they are now at war.

Nick Fury and Hawkeye/ Clint Barton

We find Black Widow in Russia being held hostage by someone asking for some information. Coulson calls one of the bad guys' phones wanting to talk to Black Widow, he threatens them and puts her on the phone. Coulson asks to bring her in and we see some of the famous kick ass female moves and dialogue that Whedon is known for (and frankly it shouldn't be such a rare thing). Coulson tells her that he is getting Stark but that she needs to get "the big guy". We find out that this is the Hulk (now played by Mark Ruffalo). Banner says "avoiding stress isn't the secret" to not turning into the Hulk. Black Widow asks Banner to come in to help SHIELD. She tells him about the tesseract and they want him to find it because he knows gamma radiation. Fury is speaking to the SHIELD council about why they need the avengers initiative. Cut to Steve in his punching bag scene that we saw at the end of his movie now including flashbacks to a few scenes from his movie. Fury shows him the tesseract and asks for his help to save the world.

Loki

Iron Man is found in New York fixing his building, Stark Tower, to become a self sustaining energy building. He and Pepper are together and Jarvis tells Tony that Coulson keeps trying to reach him. Coulson shows up in person to give Tony some information to look at. The information is footage of Steve, Bruce Thor and the tesseract. They leave Tony to work on it. Coulson is bringing Steve to the jet and is clearly a big fan of the Captain. It truly shows how Coulson is the glue that interweaves and connects all these stories together. Loki has a conversation with The Other who tells him that the Chitauri are tired of waiting and Loki tells him it will all happen soon. Bruce meets Steve on the "ship" that is actually a huge aircraft. Banner gets to work on locating the tesseract. They find Loki in Germany because Selvig needs some Iridium, which is hard to find. Loki distracts while Hawkeye breaks into the vault to get the Iridium. Loki uses this opportunity to make himself known and to threaten lots of people. Captain America flies in to stop him and they fight. Iron Man flies in to help in the fight and Loki surrenders easily.

Bruce Banner/ Hulk

While flying back to the ship lightning appears and is followed by Thor himself who has come for Loki. Iron Man, Thor and Captain America battle each other setting up the ground work that the Avengers aren't ready yet to work together as a team. They basically level an entire forest and then all make their way back to the ship. Loki smiles at seeing Banner on the ship and put him in a cage that's made for Hulk. Thor tells them about the Chitauri who Loki will use to take over the Earth. They realize they're building a new portal for the Chitauri to enter. I love Maria Hill's no BS with Tony Stark. Stark and Banner work together to investigate the scepter and Stark tries aggravate Banner but he seems to have control over his anger. They, along with Steve, discuss why Fury has decided to wait to bring them in now when he's harnessing energy and Stark has been working with clean energy. Steve thinks that Loki is trying to rile them all up to help start the war.

Maria Hill

Steve goes exploring the ship and finds plans for weapons that use the tesseract, similar to the weapons he saw Red Skull using. Coulson tells Thor that he moved Jane to safety after Selvig was taken by Loki. Black Widow goes to speak with Loki to get information and we see a bit into her past, she used to do bad work before joining SHIELD. Barton was sent to kill her but he spared her instead. Loki mentions some things Hawkeye told him from Natasha's past including: "Drakov's daughter, Sao Paulo and the hospital fire" with no explanation to what they mean. Black Widow deceives Loki and realizes that he means to unleash the Hulk. Fury finds out about Banner and Stark investigating their weapons that use the tesseract. The conversation brings everyone to the same room and begins an argument blaming each other for everything. Loki's scepter is seen in the background in the room and seems to be activated. Hawkeye and Loki's team approach the ship while everyone is distracted. Banner seems to be loosely controlled by Loki. Hawkeye blows up the ship by destroying one of the engines and the team scrambles to get the ship afloat and fight off the invaders.

