Tag Archives: Superheroes

03.24.19
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Commentary #85: “My Journey Through the Marvel Universe”

My Journey Through the Marvel Universe

Image Credit: The Book Raven

I love Tiana, who is the awesome author of The Book Raven, wrote an incredible post about the Marvel Universe!

Here’s the link to Tiana’s post:

I love how Tiana watched all the Marvel movies, and then decided to make separate blog posts to discuss each movie individually.

Inspired by her, I wanted to give my take on these movies here, together. We’re only about a month away now from the premiere of Avengers: Endgame and I CANNOT FREAKING WAIT!!!

Iron Man (2008)

The film's title is shown below juxtaposed images of Tony Stark and Iron Man.

I’ve seen every single Marvel movie in theaters, several of them multiple times. I know superhero movies aren’t for everyone, but I’ve really enjoyed what Marvel and the variety of directors have done with these movies!

Iron Man was a big deal in 2008. It got a lot of buzz, and rightfully so. To me, no one else can play Iron Man other than Robert Downey, Jr. He’s pretty much perfect for the role.

Initially, Gwyneth Paltrow bothered me, but I like her as Pepper Potts. Jeff Bridges was great as the eventual villain. This was our first introduction to Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. I love how Jon Favreau played Tony Stark’s bodyguard and chauffeur Happy Hogan, as well as directed this movie.

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The Incredible Hulk (2008)

The Incredible Hulk poster.jpg

I wasn’t a huge fan of this one. Edward Norton was okay as Hulk, and I enjoyed Liv Tyler.

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Iron Man 2 (2010)

Tony Stark is pictured center wearing a smart suit, against a black background, behind him are the Iron Man red and gold armor, and the Iron Man silver armor. His friends, Rhodes, Pepper, are beside him and below against a fireball appears Ivan Vanko armed with his energy whip weapons.

I’m always slightly skeptical of sequels. However, banking on the massive success of the first Iron Man movie, this one was pretty good. I was sad to not see Terrence Howard, but thought Don Cheadle was a good choice. I enjoyed seeing Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell. Mickey Rourke wouldn’t be my first choice, but it worked.

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Thor (2011)

Armor clad and wearing a red cape, Thor is crouched, holding the handle of his hammer to the ground, and rock debris is being blasted away. In the background are four panels showing the faces of Jane, Loki, Odin, and Heimdall.

Thor was a tough character for me to get behind. However, Chris Hemsworth was a great choice to portray him. I loved Natalie Portman as Jane Foster. And Idris Elba was a perfect choice for Heimdall, the sentry of the bifrost bridge. Asgard is a magical, amazing place!

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Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Captain America The First Avenger poster.jpg

Unlike Thor, Captain America was an easy sell for me. Captain America has become my favorite Marvel character. Chris Evans is incredibly handsome, and portrays the super solider so well! Plus, anytime history is incorporated into a movie, I’m there. I really enjoy 20th century history, so it’s no surprise I’ve seen this movie multiple times. In addition, I loved Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter.

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The Avengers (2012)

TheAvengers2012Poster.jpg

I love it when a team comes together! While other Marvel movies are my true favorites, this one is near the top of the list, easily in my top five. Joss Whedon did a FABULOUS job with this movie!

All the previous movies to this point come together here. The noticeable difference is The Incredible Hulk is now portrayed by Mark Ruffalo, but I appreciated that change. We also see Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, which was another great choice. I also immensely enojyed seeing Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill.

This movie ends Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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Iron Man 3 (2013)

Tony, as Iron Man in his battle damaged suit sitting with water around him, while his house behind is destroyed. Stark's Iron Legion is flying, while the Marvel logo with the film's title, credits and release date are below.

This was not my favorite. This movie is a good example as to why I’m skeptical with some decisions about sequels and additional movies. The only true exciting part for me was recognizing several locations in Miami.

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Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Thor - The Dark World poster.jpg

This one was also okay. Not my favorite. I did enjoy Kat Dennings and Rene Russo.

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Captain America The Winter Soldier.jpg

This one almost outranks The First Avenger, but not quite. However, I loved the spy angle and espionage feel! Seeing Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson was awesome. And Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter was nice addition as well. Seeing Robert Redford was great, too.

