Time lapse of Death Star Construction

This is what it might have looked like if Darth Vader recorded the Death Star's construction.

The video reveals how huge of an undertaking it must have been, requiring millions of people just to finish it. Seeing the panels come together to provide the bones of the structure, then seeing the vast interior being fleshed out, followed by the outer layers, really puts it into perspective.


Sure, it might have been a terrifying weapon capable of obliterating civilizations with the snap of a finger. But it is an engineering marvel! Who knows how many different construction workers had to be transported in to complete work on the Imperial superweapon.


 
Timelapse of Death Star Construction from Outside Hollywood on Vimeo.

Ranking the 14 movies I saw in 2017

Late in 2016 I listed 20 movies coming out in 2017 I was interested in seeing ( 20 2017 movies to check out ),
I wasn't able to see them all but 14 / 20 ain't bad. I usually would've written up a lil something about each them individually but with my clan expanding and work being what it is I just didn't have the time this year.
So here's my year end recap of the 14 movies of 2017 I saw.

1. Blade Runner 2049

I loved this movie, aesthetically gorgeous, beautiful story where I didn't think we needed one.
It stands on its own and compliments it's predecessor.
If I only had money to buy one of these movies on blu ray it would be this one!














2. Cars 3

Pixar knows how to close out a trilogy! After Cars 2 deviated so far from the original they returned to the core story and used the familiar "past his prime, passing the torch" story.
I was glad to see a return to the story from the original, Cars 3 had lots of heart and did a good job of balancing the feels with the laughs.













3. Thor Ragnarock

I really enjoyed Ragnarok, the retro sound soundtrack, and visual style, it matched the fresh more fun approach of the movie and never felt over done or forced.
Cate Blanchett hit a grand slam in my opinion as Hella! Perfect Casting! And I also thought Tessa Thompson was another great casting choice.  
I saw this with my son and he loved it...(he's almost 8 and thankfully was laughing so loud he didn't hear the orgy comment when they were headed towards the devils anus) and yes that's really in the movie!







4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

GotG V2 was a terrific sequel that only suffered because of people's unrealistic expectations. 

The whole Tazer Face scene had me laughing so hard I snorted like a pig! 

5. Spiderman Homecoming

Spidey really needed this movie to be good, after the roller coaster ride we've had with the last 3 and fortunately Homecoming was great, highly entertaining and I really bought Tom Holland as Peter Parker, and Michael Keaton as the birdman Vulture was the best realized villian Spidey has faced in his cinematic career in my opinion....yes I think Keatons Vulture is better than Molina's Doc Oc. 

The movie did an incredible job fitting into the MCU and at the same time adding new layers to the Avengers/ MCU. 

And kudos to Marvel and Sony for pulling off a plot twist that M. Night Shaymalan would be impressed by!

6. The Lego Batman Movie

Absolute hilarity from start to finish I enjoyed it as much as my son, and the soundtrack....pure gold! 

TLBM really expanded my knowledge of the Dark Knight and his Universe...Lobster Thermador....who knew!

And thanks to the movie I now know the secret password to the bat cave computer!














7. The Boss Baby

This movie came out at the perfect time for me as my son was struggling with the addition of our new addition. In our case the boss baby was a girl.
Highly entertaining movie that both adults and children will enjoy.


















8. Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi

I saw TLJ on Saturday the 18th, I'm still processing what happened in that movie.....I'm still searching my feelings.


















9. IT

The poster says it al,
"It's everything I was ever afraid of"
The best scary movie I've seen in a loooong time.















10. Kingsman The Golden Circle

I absolutely loved the first Kingsman movie, and was really looking forward to The Golden Circle. Sadly I was disappointed by this sequel. I didn't care for the Statesman, I didn't like what they did to Merlin and I unfortunately found Julianne Moore's character uninspired compared to Sam Jackson's Valentine from the first film.














11. A Cure for Wellness

The uniqueness of trailer grabbed my attention, and honestly I enjoyed the movie for the most part, there were times where the movie reminded
me of A Clock work Orange.
















12. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

I love the 5th Element.....this not so much. And I'm so frustrated because this was one of my most anticipated movies of the year!
If they cast Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich in the roles of Valerian and Laureline I think the movie would've been better received in the US.

