Selvig

Banner finally Hulks out adding another problem to the fight. Captain and Stark work on getting the engine back up while Black Widow and Thor help to fight off Hulk. Thor loves a good fight and Black Widow heads off to find Hawkeye and she hits him really hard in the head to knock him out and de-hypnotize him. Coulson goes to Loki's cell to stop him. Also, Cobie Smulders is a great Maria Hill. They use a plane to distract Hulk off the ship and he falls in the air landing who knows where. Barton uses an arrow to hack into their computers and stop the engine that's holding them up and the entire ship is falling. He also uses this to free Loki from his cell. Coulson is about to shoot Loki then is stabbed and killed with Loki's scepter. Loki traps Thor into the cage and releases it to plummet from the sky. Thor manages to use his hammer to break the glass before it crashes to the Earth. Loki escapes on a jet and flies off. Fury finds Coulson who is dying. He tells Fury that it's okay because the team needed something to fight for. Fury gives Steve and Tony the speech about why he wanted to start the Avengers and uses this to motivate the team to stopping Loki. Banner wakes up in human form. Barton wakes up and is free from Loki's hypnosis.

The Avengers!

Tony figures out that Loki is going to use Stark Tower to make a show and open the portal for the Chitauri. Fury and Hill watch from the ship as they go to stop Loki. Tony meets Loki at Stark Tower and stalls him. Loki can't use his scepter to control Tony so he throws him out the window but Tony's Mark VII suit (my favorite) has ID sensors and attaches to him while he's falling. The Chitauri army invades New York.  Thor and Loki fight while Tony battles Chitauri and the others join. After a while Banner joins and turns into Hulk mid-punch and it's insanely badass and is worth a 15 dollar movie ticket to see that moment followed by all the Avengers standing together ready to fight. They finally work together as a team and Selvig wakes up de-hypnotized by the portal. The SHIELD council has decided to shoot a nuclear missile to Manhattan, which would destroy everything but Fury tells them no. Hulk finds Loki and beats him up and it's glorious. Selvig tells Natasha that by using the scepter it can break the barrier of the tesseract portal and possibly close it. The SHIELD council overrides Fury's decision against the missile and it gets deployed. Fury asks Tony to stop it somehow. Selvig and Black Widow work on closing the portal and Tony is going to put the missile through the portal. The missile makes it through and Tony falls back through the portal just before it closes and he has successfully stopped the Chitauri by blowing up their ship. Hulk saves Tony before he crashes into the ground. They win the battle and capture Loki.

Thanos

The battles creates awareness throughout the world that there are extraterrestrials and superheroes known as The Avengers. Thor takes Loki back to Asgard. Fury speaks to the council and tells them that they are taking the tesseract back to Asgard where it belongs.

*There are 2 post credits scenes: The first goes back to space with a voiceover from someone talking to The Other saying that humans are unruly and can't be ruled. The speaker turns and we see that it's THANOS! The Avengers greatest foe! He's very powerful. The second scene shows The Avengers eating at a Shawarma place after the battle.

My MCU Ranking: #1 out of 9

Comment: Surprise, Surprise The Avengers is number one on my list. This movie is insanely great. It has the story, the characters and the perfect blend of action/comedy that Joss Whedon is known for. There's not much to hate about this and while it is fairly long it gets me pumped up to see Age of Ultron more than any other movie so far. It doesn't make you feel like you're missing out on things if you aren't a huge fan of the comics already, it's just an all around fun movie. If you're gonna pick any of these movies to watch choose this one. #CoulsonLives

PHASE 2:

Iron Man 3 (2013)

"Hispanic Scott Baio?"