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Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

The five Guardians, sporting various weapons, arrayed in front of a backdrop of a planet in space with the film's title, credits and slogan.

This movie! Holy freaking cow. This is definitely in my top five, next to Captain America! I’m not usually one for space adventures, but this cast, plus the EPIC soundtrack did it all for me. It was FABULOUS.

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Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers Age of Ultron poster.jpg

The gang is back together. This one was good, but it’s hard to top the first Avengers movie. The additions of Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen were cool. And seeing Paul Bettany on screen was great, too.

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Ant-Man (2015)

Official poster shows Ant-Man in his suit, and introduces a montage of him starts to shrink with his size-reduction ability, with a montage of helicopters, a police officer holds his gun, two men in suit and tie and sunglasses and the film's villain Darren Cross is walking with them smiling, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, and Evengeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne with the film's title, credits, and release date below them, and the cast names above.

I wasn’t sure about seeing Ant-Man on screen, but Paul Rudd was a great choice for this role! This movie is hilarious, and I appreciated adding comedy and humor to a relatively dark and brooding series of movies. Not to say this movie doesn’t have darkness, but seeing the heist plot and Ant-Man’s origin story was great. Paul Rudd and Michael Pena are tied for my favorite characters here, and Michael Douglas is a close third.

This movie ends Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Official poster shows the Avengers team factions which led by Iron Man and Captain America, confronting each other by looking each other, with the film's slogan above them, and the film's title, credits, and release date below them.

Cap is back! This isn’t anywhere close to the other two Captain America movies, but still good. Seeing the division among the team – Not cool, but it certainly drives a good story. And seeing Spider-Man’s and Black Panther’s character debuts were awesome!!

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Doctor Strange (2016)

Doctor Strange, wearing his traditional costume, including his red cloak coming out from a flowing energetic portal, and around him the world and New York turning around itself with the film's cast names above him and the film's title, credits and billing are underneath.

Like Thor, I was initially skeptical of Doctor Strange. However, I really enjoyed Benedict Cumberbatch in this role. Seeing this world, and how it connects with the rest, was exciting.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

The Guardian members in front of a colorful explosion

Unlike some of the other sequels, this one was AWESOME! The soundtrack didn’t disappoint, either. I high enjoyed Michael Rooker, Pom Klementieff, and Kurt Russell in this movie.

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Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Spider-Man Homecoming poster.jpg

Tom Holland is awesome as Spider-Man! One of the best casting choices yet. I also enjoyed seeing Zendaya, Michael Keaton, and Marisa Tomei here. As many of you know, I’m a sucker for movies set in New York!

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Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor Ragnarok poster.jpg

This is by far my favorite of all the Thor movies. Period, end of story. The soundtrack is epic. Also, seeing Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, and the alien Korg were great.

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Black Panther (2018)

Black Panther film poster.jpg

Seeing this world of Wakanda was stunning. Everything about this movie was visually spectacular! Is it in my top five or top ten Marvel movies? No. But it is a spectacular addition to the MCU. I think my two favorite characters were Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Shuri (Letitia Wright)!

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Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Avengers Infinity War poster.jpg

Holy freaking cow. This movie destroyed me, along with everyone else. But it’s so good. It’s a great culmination of all the other movies to this point. But, it’s a soul-crusher for sure. The great battle in Wakanda was one of the most amazing battles / fight scenes ever!

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Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Ant-Man and the Wasp poster.jpg

Seeing this after the trauma of Infinity War was a pleasant change. This is a really good sequel, and what’s not to like with comic relief! I wasn’t super fond of Hannah John-Kamen and Laurence Fishburne, but it worked.

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Captain Marvel (2019)

Captain Marvel poster.jpg

This movie was super kick-ass! Brie Larson was a great choice to play Carol Danvers. Plus, the total 1990s nostalgia was spot-on! And the cat literally stole the show.

I’m mentally preparing for the destruction that Endgame will bring on April 26th. I think I’m ready?

Also, Endgame is the movie that marks the end of Phase Three of the MCU.

I’m looking forward to Spider-Man: Far From Home in July. This is the start of Phase Four of the MCU.

