Captain Marvel (Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck)

[Wryan]

In hindsight, it would have been nice of Talos and Co. to bring up the whole [

Show Spoiler

we're just friendly green families looking for a home

] thing instead of fighting with Fury in the car over a gun and beating Fury up in the hallway (and pointing a gun at him with intent to kill? I can't recall exactly how it went down). That sort of goes against the later narrative and makes it look a bit sloppy, even if the latter parts were handled well on their own.

[Dukefrukem]

This was fine. The 90s throwbacks got old really fast, there aren’t any stakes until the final act, and it gets off to a rocky start tonally. But Brie Larson was phenomenal, the VFX and score were great, Goose is the best movie cat since Jonesy, and the film’s messages of female empowerment were conveyed in strong fashion.

Oh this reminded me another thing I didn't like about the opening; did anyone notice how terrible the first mission looked from an art direction / FVX standpoint? It was so hazy, and ugly and I kept thinking the scene would look so much better if they took a rainy night approach rather than a hazy brown mess approach.

[Wryan]

Also, [

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apparently the Tesseract could remotely power this incredible leap of technological sophistication? Not even, "We broke a chunk off it and are using that piece to power the ship." Just flat out powering it remotely?

]

Also also, [

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if the cat had the Tesseract in its gut by the end, how did the Green Homeless Ones travel faster than light to start looking for a new home? Remote again? Even when it was inside a cat?

].

[Dukefrukem]

Also, [

Show Spoiler

apparently the Tesseract could remotely power this incredible leap of technological sophistication? Not even, "We broke a chunk off it and are using that piece to power the ship." Just flat out powering it remotely?

]

Also also, [

Show Spoiler

if the cat had the Tesseract in its gut by the end, how did the Green Homeless Ones travel faster than light to start looking for a new home? Remote again? Even when it was inside a cat?

].

I would assume the same way the technology was used to build those Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. weapons.

[megladon8]

I thought this was really good.

[Henry Gale]

Oh this reminded me another thing I didn't like about the opening; did anyone notice how terrible the first mission looked from an art direction / FVX standpoint? It was so hazy, and ugly and I kept thinking the scene would look so much better if they took a rainy night approach rather than a hazy brown mess approach.

Big yup:

There are things that land with a thud like the initial stand-off against the Skrull being one of clunkier, muddier and shapelessly staged action scenes to ever be in an MCU movie..

At least rainy action scenes provide a senses of frustration, discomfort and atmosphere to them. This was so hazy and nondescript it could've been filmed in the lobby of the very theatre I saw it and honestly that wouldn't have been completely out of the question but probably he only way to have made it cooler and more exciting to watch.

[[ETM]]

The action scenes are definitely not the directors' strong suit.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

[Morris Schæffer]

Decent. Exists in that nether region of superhero flicks where it's not too dour to get you down, but neither too dramatic to really engage you.

Definitely veers towards 'piew piew' videogame territory a few times. I got way more out of the supporting characters than Danvers herself.

Kinda cool how [

Show Spoiler

Talos turns out as the good guy although they go out of their way too much just for the sake of springing that surprise on you. And of course Jude Law as the villain is about as believable as Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist.

]

I fear for Captain Marvel's inclusion in End Game and how she will/might tip the balance.

[Grouchy]

Eh, can't all be winners. Captain Marvel starts very strong with all the scenes set in the Kree Empire and Jude Law's charismatic antagonist turn but it quickly adheres to the exact same formula as every other MCU film, which wouldn't be so bad if it hadn't raised my expectations before. It's one of the blandest of these movies and feels too much like an extended trailer for Avengers: Endgame. And speaking of Avengers, I hated the final reveal that it was her nickname that gave the team its name since it wasn't the least bit foreshadowed.

I also felt cheated when she unleashed her power because it was so out of the blue. She basically willed herself to be more powerful than she already was, which made little sense to me. It was obvious that they wanted to outdo the trench scene in Wonder Woman and failed miserably.

[Dukefrukem]

Yeh, this needed a Gunn or Whedon type of story telling. They did the best they could with the flashbacks / origin story but maybe Marvel felt like since we've already been cosmic, the audience can grasp these alien worlds but as Peng mentioned, it felt a lot like Alien dress up. It needed a slow ramp or an intro like the first Guardians. As I said, I liked the fish out of water aspect the most, and the alien stuff the least. It should be the opposite for a film like this (unless it involved more Coulson)

[Dukefrukem]

I predict it'll top out around $250M. Word-of-mouth is ok, but the people I follow on letterboxd are hitting it hard (and I realize they are film snobs, but still). There's some other sure things at the B.O. -- Jordan Peele's Us (excellent reviews out of SXSW), Dumbo (critic proof), Pet Semetary (should do well after the success of IT). Plus some ones that could go either way -- Shazam! (could be another Deadpool, or not?), Hellboy (does anyone care?), and the La LLorona horror movie (people underestimate how huge this story is with the Mex-Am community so don't count this out). Then of course Endgame comes out on April 26 which will nuke the B.O. Only Endgame will beat Captain Marvel, but these other films will ding up Captain Marvel's legs over the next few weeks.

