Tag Archives: Marvel

Spider-Man No Way Home: Movie Review

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By: Karissa Meno

Spider-Man No Way Home was the most spectacular Marvel movie that “phase four” has produced. We expected so much of the film and it very well delivered that expectation. 

WARNING: SPOILER ALERTS!
With many speculations and accusations going around about the movie, it was hard to tell exactly what would happen even though the cast and crew tried their hardest to keep Spider-Man No Way Home the most secretive movie to appear in Marvel. This web-slinging adventure hit theaters December 17, 2021 and was the greatest end to this year of Marvel movies. Directed by Jon Watts, produced by Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal, and with music by Micheal Giacchino, this $200-million-budget movie along with it’s amazing graphics and visuals comes with an amazing cast.

Tom Holland (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), Zendaya (MJ or Michelle Jones), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May), Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds), Alfred Molina (Dr. Otto Octavius), Willem Dafoe (Norman Osborn), Jon Favreau (Happy), Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange), Jamie Foxx (Electro), and with the incredible Tobey Maguire (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), and Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock/Daredevil).

This incredible cast made an unforgettable and even incredible movie. 

Spider-Man No Way Home picks up where Spider-man Far From Home left off with Peter and MJ swinging through the city together and is stopped by a news report with incriminating evidence of Spider-Man and the reveal of Spider-Man’s identity with a video left by Mysterio. After this, Peter Parker’s life is turned upside down when he is made “public enemy #1” all around the world. With the support of MJ, Aunt May, Ned, and Happy they help to try and clear Peter’s name. All Peter needed was “a really good lawyer.”

Along with fighting the public opinion, Peter, MJ, and Ned send in college applications hoping to get into their dream school, MIT. After a devastating rejection from MIT, Peter hopes to change things to help MJ and Ned get into MIT. He asks for help from Dr. Strange to cast a spell that can make the world forget Peter Parker is Spider-Man. With an intense spell contained from getting out into the world, Peter hopes to talk to the MIT Chancellor on her way to the airport. The freeway is crowded as Peter starts to sense a strange presence. The appearance of Spider-Man’s villains begin to appear due to the fact the villains know who Spider-Man is. 

Instead of sending the villains home, which was Dr. Strange’s intention, Peter wants to help them become better people in an attempt to change their fate. Peter begins to help each of the villains to either help contain or control their powers in good ways. With Peter’s spider senses it unleashes multiple conflicts with all villians causing Peter to have a period of contemplation with himself. Wanting to put an end to the multiverse conflicts, MJ and Ned are met with two very important people to help Peter on his adventure. With the help of Peter’s metaphorical “brothers” he plans to do what he intended and help the villains. With the final battle in place everyone is back in a good place, but Peter is faced with another huge conflict when he decides to make everyone forget who Peter Parker is, including sending all of the” intruders” home. Peter starts a new chapter and begins to live life on his own with his name cleared and his identity secret again. 

Spider-Man No Way Home was possibly one of the most illuminating and has many people wondering what this “multiverse” will do for the MCU. Even though I felt the movie was moving fast they were still able to fit in all the important and creative scenes. The fight scenes were incredibly set up; even though some parts felt awkward, the fight scenes kept me interested. Peter shows a clear reflection of being a kid and being ready to take on the responsibility it takes to be a hero. The story felt off at certain points and felt almost random but it made sense to the movie’s importance. The movie had me mostly excited and amazed as I was watching. The movie gave me so many emotions at once: excited, amazed, and as they say, “on the edge of my seat.” 

Audiences are very excited to see what the adventures for Spider-Man are after this. Of course if you stayed for the end-credit scene you would have seen the special sneak peek at Dr. Strange Multiverse of Madness.
Dr. Strange Multiverse of Madness shows a glimpse of what releasing the multiverse has done for Dr. Strange. We also see a very special appearance from Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch/ Wanda Maxinoff) and Xochitl Gomez (America Chavez) who are very important characters to be seen alongside Dr. Strange. Even though the trailer shows a lot, it’s hard to tell exactly what this movie will have in store for us. Dr. Strange could be on an adventure to fix what the multiverse’s effects have on the world around them. After seeing Spider-Man No Way Home and seeing the trailer for Dr. Strange Multiverse of Madness, everyone is very excited to see exactly what the multiverse is going to do for future Marvel movies.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One): First Look at New Trailer

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By: Yael Ventura

After the box office hit: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, released to theaters on December 1st, 2018 and grossing over $375.5 million world wide, the movie introduced non-comic book readers to the Spider-Man multiverse. The movie brought along characters like: Penny Parker, Spider-Women, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir, Miguel O’ Hara and the protagonist, Miles Morales. The movie left viewers amazed with its animation, soundtrack, and references, cementing Miles Morales as a household name among new and old fans alike.

It is now three years later, and both Marvel and Sony released a teaser for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) on December 4th, 2021 giving the fans a first look into the new movie.