What about you? Do you have a favorite movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

02.05.19
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Writing Prompt #169: “30 Day Disney Challenge” (Day 5)

30 Day Disney Challenge

Image Credit: Meerkat Musings

Day 5 – Your favorite hero

Frozone!!

Image result for frozone

Image result for frozone

I loved The Incredibles (2004) and Incredibles 2 (2018). If you haven’t seen the sequel, I highly recommend it. It’s not as good as the original, but it was worth the 14-YEAR WAIT.

Lucius Best, a.k.a. Frozone, is one of my all-time favorites! He’s smooth, funny, and awesome! His moves look, ha, incredible, in both films.

“Where is my super suit?”

Hahahahahaha!

Come back tomorrow for a new post!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

09.07.17
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Tag #28: “Wonder Woman Book Tag”

As soon as I saw this tag from Delphine’s Babble on Some Good Reads two weeks ago, I knew I needed to do it!

Also, check out Delphine’s amaze-balls blog, while you’re at it. She’s fabulous!

Here’s the link to Delphine’s original post:

Wonder Woman: Your Favorite Badass Female Book Character

hunger-games

Image Credit: Scholastic Media Room

Katniss Everdeen was the first badass character that came to mind! I love The Hunger Games trilogy – It’s a set that will sit on my bookshelf until the end of time.

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Fantasy Island: A Book Setting You Want to Escape To

The Vacationers

I loved the richness of Spain in The Vacationers. This is a perfect escape book!

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London: A Hyped Book That Let You Down

Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org
Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org
Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org

I liked Divergent, and I loved Insurgent, but Allegiant was incredibly disappointing. It was one book that I almost didn’t finish. It also kind of ruined the entire series for me. The movies were even worse!

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Steve Trevor: A Book That Has a Beautiful Cover And a Great Story (i.e., Great Personality)

Black Beauty

Image Credit: Pinterest

As a child, I enjoyed books about horses. Black Beauty was no exception.

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Lasso of Truth: A Book You Hated

The Scarlet Letter - B&N

Image Credit: Barnes & Noble

I absolutely LOATHED this book. I had to read it for one of my summer assignments in high school, and I struggled to get through it. As an adult, I now understand why it’s important to read it, but back then, I cried because it was so awful and so frustrating, and I did not understand why I needed to read it!

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Wonder Woman’s Shield: A Book So Sad You Need a Shield

The Battle of Jericho - Simon & Schuster

Image Credit: Simon & Schuster

This was the first book from Sharon M. Draper that I read. I wasn’t expecting to cry and feel multiple emotions, but I did. Despite feeling incredibly sad, I wanted to read more. This book is part of The Jericho Trilogy, and she’s written another impressive trilogy, along with many other books. If you haven’t read any of her books, you should. She gives a powerful perspective on the lives of African-American teenagers, as well as tough topics, including abuse, poverty, teen pregnancy, hazing, and others.

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No Man’s Land: A Book that You Want to Send Through No Man’s Land (i.e., shoot it to death)

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Goodreads

Image Credit: Goodreads

As a senior in high school, the last thing I wanted to do was attempt to decipher the stream of consciousness of the narrator in this blasted book. I remember reading, and then re-reading, pages over and over and over. It didn’t make me cry, but most of my class bemoaned Mr. Degnan for picking this book!

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Ares: A Villain That is Scary, But You Can’t Seem to Hate

Carrie.jpg

Image Credit: Amazon

Carrie was one of the few Stephen King books that didn’t truly scare me. I guess it was because I’d heard so much about the book and the movies before reading it? I’m not sure. Regardless, Margaret White is a scary character, but I don’t hate her.

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Ar. Poison: A Villain That Has No Reason To Exist

Honestly, I’m at a loss for this question. Readers – Do you have any ideas for this one?

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The Amazons: A Book that You Wish Had More/Better LGBT + Representation

Same as above. I’m not sure how to answer this one, either. Readers – What say you?

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Justice League: What Superhero Book Friends Do You Tag?

I’m not tagging anyone in particular, but I hope some of you will consider doing this one!

This tag was really HARD. Thanks for the challenge, Delphine!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