Our first "Post Avengers" movie brings us back to Iron Man beginning with a voiceover. Flashback to 1999 New Years Eve party in Bern, Switzerland. Tony is drunk and meets Yensen (from Iron Man 1) in passing and meets Aldrich Killian in an elevator who comes across as a weirdly obsessive fan. Tony says hes gonna meet him on the roof to discuss his work and goes to join Maya Hansen in his hotel room to discuss scientific research work that she's had a breakthrough in. She has a plant that can regrow its leaves instantaneously. There is a glitch with her work that it explodes and Killian waits on the roof for Tony who never shows. Back to present day, Tony is working on his suits and seems to be obsessive, now at Mark 42 and JARVIS notes that he hasn't slept in 72 hours. He implants something into his arm that allows his suit to remotely attach to him. On the TV he sees The Mandarin terrorizing and killing people and making a show of it. The Mandarin puts the blame on President Ellis for ignoring him. Rhodey comes in as Iron Patriot, a more USA friendly character than War Machine. He and Tony meet to talk about The Mandarin and he tells Tony there's been 9 bombings. A tiny kid asks him "How'd you get out of the wormhole?" (from the end of The Avengers) and it gives Tony a panic attack. Killian goes to meet with Pepper and she comments that they used to work together. He looks much more normal than the 1999 version we saw. He tells Pepper about Extremis and shows her a digital map of his brain and that Extremis would enhance people's capabilities by recoding their DNA. Happy tells Tony about Killian flirting with Pepper. Pepper says no to Killian's research offer.

Killian and The Mandarin

Tony can control his suits without being in them remotely. Pepper is upset with Tony for constantly working and ignoring her. He admits that nothing has been the same since New York and that he can't sleep. He tells her that she's the one thing he can't live without and the machines are part of him but are a distraction. Tony tries to sleep and has flashes of going through the wormhole giving him nightmares. Happy is spying on Killian's mysterious man, Savin, who meets up with a guy and gives him a briefcase. The guy with the briefcase and Savin are unable to be injured and seem to be very strong. The briefcase guy explodes after turning a glowing red. Savin is somehow able to regrow his missing body parts and walks away from the explosion. The Mandarin does another TV spot claiming to be responsible for the explosion that Happy and Savin were at. Happy is in the hospital. Tony is met by lots of press while leaving the hospital. He sends a message to The Mandarin and challenges him to "good old fashioned revenge" and gives him his home address. Tony investigates the crime scene and there are no bomb fragments. He finds some evidence of a similiar explosion that happened before The Mandarin in Rose Hill, TN. Maya Hansen shows up at Tony's house and there's lots of press and helicopters surrounding his house. A giant missile hits the house and Tony throws the remote suit on Pepper so she doesn't get hurt. Pepper and Maya manage to get outside but Tony is stuck inside while more missiles destroy the house and he grabs the remote suit from Pepper. Unfortunately the suit is just a prototype and he doesn't have his normal capabilities. Tony watches as all his suits get destroyed and he falls into the ocean. Jarvis helps Tony to escape.

Harley Keener, the young boy who helps Tony

Tony lands in Rose Hill, TN because that was the last flight plan he had prepared. The suit loses power and he has to drag it through the snow. He sends a remote message to Pepper that he's alive but needs to find The Mandarin and stop him. He finds a garage space and meets a young boy, Harley Keener, who agrees to help him fix the Iron Man suit. Maya tells Pepper that she works for Killian and thinks that Killian is working for The Mandarin. We see Killian on a movie set to record The Mandarin's next TV ad. Killian has a phone conversation and we learn that he orchestrated the attack on Tony's house. Tony goes to see the explosion site in Rose Hill and there are human body outlines from the explosion that killed 6 people but there's only 5 outlines. Chad Davis is the one who they say created that bomb. Tony goes to talk to Chad's mother and she gives him a file thinking he's someone else. Another woman walks in and glows red just like the other guys and attacks Tony. There are a few of them and they chase him down trying to kill him. The woman is able to walk through fire and still heal. Tony creates an explosion and she is dead. Savin is there now too and he captures the young boy, Harley. Tony manages to evade him and gets the file from Chad's mom. Savin still gets up after a few minutes and is healing. There's another Mandarin attack on every TV in the nation. The Mandarin has a hostage and urges the President to call him or else he will kill the man. He calls and The Mandarin shoots the man anyway with the entire nation watching. He tells the President that he's coming for him now. The President orders the Iron Patriot to find and kill him. Tony calls Rhodey and learns that the people who build the Iron Patriot suit, AIM, were also in Chad's file. He finds a way to watch some AIM files and sees the extremis fighters as injured soldiers who Killian used as test subjects. He watches footage of one of the subjects exploding from the inside and it's not a bomb its a "misfire". Maya's plant research was used by Killian's think tank to be weaponized. Maya and Killian are still working together and capture Pepper. Killian's men capture Iron Patriot also.