13. Alien Covenant

OK it's officially time to bring this franchise to the retirement home along with Terminator.....


















14. Ghost in the Shell

This steaming pile just reiterates my stance that THERE IS NO REASON TO MAKE LIVE ACTION ADAPTATIONS OF ANIME!
JUST STOP IT HOLLYWOOD, YOUR DRUNK.

Mortal Engines Official Teaser Trailer

Unlike Star Wars, Mortal Engines does not take place in a galaxy far far away. Instead, it’s all-too-bound to Earth, or the dying steampunk-inflected wasteland that remains of it anyway. Based on the novels by Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines portrays a dystopian world where human survivors band together in small towns-on-wheels to traverse the wasteland and make the most of its limited resources. But one wheeled monstrosity towers above all, and actually feeds on the others for its own sustenance.

“What is that?” One character asks.

“That is London,” replies outlaw Hester Shaw (Hilda Helmar), as the city of London, gobbles up a smaller town full of poor scavengers into its infernal belly.

Looking like a mix of Mad Max: Fury Road and Howl’s Moving Castle, Mortal Engines was directed by Christopher Rivers and produced by Jackson.  It’s set to hit theaters in December 2018. 

Watch the trailer below.

Annihilation (2018) - Official Trailer

Paramount Pictures has released a new Annihilation trailer for the highly anticipated follow-up from Ex Machina writer/director Alex Garland. Based on Jeff VanderMeer’s terrifying eco-horror novel of the same name, the film stars Natalie Portman as a biologist whose husband is recruited on a secret mission, then comes back unrecognizable and in dire straights. She, along with three other women, are then sent to the same location, the mysterious “Area X”, a portion of land in the United States that has been secretly quarantined due to abnormal activity. In the book, they are the twelfth expedition sent into Area X on behalf of the mysterious Southern Reach organization. The second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third in a hail of gunfire as the members turned on one another, and the eleventh expedition returned as shells of their former selves, all dying of cancer shortly after coming back.

For book readers, this new trailer offers a clearer overview of how Garland approached this adaptation, while also teasing the incredibly strange and surreal sci-fi thrills that fresh audiences can expect. I would describe VanderMeer’s book as being in the “enviro-horror” genre, in that the environment itself is where the horror is derived, and it looks like Garland was able to translate that aspect of the book tremendously well. I love how weird and strange it all feels, and those expecting a clear-cut story or some large mythology that gets explained in the third act should brace themselves—if the movie is anything like the book, it’s not about answers but the experience itself. And what a hell of an experience it looks to be.

Watch the first Annihilation movie trailer below. The film also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, Tuva Novotny, and Oscar Isaac.

Annihilation opens in theaters on February 23, 2018

Capcom Cup 2017 Grand Finals Results and Street Fighter V AE Sakura trailer AND SFAE Cinematic Intro

As God is my witness after watching the match between Daigo and Mena RD I texted my friend and said "This Kids Birdie has a chance to win Capcom Cup 2017. I've seen him give Punk's Karin a hard time"
Lo and behold....


So Congratulations Mena RD for proving to many that Birdie's still got it!
So after the closing ceremonies Ono comes on stage and we are graced with the trailer for the first season 3 character!



And she looks great! I'll be dropping 100K FM on her when she becomes available! I love her updated look, with the mic. And her SFA2 stage complete with her brother still playing (and losing lol).
The trailer was hype!
So the Sakura announcement Trailer concludes and the audience see's the damn silhouettes for season 3.
Then Ono returns with his little Blanka and we feel the power of the troll.....but he gives us another trailer! The cinematic Intro for SFV AE annnnnd believe the hype!! This trailer is Amazing!!!


The intro is gorgeous and I hope it plays every time the game starts up! Right now I know who I'm spending FM on. Sakura, Sagat, Cody and Falke, I'm not sold on G, and Blanka is Blanka.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

That's one hell of a collection!
Me wants it even though I have every single one of these games.

