Marvel has had their relative ups and downs in Phase 4 but the last three installments (Werewolf By Night, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special) have been unanimous favorites among the fandom because of their exceptional quality.
The Holiday Special was a striking reminder of how lovable the Guardians can be in James Gunn’s hands. The special features exciting new changes to the team like the lovable addition of Cosmo the Space Dog, voiced by Maria Bakalova, a much different-looking version of Groot, and Mantis’s personality is fully developing.
Beyond that, the special has another couple of extra fun surprises up its sleeve that made the holiday special not just funny but warm and inviting. I didn’t just like this special, I absolutely loved it. It provided everything I could’ve hoped for and it reinvigorated my love for these characters just in time before their third movie which drops next May.
I’m giving it 95 out of 100 and 4.5 out of 5 stars. It was really beautiful.
I thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day.
Posters are some of my favorite things in the world. They make a film or tv show look so cool through marketing alone and there are twenty posters that I find simply awesome. Enjoy!
20. A Riddle for The Batman
Part of the reason why I am actually excited for The Batman tomorrow is that it has had some interesting posters. And this one in particular, simplistic yet bold, pits the antagonist versus the protagonist in a truly fascinating way. What a way to utilize The Riddler’s iconic question mark.
19. Meet Disney’s Newest Heroine, Raya
Before I ever saw a teaser for Raya and the Last Dragon I knew I was intrigued about the film simply because of the film’s title. A Disney movie about dragons? Sign me up! But when this first poster dropped, depicting a mysterious, confident warrior, I was instantly entranced. Sure enough, my gut feeling was correct. This was undoubtedly my favorite animated movie of 2021 and one of my favorite animated films in the last few years.
18. A Poster to Remember
I remember when I saw this poster for the first time. I saw it in a movie theater and as I stared at it, trying to decipher the letters that made up the film’s title, I was utterly transfixed by its striking beauty. Still to this day, I haven’t seen a better poster for a sci-fi film than this one. It’s telling a story, a powerful one at that, and it’s beyond impressive.
17. The Guardians of the Galaxy
James Gunn knew exactly what he was doing when he made this movie, all the way down to the very marketing of the film itself. This poster is beautiful, from its color to its composition, everything about this poster makes me smile whenever I see it.
16. Captain Marvel Shines
Captain Marvel may have not been one of the best MCU movies but its marketing was stellar. I remember the day this poster came out. I couldn’t stop gawking at it because it was that extraordinarily beautiful. Brie Larson looks utterly powerful in this showstopper of a poster, with the golden beam of light bouncing off of her suit so impressively. Even now as I write this post, I can’t help marveling (pun totally intended) at this stunning poster. It’s impeccable.
So, those are the first five posters. Next stop, 15-11. I’m so excited!
I don’t watch Guardians of the Galaxy a lot but when I do it’s never a boring experience. James Gunn found the perfect balance between humor, fun action sequences, and heart, culminating into a comic book movie that is honestly one of the best of all time!
The cast for the characters was spot on. The jokes are still hilarious. The soundtrack is stellar. The vibrancy of the galaxy and the locations they visit are entrancing. And yes, this movie still manages to make me shed a tear.
Groot’s sacrifice gets to my emotions every time, especially knowing that he did in fact die and that the Groot we see in the later films is another version of the character. And don’t get me started on the “Take my hand!” part.
I watched that film last night because I plan on watching The Suicide Squad on HBO Max today and I want to see the comparisons between the two films. Will James Gunn recapture that lightning in a bottle that he somehow managed to find with Guardians of the Galaxy in The Suicide Squad? Or will it be more like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2; a chaotic not-that-funny mess?
I can’t wait to share my thoughts with you all tomorrow and I hope they’re mostly positive.
I thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day.
(This will not include EVERY romantic moment in the MCU nor will it feature The Incredible Hulk.)
24. Jane Foster Kisses Thor Too Hard
The romance in Marvel varies from great and well-established to sometimes awkward and icky and the first two Thor movies feature the ickiest romantic storyline in the MCU.
Jane Foster’s infatuation with Thor was cute…until that kiss. It was so unnecessary and so gross-looking I’ve only seen it twice even though I’ve watched the movie maybe four or five times.
In fact, I think that kiss contributed to Hemsworth’s wife standing in for his kissing scenes in Thor: The Dark World to be honest.
A couple of days ago I watched a Marvel marathon on TBS consisting of Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame…yeah, the Holy Trinity. I had a blast, to say the least, as I let Marvel Studios occupy my day into the night while simultaneously watching the extended editions of the 2nd and 3rd Hobbit movies on my laptop. (I was…busy.)
And as I watched Avengers: Infinity War I found myself so happy (which is expected considering that it’s my favorite MCU movie) but mainly impressed by how much it has affected the events of the MCU. When Endgame happened and the heroes changed things and defeated Thanos it seemed like Marvel Studios had every chance to kind of walk back the trauma caused by Infinity War and make it seem like everything would be okay. But it’s become very clear that the events of Infinity War will most likely affect the events of Phase 4 for a while.
Think about Wanda Maximoff. When she got brought back she didn’t find solace in her fellow Avengers. She instead wallowed deeper and deeper into her grief without Vision and created a whole new reality for herself, causing years of trauma for Westview’s citizens and becoming a bit of an anti-hero. Now she’s the Scarlet Witch and according to the Darkhold (you know, that book) it’s her destiny to destroy the world. Uh-oh.
Vision was killed and his corpse was used as a weapon against Wanda. Soul Vision (that’s what the creators of WandaVision call Wanda’s vision) gave him his memories but that doesn’t mean anything. He’s been programmed by Hayward, not Tony Stark, Banner, Thor, and the Mind Stone so his directive is very different. White Vision is very robotic and may not even harbor feelings for Wanda…hence the Vision that died in Infinity War really feels like he’s gone. You know, like Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy who actually died and the Groot that we have now is a different version.
Iron Man’s death has undoubtedly left an impact and his protege, Spider-Man, has become pretty much his replacement. Steve Rogers is gone and now his legacy has been left to his best friends, two individuals who have to fit into this new blipped world. Gamora is back but who knows how she’s fitting in. She’s definitely not with the Guardians of the Galaxy anymore. Monica Rambeau got brought back only to discover that the person she treasured most in the world, her mother, had died. Black Widow died. And Hawkeye will forever have to live with his dark deeds when he went Ronin on everyone.
Infinity War changed the entire scope of the MCU in really impactful ways and I can’t wait to see how these upcoming shows and movies delve into the lasting trauma Thanos’ actions have left on these characters.
I thank you for reading and I hope you have a fantastic day.
Have you ever experienced a trailer that was lightning in a bottle? Well, that was my experience watching the teaser for Guardians of the Galaxy for the first time. I had no idea Marvel Studios was making a movie about these wacky band of misfits and so when the trailer started I was like, “What the world is this?” When the Marvel Studios logo appeared I got even more confused. And then…magic happened.
Here’s the trailer.
Let me take you through the delightful weirdness of seeing this trailer for the first time.
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