Iron Patriot

Tony learns that The Mandarin is in Miami. Tony breaks his way into the mansion where The Mandarin is staying. He finds The Mandarin who is actually just an actor and all the violence was actually staged. He tells Tony that The Mandarin isn't real it's just a role that he's playing. Killian needed someone to blame for all the accidental explosions. Tony is taken by one of Killian's men and sees Maya. Maya wants his help to stabilize the Extremis program but he refuses. Killian shows Tony that he's putting Extremis into Pepper and that he and Maya also have Extremis in them. Maya threatens to explode herself and Killian shoots her before she gets the chance. They're working on trying to open the Iron Patriot suit to get Rhodey out of it. Tony's watch beeps and he waits for his Iron Man suit to make it to Miami. Also, Killian can breathe fire. The suit slowly makes its way there and he fights his way out. Tony calls the Vice President and tells him that The Mandarin is coming for him. He tells Tony and Rhodey that he will alert the President that Rhodey isn't actually the one in the Iron Patriot suit. He doesn't call anyone and we see he has a crippled daughter.

Maya Hansen

The President is on his plane with the Iron Patriot with Savin inside and he kills everyone and threatens the President. Savin puts the President in the suit and sends him to Killian. Tony arrives and there's an explosion with people falling out of the plane. He manages to save them by having them grab on to each other. We find out that Tony was controlling the suit remotely. Killian puts the President inside the Iron Patriot suit and strings him up on a giant oil barge and is going to light him on fire. Tony and Rhodey sneak onto the barge but are outnumbered until tons of Tony's suits show up to help them. The battle ensues as Tony also tries to free Pepper. Tony tries to catch Pepper from falling but barely misses her and she falls into an explosion. Tony and Killian fight. Tony puts the remote suit on Killian and explodes it causing a chain reaction that explodes most of the ship. Killian walks out of the explosion but Pepper, who has Extremis, is alive and saves him. She's also very badass and manages to kill Killian. Tony destroys all the extra suits.

Tony dragging the suit through the snow

The voiceover is back showing the VP and the "fake" Mandarin being arrested. Tony fixes Pepper from Extremis and also goes into surgery to remove the shrapnel from his chest. He also sends high tech equipment to the young kid who helped him. Finally, Tony throws his chest piece into the ocean.

*Post credits scene is Tony sitting with Bruce Banner and seemingly he has been telling him this entire story like a therapy session.

My MCU Ranking: #8 out of 9

Comment: This movie is fun but there isn't much action until the final battle scene. Guy Pearce is great and Robert Downey Jr. always does a nice job in this role as he carries the movie. It's one of the last on my list simply because most of the other movies are a bit stronger and as far as a progression for the MCU, this movie doesn't move forward very much other than Tony no longer needing his chest piece. It's an enjoyable watch and is still a nice addition to the MCU.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

"There is nothing more reassuring than realizing that the world is crazier than you are."