Ready Player One Official Trailer 1

I grew up in the 80's played Atari, Nintendo, PlayStation, I know about Easter eggs in Video Games and Movies. I grew up watching Sci Fi and Anime, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Comic Books etc.. I made this blog so I could write about about all these subjects I grew up with that are now a main stream part of our culture.
The slogan of my blog is "Celebrating the DeCulture of the 21st Century"
As I've mentioned before when writing about this up coming movie my friend Krogenar bought this book for my birthday years ago...we've been friends since 3rd grade so he knew I'd appreciate the book.
This movie truly is a celebration of my generations culture! At it's core this story is about a contest in a virtual world where all the players are looking for a "Golden Easter Egg" coughwillywonkacough.
And this trailer brilliantly bombards us with easter eggs!
Here are the ones I've found , have you spotted any I missed?

 

Alita: Battle Angel

The story is set in the 26th century and is about a female cyborg, Alita (played by Maze Runner: The Death Cure’s Rosa Salazar), who is rescued from a trash heap and repaired by Dr. Dyson Ido (Inglourious Basterds / Downsizing star Christoph Waltz). She discovers that her adopted father moonlights as a bounty hunter, and joins him in his work, learning about her lost past in the process, and fending off attackers who know more about her history than she does. Cameron, who is producing the film, has said that the film will be the “spine story” of the first four installments of the manga.


Cameron also wanted to shoot the entire film digitally, like he later did with Avatar. Rodriguez seems to have followed the same plans, because Alita is definitely a digital creation, and she stands out in her real-world surroundings like a green screen on a set. The character looks like an anime doll come to life, or like a Disney character that’s just a hair off from normal. It’s probably a deliberate choice, meant to remind viewers at every moment that Alita isn’t human. But after so many years of CGI animators trying to mimic convincing human faces and not entirely succeeding, it’s still unsettling to see a character hovering this close to realistic while staying this far away from it.


Alita: Battle Angel hits theaters on July 20th, 2018.



 

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Official Trailer

All of this has been leading up to the release of the first trailer for the film, which is directed by JA Bayona, and costars Daniella Pineda (TBS’ The Detour), Justice Smith (Paper Towns), and Jeff Goldblum, who reprises his Jurassic Park role of mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm. In the new preview, he warns, “These creatures were here before us…and if we’re not careful, they’re going to be here after.” As if their situation wasn’t already precarious, things are made worse for the humans when there’s a volcanic eruption on the island, sending them and hundreds of deadly creatures running for safety together — right off a cliff and into the ocean.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Opening Cinematic

I have played almost every FF title except FFXIII-2, Lightning Returns FFXIII,  FFXIV,  FF Type 0, World of FF and the FFVII spin offs. So I'm a bit of a fan of the franchise, I'm also an avid fighting game fan...mostly SF.
So this seems like a match made in heaven for me, so I'm not sure why I'm not really feeling this game.
I think perhaps it's because I'm fighting game purist, what I mean is I prefer 1 on 1 simplicity over team battles like 3 on 3 with multiple classes and a multiple bars to manage...I know I'm getting old.
Anywho the opening cinematic is cool. Kefka looks crazier than ever, I'm glad we didn't get brow beat with Sepheroth/Cloud face off's in the intro.
Dissidia FF NT releases worldwide on the PS4 January 30th 2018!

Capcom Cup 2017 Announcement Trailer

Capcom Cup 2017 is coming in only 4 days!  Dec 8th-10th
I'm supporting PG Punk because I want my main to get an exclusive Capcom Cup Outfit!
GO KARIN KANZUKI!!!!!
Also we should get a trailer for the first Season 3 character....either Sagat or Sakura...
You can check out the tournament on: twitch.tv/capcomfighters

Secret of Mana PS4 remaster

This was my first JRPG I ever played and the thing that grabbed my attention was a full page ad in EGM. The art in that ad was stunning for a 16 bit video game, so when I got the chance I played it and it was beautiful, and then I discovered I could play this game coop! I never did get a chance to finish the game as I had borrowed it from a friend.
I was completely blind sided by this announcement this morning that a remastered version of The Secret of Mana will be coming February 15th 2018!
More details on the Square Enix site: secret of mana game.com



The game will be avail to buy digitally on the PS Store or physical copy exclusively at Gamestop in limited quantity. I would prefer the physical copy personally....I'm old School.