The trailer starts off with Miles laying in bed as a portal opens with Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy) coming out and having a conversation with Miles. They decide to go out, cutting to Miles as he zooms through the web of multiverses and lands into a new universe and a new visual style for the movie. As he’s catching his breath, a portal behind him opens up as Spider Man 2099 (Miguel O’ Hara) comes lunging at Miles, catching him. As both Spider-Men are falling, Miguel opens another portal, bringing the two into a new universe along with a new visual style change. Miguel catches up with Miles as the teaser cuts off introducing the name of the film: Spider Man: Across the Spider-Verse as the title glitches to show that this film is only part one. Yet another glitch and the release date is shown, October 7th, 2022.

It appears that a long wait is ahead for fans as they excitedly wait for the release of the new film.

Shang-Chi: Film Review

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By Karissa Meno

•Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton

•Cast: Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Awkwafina (Katy), Tony Leung Chiu-wai (Mandarin), Fala Chen (Leiko Wu), Meng’ er Zhang (Xialing), Michelle Yech (Jiang Nan), and Benedict Wong (Wong).

Shang-Chi was the perfect Labor Day plan. The phase 4 of Marvel continues to get better and better with the release of Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Marvel Studios and the cast are what made Shang-Chi perfect. The film offers amazing visuals as well as an incredible storyline. The beautiful scenery and visuals gave me chills along with the incredible fight scenes; and it even offers a little comedy.

The movie shows the story of the man known as the Mandarin and his Ten Rings organization, with the story of Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and his sister Xialing (Meng’ er Zhang) who grew up at the Ten Rings compound. After losing something important, Shang-Chi and Xialing must face their father alone as he goes on an impactful investigation to regain that important thing. This movie offers the symbolism of letting go of who you were made to be and to become who you are. The importance of family, home, and the people with the meaning of aiming for something much bigger.

Shang-Chi begins with the story of their father, Mandarin, who is looking rich in power and all of the above, but he is looking for more. While looking for more riches he meets Leiko Wu, Shang-Chi and Xialing’s mother. Years later Shang-Chi and Xialing are left with the Mandarin after the loss of their mother. As the years go on, we see Shang-Chi training with the rest of the soldiers while Xialing watches from the sidelines training herself and being better than the boys. On an important mission Shang-Chi is sent to finish, he runs away leaving Xialing behind.

Six years later, Shang-Chi is living a normal life with his best friend Katy (Awkwafina). After an attack with the Ten Rings men, Shang-Chi is obligated to find Xialing and help their father to regain his consciousness after he has come to believe Leiko Wu is being hidden away by her family in a secret civilization. A trip back home made Xialing and Shang-Chi realize they have to find their mothers hidden home. Once arriving at their home, Shang-Chi is taught to fight with nature and not violence, while giving Katy and Shang-Chi a meaning of becoming more mature. Shang-Chi is forced to fight his father, leading him to gain the Ten Rings and restore peace to his home. 

Shang-Chi is one of the best movies in the phase four MCU or MCM now. Shang-Chi has beautiful graphics and visuals along with interesting animals and new and exotic places. The fight scenes were well played out and incredible to watch. Shang-Chi has great promise to future films, hopefully bringing back Shang-Chi, Katy, and Xialing in other films, along with the continuation and investigation of the Ten Rings.

Shang-Chi was the perfect plan for my Labor Day weekend. Audiences agreed, as Disney once again reached the No.1 spot over the Labor Day weekend with an astonishing $90 million in ticket sales in both the U.S. and Canada.

Spider-Man: No Way Home Trailer Drops

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By Karissa Meno

The Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer is finally out after many months of asking. This Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studio, and Pascal Pictures production is directed by Jon Watts, written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, and produced by Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal.

The trailer includes important appearances from Tom Holland (Peter Parker/Spiderman), Zendaya (Mary-Jane Watson), Benedict Cumberbatch (Steven Strange/Dr. Strange), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May), Jacob Batalon (Ned), Benedict Wong (Wong), with a special appearance from Alfred Molina who plays Dr. Octavius/Dr. Octopus from the 2004 Spider-Man 2 film. With theoretical and hopeful appearances from both Toby Maguire (Spider-Man 1, 2, & 3) and Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2).

The trailer offers so much leaving you with so many questions and theories. It also has a beautiful way of opening up the multiverse while providing a combination of Doctor Strange visuals and aspects, while offering an overwhelming amount of action creating a very exotic and eventful trailer.

With many theories going around about the possible characters and events in the movie, it’s hard to determine who the whole cast might be or what most scenes in the trailer might be. The trailer gives a lot of information just from little snippets of a scene, you get the general plot of what the movie will contain giving you that excitement and shocking feeling every trailer and Marvel movie should.