Odin begins with a voiceover about the Dark Elves and their leader Malekith who wants to use the Aether to bring infinite darkness to the universe when the 9 realms converge. Odin's father and his army waged war against the Dark Elves but Asgard took the Aether from Malekith and the Dark Elves fell but Malekith was vanquished. They bury the Ether saying that it can't be destroyed. Loki is handcuffed and speaks to Odin in the palace about his crimes from New York. Loki thinks its his birthright to be on a throne. Odin tells him that he's wrong and his birthright was to die. Frigga, Loki's mother, is the only reason that he's still alive. We see Thor and Lady Sif in the middle of a fight against a huge giant rock monster. Thor easily defeats the monster and the creatures surrender as he works to brings peace to the 9 realms and has been successful. Odin tells Thor that he's better off thinking about Lady Sif instead of Jane Foster as he takes the throne soon. Jane is in London and she and Darcy investigate a strange reading. Selvig has gone crazy and was arrested for public indecency at Stonehenge. Darcy also has an intern named Ian and the 3 of them investigate the scientific data.

Jane asking Thor why he's been gone so long

They arrive at a big warehouse and some kids show them how some of the objects like a heavy truck seem to be weightless and there are portals that can bring things back. The readings are similar to the New Mexico anomaly when Thor arrived. Jane wanders off investigating the source of the anomalies and is sucked into a portal that brings her to where the Aether is hidden. The Aether attaches itself onto Jane and she faints and it wakes up Malekith from his deep sleep when the Aether is activated. The convergence of the 9 realms alignment is coming up soon. Jane wakes up back in the warehouse 5 hours later. Thor shows up on Earth and goes to see Jane because Heimdall couldn't see her while she was missing. Jane inadvertently creates a forcefield around her from the Aether's power whenever someone touches her. Thor sees this and immediately takes her to Asgard. Malekith wants the Asgardians to suffer like he's suffered for destroying all his people. The doctors try to figure out what the energy is but can't understand it. Odin tells Thor, in front of Jane, that she does not belong there. Odin sees someone try to touch Jane and she creates another forcefield and he explains what it is. The Aether changes matter into dark matter. One of the Dark Elves in disguise is taken hostage to Asgard where Loki is also held prisoner in the cells.

Thor

The Dark Elf in Asgard jail creates an explosion and breaks out of his cell and also breaks out everyone else except for Loki. Thor and his team fight the prisoners who try to escape. Heimdall destroys an incoming ship but there are dozens more and he can't stop them all as they enter into Asgard. Malekith and his army easily get through Asgard's troops. They've come for Jane. Frigga fights him but is outnumbered and they kill her. Thor rushes in but it's too late and Malekith escapes. Jane is safe but Odin and Asgard mourn for Frigga and all the killed warriors. Loki mourns for his mother too. Selvig, in a mental institution, talks about the alignment of the 9 realms and how the barriers between them are less defined. Jane has a vision of all of Asgard being consumed by the Aether's darkness. Thor talks to Odin about taking Jane to the Dark World so that Malekith can take the Aether from her and Thor can destroy it. Odin refuses to agree to this plan. Thor gets his friends to help instead but they need Loki in order to get off Asgard. Loki agrees and they know that Loki will try and betray him. There's a fun Captain America cameo as well. Lady Sif breaks Jane out of her captivity and Thor, Jane and Loki escape Asgard. There's a humorous scene with Loki and Thor while he flies a huge ship.

Dark Elves

Darcy gets Erik out of the mental facility. Selvig tells them that the convergence is almost here. They reach the Dark World and Malekith watches as Loki stabs Thor and kicks him and cuts off his hand. Loki holds Jane prisoner telling Malekith that he wants to watch Asgard burn. Malekith believes him and takes the Aether out of Jane. Loki created an illusion and didn't actually hurt Thor. Once the Aether is released from Jane, Thor strikes it with his lightning. The Aether does not get destroyed though and is absorbed into Malekith. Thor saves Loki, who saved Jane, from being sucked up into a portal that would kill them. Thor fights the Dark Elves with Loki's help but Thor is being outmatched. Loki tries to stab the one thats hurting Thor and Loki gets stabbed instead but manages to destroy the monster. Loki dies and Jane watches Thor mourn for his brother. Jane discovers the other end of the portal they found in the warehouse and she and Thor go back to see her team on Earth. Malekith arrives on Earth at the center of the convergence in London and Thor distracts him while he uses the Aether's power. They fight and eventually the convergence begins and the Aether is taking over and bringing darkness to the 9 realms. Thor uses Selvig's equipment to try and stop Malekith and it works. Jane and her team are eating breakfast 2 days after the big fight and Thor is back in Asgard talking with Odin. Thor's willingness to sacrifice himself brought the 9 realms together and Thor asks to not be a king but instead to be a great man. Odin accepts his refusal of the throne and he is clearly proud of who Thor has become. We cut back to Odin and it actually turned out to be Loki in disguise but Thor doesn't know.