Free Swim's Cinematic Super Hero Showdown! 2017 Edition

Free Swims Cinematic Super Hero Showdown

Here's the 2017 Edition of Free Swim's Cinematic Super Hero Show down. 

I started this back in 2008 with the Top 20 Super Hero Movies ,and again in 2012 with  Free Swim's Cinematic Super Hero Showdown 2012 Edition and then 2 years later with Free Swims Cinematic Super Hero Showdown 2014 Edition and then again in 2016 with Free Swim's Cinematic Super Hero Showdown 2016 Edition This years I've added a good amount of new super hero movies old and new.

The Super Hero movie genre is going strong and over the past few decades we've been graced with some truly memorable films and some sh*t fests we'd like to forget. I vaguely remember seeing Superman 1 in the theaters as a child and being completely blown away when Christopher Reeve flew over the Manhattan skyline, the advancement of CGI has taken the fantastic feats of Super Hero's  from the  comics and brought them to the silver screen, but the greatest special effects can't help a weak story or poor acting which is clearly evident in the last few movies on the list. Over the years, this list has revealed that almost every hero has one singular weakness....Second Sequelitis! The third movie in a Hero's franchise is usually the one that defeats them! The only Hero to break the mold so far is Captain America! 

Super Hero Movies I still need to watch to add to the CSHS are:  BVS; Wonder Woman, X Men Apocalypse, The Punisher 04 & 08, Ghost Rider/ Ghost Rider SoV.
Super Hero Movies I need to re-watch before adding: The Punisher 89.

Check out my list, do you agree/ disagree with the order? Do you feel Superman IV isn't the worst offender on the list? Share your thoughts Leave a comment....  

57. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

This movie just goes to show how far a great franchise can fall when greed overcomes! Such a sad fall from grace...

56. Green Lantern

First off, let me say I think Ryan Reynolds is a good actor, and this was not the Super Hero movie for him. If the Deadpool movie ever gets out of development hell he has to get the part!
Now onto Green Lantern....I will say the female co star was smoking hot, and the special effects for parallax was decent in some parts....
That's pretty much it :/
the aliens from the Green Lantern Corps seemed like rejects from the Star Wars prequels.
It took me two tries to make it thru this movie....that's all I have to say. If you have to see it don't spend real money to do so coughinterwebzcoughcough

55. Ang Lee's Hulk

Eric Bana you choose unwisely....

I still can't get over those scenes where the hulk bounced across miles of desert to get somewhere, uggh, green poop!

After seeing the trailer for Ed Nortons The Incredible Hulk I think this franchise may be salvageable. I hope there's no super bouncing Hulk!

54. Spawn

I spent money to see this in the theaters back in 1997!? How much did a ticket cost back then? I want it back! Spawn's budget a whopping 40 Mil, I'd say 39.5 mil of it was used on the Spawn CGI and .5 on a story. The fact it made 87 million world wide is a super human accomplishment in and of itself.
I'm sorry, Martin Sheen is a good actor but he must regret doing this movie, same with John Leguizamo.
The sets felt like left overs from the original Crow movie and the battle between Spawn and Leguizamo's Violator in Hell was cringe worthy, they literally used Ctrl C Ctrl V to create the army and they used the same scene twice in less than 5 minutes.
I don't think this was the vision Todd McFarlane hoped for for his Comic Book Character that actually is really well drawn and has a very interesting story.

53. Superman III

The poster really says it all...doesn't it? The scene in the diner with evil superman was great though...it really tackled the theme of every super hero's battle with their "dark side", this one did it just a little worse than Spiderman III.

52. Dare Devil

Ben Afleck...is there nothing he can't do?! Apparently Super Hero movies...

After watching this snooze fest I wished I was blind too!

Colin Farrel as Bullseye, Michael Clark Dunkan as Kingpin and Jennifer Garner as Elektra, the big names are there what happened? Not much, this movie was highly forgettable and boringly predictable.
Dare Devil never felt much like a Super Hero movie, just a bunch of actors playing super hero...meh.

51. Suicide Squad

The best part of this movie was the trailer.
Save yourself the time and money and find the Assault on Arkham animated feature instead.

50. Darkman

OK so I did see this movie in the theaters way back in 1990 I had to hit the wiki to refresh my memory. 