The trailer begins with how Spider-Man: Far From Home ended, revealing the true identity of Spider-Man with challenging tribulations to Peter Parker and his family and friends. Peter Parker contemplates the thought of what life would have been like if people didn’t know he was Spider-Man, and thinks to consider and seeks help from Dr. Strange. When arriving at the Sanctum, Dr. Strange tells Peter about a certain spell that could help Peter to regain his normal life back, even though Wong encourages Dr. Strange not to use the spell. But Dr. Strange goes against Wong’s wishes. As Dr. Strange performs the spell Peter continues to blab about those who should know about him being Spider-Man and the spell is ruined. The spell was a much bigger part of the timeline and everything is affected by the disruption of the spell, bringing in the Dr. Strange aspects into the trailer. With the troubled spell, much of Peter Parker’s world is turned upside down, figuratively and literally. The rest of the trailer and movie is up for elaboration until December 17, 2021.

This trailer gives some hopeful and exciting view into what No Way Home is about, with the trailer raking in over 355 million views, beating 2019’s Avengers: Endgame trailer. Much of the trailer and events in the movie are being theorized. As more and more theories and rumors are coming in, it’s hard to tell exactly what the movie is going to offer or who it’s going to offer. Spider-Man: No Way Home will open a month and a half after Marvel Studios’ Eternals and Disney+ Series Hawkeye in theaters. Don’t forget to stick around for the post-credit scene and even the after-credit scene.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier summary

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By Brandon Nunez

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has just finished wrapping up its first season and its last using the moniker Falcon, with it being changed to Captain America by the season’s end. It has the two main deuteragonists to Captain America in Falcon/Sam Wilson and the Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes. Their roles are reprised by Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. Other past MCU characters have reprised their roles such as Daniel Brühl as Baron Zemo, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter, and Florence Kasumba as Ayo.

The plot centers around Sam and Bucky’s recovery and rocky relationship post-Endgame and on dealing with Sam giving up the mantle of Captain America given to him by Steve. John Walker (Wyatt Russell) is soon issued the mantle as Captain America by the U.S. Government, and the story also follows his descent from Captain America to a possible antagonist stripped of his title. As John is slowly becoming less and less like Captain America throughout the show, Sam becomes more accustomed to taking over the role and does so by the end of the season.

Sam also begins to find out the dark truth of the U.S. super soldier serum and shield post-WWII and the people of color affected by it. Bucky begins to figure out a way to make amends for his crimes as the Winter Soldier in a self-respectful and honest way, that isn’t just avenging. All the while he is trying to stop Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) and her group called the Flag Smashers, who wish for a world without borders through means of super soldier violence as it was a post-Thanos snap.

However, Karli also deals with the aftermath of her killings as well as those affected by the actions of the governments trying to stop her and wonders if the cycle of violence is all her doing and is it worth continuing for a post-Endgame world. The show contains themes of self-worth and loathing, American identity, identity in general, ideological differences in worldview benefits, cycles of violence, and racism.

The story Behind Falcon and the Winter Soldier

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by Arlene Perez

The Marvel Cinematic Universe fanbase is growing due to the popularity of its phenomenal hit miniseries WandaVision. And with the March 19th release of Falcon and the Winter Soldier, newcomers have a lot of catching up to do. 

So, if you’re new to the MCU family, but you want to watch this hot new show because you don’t want to experience FOMO, there are a few things you need to know. So strap on your seatbelt because we’re going for a wild ride back to the 1940s!

How it All Began

Captain America: The First Avenger is the 2011 Marvel hit that explores this American hero’s origin story.

Steve Rogers was a young kid from Brooklyn who had tried enlisting in the army several times because he wanted to do his patriotic duty and help his country defeat the Nazis. But sadly, he kept getting rejected due to his poor physical health and small stature. 

Though he faced rejection over and over again, Steve never gave up. Eventually, his perseverance and determination paid off when he was hand selected by Dr. Abraham Erskine to take part in a very experimental procedure.

I could tell you all about what happened, but I don’t want to ruin the experience for you. Check out this movie before tuning into the new Disney Plus series, or you’ll be lost for sure!

Why Should I Watch the Older Movies? 

Why, you ask? Well, the two main characters in the new series– Sam Wilson (aka Falcon) and Bucky Barnes (aka the Winter Soldier)–are  people that you meet along the MCU journey, and both of them have strong ties to Steve Rogers. 

You meet Bucky in the first Captain America movie, but you don’t meet Sam until the 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier. So if you haven’t watched these films, then you won’t really understand the backstory needed to be able to fully follow the plot and understand the connection between these two guys.

My Suggestion? Watch These Films. 

You should at least watch the Captain America series before grabbing the remote and  going to Disney Plus’ newest series. Here they are: 

  • Captain America: The First Avenger
  • Captain America: Winter Soldier
  • Captain America: Civil War

However, if you have the time, energy, and patience to learn all there is to know about these Marvel heroes, go back and watch all of these incredible movies from the beginning to end so that you can catch up on all that you’ve missed!

Besides, what else do you have to do during Spring Break in this pandemic? So grab some snacks, and let the adventure begin!