Loki

*First Post credits scene shows Lady Sif and another Asgardian warrior meeting with The Collector from Guardians of the Galaxy. They are there to keep another infinity stone, the Aether, in his safe keeping as to not keep 2 infinity stones in the same place on Asgard. "One down, five to go" he says. The second post credits scene shows Thor arriving on Earth to see Jane and they kiss.

My MCU Ranking: #9 out of 9

Comment: This movie is rated last because for me it was the least memorable. The movie doesn't get exciting until Thor breaks Loki out of prison and they interact together. I was also disappointed that they didn't utilize Jane being more powerful while she had all the power of the Aether in her. She seemed exactly the same just don't touch her. It would've been much more interesting to actually give her more to do instead of giving her this character development then not doing much with it. It seemed like just an excuse to get her to Asgard. I would've liked to see it change her and make her into an enemy to make the stakes a bit higher. All that it did was just make her tired sometimes and once in a while create forcefields when people touched her (but not even consistently because Thor and Frigga touch her and are just fine)... In general, this movie isn't bad but I do stand by my decision that it is last on this list.

Captain American: The Winter Soldier (2014)

"If you want to stay ahead of me, Mr. Secretary, you need to keep both eyes open."

Fun fact, I've actually already created a post about Captain America: The Winter Soldier HERE so check that out if you wish to read more comments rather than a summary. This movie is pretty long and the plot is fairly intricate so just a heads up on this being a longer than the others.

The movie begins with Steve jogging around Washington, DC landmarks. He meets Sam Wilson who was a veteran that now works at the VA hospital. They immediately get along and Steve is picked up by Black Widow for a mission with SHIELD. They go to a ship, the Lemurian Star, to free some hostages including Jasper Sitwell, a high ranking SHIELD officer. Captain and his team manage to free the hostages but Steve finds Natasha backing up the hard drive to save SHIELD intel. Steve is upset because her getting the intel was a secret and compromised their whole mission to save the hostages. Steve confronts Fury about his lies and withholding information. Fury shows trust with Steve by showing him the plans for Project Insight. There is a fleet of helicarriers that are equipped with long range guns to eliminate targets. Steve doesn't agree with his method of holding a gun to everyone and calling it "freedom". Steve goes to visit Peggy Carter, she's now very old and losing some of her memory. Steve tells her that he's trying to figure out what's the right thing to do now whether it's following orders or doing something else. He tells her that a big part of why he's working for SHIELD is because she was a founding member.

Older Peggy talking with Steve

Fury tries to open the files from the ship about the Lemurian Star (it is a ship that's built to launch targeting satellites for Project Insight) and he is unable to open it. Alexander Pierce, Secretary of Defense, is having a conversation with the SHIELD council. Fury goes to see him and asks to delay Project Insight while he looks into things. Steve goes to visit Sam Wilson at the VA hospital to figure out what he wants to do. Fury calls Maria Hill from a secure line and tells her that he needs her in DC under deep cover. Immediately he is attacked by what appears to be metro police but clearly isn't as they shoot at him. Luckily his car is bullet proof but they have strong tools that will break through the car. Fury shoots at them and manages to drive away. They continue with an exciting car chase and it looks like Fury has gotten away but is stopped by a mysterious man in the middle of the road who flips his car. By the time the mysterious guy gets to the car Fury has used a secret tool to dig an underground tunnel. Steve flirts with his neighbor and enters into his apartment to find Fury waiting for him. Fury tells him that SHIELD has been compromised. Fury is shot but manages to hand the hard drive to Steve. His neighbor walks in during the gunfire and she is Agent 13, a SHIELD agent who was sent to protect him (also she is the granddaughter of Peggy Carter but he doesn't know that). Steve chases after the mysterious guy in the road who shot Fury but he gets away before Steve can catch him.