Passed $270 this week.

[Pop Trash]

Passed $270 this week.

Fine. I'll say $350M... but NO HIGHER AMERICA. GOT IT??

Early reviews for Pet Semetary and Shazam! are solid btw.

[Dukefrukem]

I thought this was interesting; Captain Marvel is only the 3rd MCU movie to not have a love interest with one of the main characters. The other movies being Thor: Ragnarok and the first Avengers.

[MadMan]

I liked this a lot. Could have used more Clark Gregg. Yey alien kitty. I am reminded of Thor 1 and the first Captain America, which is fine. I wonder how she will fit into Endgame.

[Dukefrukem]

Fine. I'll say $350M... but NO HIGHER AMERICA. GOT IT??

Early reviews for Pet Semetary and Shazam! are solid btw.

$355

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies...arvel2018a.htm

[Skitch]

= 375 in first month domestic

358 with 2 days to go. So I was off. But not by fucking much.

[Pop Trash]

$355

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies...arvel2018a.htm

Booo! Give some of that money to Harmony Korine. In cash so he can light it on fire on his sailboat before floating out to sea in a lifeboat*


*this is a The Beach Bum reference if that wasn't clear

[Dukefrukem]

Passed $400 mil dom over the weekend. $9 more mil, and this will end up grossing more than Civil War and Iron Man 3 and likely hold the $5 spot for a while.

[Dukefrukem]

I'm starting to understand why Disney released Captain Marvel so close to Avengers. It's the same reason why they did the same for Black Panther. Two brand new franchises, that inevitably get a little boost at the box office as the release date for Avengers nears.

[DavidSeven]

I think Larson/Boden/Fleck just straight up failed at making the Danvers character interesting. This is up there with the recent Supermans in terms of boring, wooden main characters.

CGI Sam Jackson carries the movie and makes the thing watchable. Mendelsohn is good, as always. Pretty forgettable affair otherwise.

[Pop Trash]

I'm starting to understand why Disney released Captain Marvel so close to Avengers. It's the same reason why they did the same for Black Panther. Two brand new franchises, that inevitably get a little boost at the box office as the release date for Avengers nears.

I think so too. Marvel junkies need their fix and many will simply see Captain Marvel again if Endgame is sold out. Wouldn't be surprised if this rakes in another $50M over the next month since the B/O top three this weekend will be Endgame / Captain Marvel / Shazam! most likely. LE SIGH.

[Irish]

You guys are insane. I can't believe anyone would call this bland next to the lifeless Ant-man movies. It's a shame they released in March because it's a perfect summer movie. Colorful, bright, and fun.

"Marvel" is hands down the best written Marvel movie. I was astonished. This movie's structure is exceptionally well done.

I was also, uh, totally wrong with my predictions, on just about every level. I never would have guessed the duo behind "Half Nelson" and "Mississippi Grind" would have been capable of something like this.

Larsen carried the movie. I still think she's is a jackass when it comes to her public life, but goddamn what a great actress. She made me believe in Carol and like her, despite how grating I find Brie personally. (That's also my one big complaint about the script: The movie is so ruthlessly paced that the characters don't read well; every bit of their personality comes from the actors.)

Also, it looked fucking great. Like a real comic book movie, Ragnorok-lite, the way I always imagined these sorts of movies are supposed to look. I lost count of the number of times I yelled "Fucking cooooooooool!" at something on screen.

Based on some reviews and twitter sniping, I thought this would be another coma-inducing Marvel experience but goddamn did I have fun watching it. What a terrific experience.

Top 5:

1. "Tell me, brother. What were you the god of, again?"
2. Captain Marvel
3. The scene between Thor and Rocket in Infinity War
4. Captain America: The First Avenger
5. Any scene from other Marvel productions where Cap puts Tony in his place

[Dukefrukem]

Irish has drank the Marvel Kool-aid?

[megladon8]

The only scene that really bothered me was the first mission. Visually, it is just too damn dark. I don’t know if the look of the sets wasn’t up to par so they tried to artificially darken / fog it out or something?

But it all felt very out of place in a movie that was otherwise full of colour and visual flare.

[Milky Joe]

CM was fine. You're welcome to love it. But that swipe at Ant-Man was unnecessary and wrong and I don't forgive you.