Natasha shows up at the hospital and they watch Fury go into surgery, Maria Hill is there too and they see Fury die. Steve hides the drive in a vending machine at the hospital where he can come back and get it later because some agents want him back at SHIELD immediately. Steve meets with Alexander Pierce who tells him that he thinks Fury hired the pirates to hijack the ship as a cover to get the intelligence that Natasha stole. Steve tells Pierce that he's wrong and Fury wouldn't do that. Pierce keeps questioning why Fury was in his apartment right before he died but Steve doesn't give him anything. Pierce threatens Steve by saying that he's going to hurt anyone who gets in the way of finding out who killed Fury. Steve gets in an elevator and a bunch of agents get in with him at each stop. Steve suspects that they are there to attack him and once they do he manages to defeat them all. Sitwell seems to be organizing the attack. He finds a way to escape while more agents chase him. Sitwell orders all agents to hunt down Steve Rogers and find him. Pierce tells them they are hunting him down because he lied to them about information Fury told him when he died.

Pierce and Fury

Natasha manages to find Steve at the hospital looking for the drive, which she's found. She tells him that The Winter Soldier is the guy who killed Fury. Now that Fury's dead the council reactivates Project Insight. Steve and Natasha go to an apple store to find out the information on the drive. They can't break into the information but see where it's coming from in New Jersey. SHIELD is at the mall and is closing in on them but manage to evade capture. They arrive at an abandoned Camp Lehigh, where Steve was stationed for his army training. They find a building and see that it's the beginning of the foundation of SHIELD. They come across a hidden elevator and it takes them to a huge room of computers. They input the drive and it turns everything on where they see that Zola's "brain" has been inputted into an intelligence system. He's somehow alive inside the computer and speaks to Steve and Natasha. He tells them that HYDRA is actually still alive and has been secretly feeding destruction without anyone realizing it and they have completely infiltrated SHIELD. HYDRA is intending to use the Lemurian Star program to destroy millions of people with the helicarriers that Fury showed Steve. A missile hits the building where they're speaking with computer Zola but Steve manages to use his shield to protect himself and Natasha from being killed by the explosion.

Rumlow aka Crossbones

Rumlow shows up at the crash site and sees a footprint showing that they're still alive. The Winter Soldier speaks with Pierce at his home and Pierce hires him to kill Natasha and Steve. Natasha and Steve go to Sam Wilson's place to hide from SHIELD. Sam tells them about his past and shows them his Falcon suit and offers his help. They capture Sitwell to ask him about Zola's algorithm and why he was on the Lemurian Star ship. Sam flies in with his Falcon gear on. Zola's algorithm chooses targets of anyone who's a threat to HYDRA (he also mentions Dr. Strange!) and it evaluates people's pasts to predict their future. The helicarrier is used to kill millions at a time. The Winter Soldier shows up and throws Sitwell out of the car and he is hit by a truck. Falcon, Captain and Black Widow fight The Winter Soldier and his team. The Winter Soldier's mask falls off and Steve sees that it's Bucky but Bucky doesn't seem to know who Steve is or who he was. Rumlow and his men manage to capture Captain America and take all 3 of them hostage back to SHIELD. Steve thinks that Zola's experiments from WW2 must've helped Bucky to survive the train fall. In the van during transport Maria Hill helps them escape.

Sam Wilson aka Falcon

Hill takes them to see Fury who is in a secret base and is alive and recovering in a hospital room under heavy protection. He's glad to see them. They wanted to make it look like Fury was dead, he didn't know who to trust and it would keep him safe. Bucky is under surgery after his fight with Steve and he is regaining memories from being Bucky. We also learn that he was put on ice. Zola created him as The Winter Soldier. Pierce goes to talk to Bucky and tells him that the work he's done has been a gift to man kind. He's basically a puppet to HYDRA and they wipe his memories as he said he somehow knew Steve but couldn't quite place it.

Fury's plan is to link all the helicarriers using a server blade that will stop the mission from killing a ton of people. Steve says that in order to do this would mean taking down SHIELD since it's been compromised by HYDRA. Fury begrudgingly agrees to Captain's plan. Steve recalls a memory of Bucky being there for him after his parents died. Sam tells him that he needs to stop Bucky no matter what because he's different now, he's not the same guy he remembers. Steve steals the uniform from his museum showcase. The council is at SHIELD headquarters to watch Project Insight launch. Steve and team break into the SHIELD building and he gets on the intercom and speaks to all the agents and tells them about Pierce being their leader with HYDRA taking over. The council is now taken hostage by Pierce and his men. Rumlow makes sure that the ships are launched but the agents are now hesitating and fighting back. Rumlow overrides the system and launches the helicarriers.

Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier

Captain and Falcon begin the fight to stop the helicarriers and Pierce tries to convince the council to join his side but none of them will. One woman on the council turns out to be Black Widow in disguise and she takes back control of the room and has a gun to Pierce while his men are down. Natasha dumps all of SHIELD and HYDRA's secrets onto the internet making all their information known to the world including her questionable past. Fury shows up to execute the release of information in a badass entrance. Pierce wants to sacrifice 20 million people to save 7 billion. The Winter Soldier appears on the last helicarrier that they need to triangulate. Steve and Bucky fight. Bucky shoots Steve a few times but he just manages to triangulate his helicarrier just as they are about to kill off all the targets. Hill has all the helicarriers shoot at each other instead even while Steve is still on one of them (because he told her to). Fury shoots and kills Pierce. One of the helicarriers is crashing into the SHIELD building and Falcon just manages to escape in Fury and Natasha's helicopter. Steve tries to get Bucky to remember him as their helicarrier comes crashing down. Bucky doesn't want to believe it but Steve keeps trying by saying he won't fight him, he's a friend. Steve falls as Bucky manages to hold on to the ship and he falls unconscious into the water where he would drown. Bucky jumps down and grabs him and pulls him out of the water, saving him. He leaves Steve on the shore and walks away. Rogers wakes up in a hospital with Sam sitting by his side. Maria Hill is a new hire at Stark Industries and Rumlow is badly injured and burned. Black Widow is put in front of a committee about her past but she tells them that they still need people like her and Rogers to defend the world.

Captain America vs. The Winter Soldier

Fury tells Captain that he's going to Europe to continue fighting HYDRA agents that haven't gone down yet. He offers Steve and Sam to join him but they decline and Natasha says she's going to find a new identity. She gives him a file about Bucky's past and Sam agrees to go with him to find Bucky.

*First post credits scene shows HYDRA scientists in possession of Loki's scepter (it contains an infinity stone that has the power of mind control). They also show "the twins" who are Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in jail cells (They are in Age of Ultron). The second post credits scene shows Bucky going to visit the Captain America museum showcase and seeing the information about himself ("Bucky"). 

My MCU Ranking: #2 out of 9

Comment: This is just a good movie. Even outside of the MCU it's a great example of a spy movie done well. The plot is smart and captivating even though the movie is fairly long at 136 minutes. This one is definitely worth seeing, it's funny and has great character development and interactions. I love Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill and of course Samuel L. Jackson is great as Fury. Everything about this movie just works really well with suspenseful action done correctly.

Well there you go. You made it to the end you brave soul, you! As a reward here is a conveniently placed Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer below. Questions? Comments? Post below in the comments section.