Before Ras Al Ghul Liam Neeson was DARKMAN...dun dun duuuhhh...

Unlike most of the super hero's in this list the movie preceded the comics. The origin of Darkman is more akin to comics like The Crow or good ol officer Murphy of the Chicago PD...

Darkman is a little too similar to Batman both wear masks, both are vigilantes, both are waaay too serious. Batman has awesome crime fighting tools (anti shark bat spray) and vehicles, Darkman has a Fedora!

I think Darkman could've benefitted if it had a better villain, instead we got Durant :/ 

49. Batman

"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb."

Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed!

This is a great intro to the Dark Knight for kids! I bought this movie for my son when he was 4 and a half and he LOVED it! 

Bat-Shark repellent spray, 

The Human Dehydrator, 

The US military selling a pre nuclear submarine to a P. N. Gwynn with only a PO box address!  

Campy, silly fun, perfect for kids!

KAPOWWW

48. Blade Trinity

I recently watched Blade Trinity on demand and wow....after Blade II this was a HUGE let down!
Kris Kristofferson saw the direction this series was headed and punched his ticket. Don't get me wrong the cast was all great but putting three great ingredients together doesn't always make a great product.
Look Ryan Reynolds was not meant to a part of the GLC, and his personality didn't mesh well in this universe....but fear not there is a Super Hero for Ryan Reynolds....DEAD POOL!
Now to Jessica Biel, I don't care if some of her fight scenes looked poorly choreographed....it's London! Truth be told she's the only reason I made it thru this movie...dear God she's hotter than the sun....that's how she killed all those bloodsuckers!
And finally there's Wesley Snipes being his bad ass day walker self...."some mutha fuckas are always tryin' to ice skate up hill." 

47. X Men III

Here's the case of Good-Better-Ooops.

I mean c'mon Bryan Singer hands the blue prints to Brett Ratner, the formula for success is right there and yet....

The movie wasn't a complete failure, I thought the Dark Pheonix was badass, Famke Jansen can be beautiful and horribly scary at the same time! Ian McKellan did a great job with Magnetto throughout the series, and Hugh Jackman IS Wolverine, but poor James Marsden, Cyclops ends up so pussywipped he dies at a lake and hardly gets mentioned there after!

And if your gonna kill off a central character like Charles "wheels" Xavier, have the balls to stick with your decision.

46. Spiderman III

This movie made $336,530,303 at the box office last year! Don't believe me? http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2007&p=.htm
It was #1, how could it be all the way down here at #29!?
I'm willing to bet anyone reading this dropped $9.75 to see this OVERHYPED mess last summer. Another classic example of a great franchise hitting sequelitis, not only that but the total misleading ad campaign, everyone and they're aunt thought Venom was gonna be the marquee villain! No, we got Sandman, and he wasn't very evil,he was a regretful thug trying to do the right thing for his kid but seemed to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Venom should've either been left for Spidey IV or made the main and ONLY villain. This movie failed to even come close to living up to the hype, too much was attempted too little was achieved.

45. Superman Returns

Up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's a deadbeat dad from Krypton! That was one hell of a kiss Kal El! Great, Bryan Singer is going to give us a fresh new vision for the Man of Steel for the twenty first century....maybe not. This Superman stands for truth, justice and avoiding alimony checks! WHAT!? Kevin Spacey as Lex Luther cool! Do we really need to know how he got all his wealth, do we really need Lex Luther AGAIN? Isn't there anybody else Superman could've fought? At least we find out why Cyclops didn't get a proper funeral at Xaviers crib now!

So I spent $9.75 for a polished retcon, thanks alot!

44. Judge Dredd

I saw this one with my friend CJ, Judge Dredd isn't one of the mainstream super heroes, much like Dare Devil and Hellboy, so this movie attracted two types, the fans of the comic and those who were fans of 80's action star Sly Stallone. When this came out movie producers were still looking for larger than life actors to fill the boots of super hero's like Stallone, Ahnold and Dolf Lungren. I think this movie would've been better with a lesser known actor playing Dredd. Interesting character, poor translation to film.

43. Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Hellboy vs The Elves of Lothlorien....

42. Superman II

Hey where's Richard Donner? Who's this Richard Lester guy?

What was intended to be a continuation from the first film ended up as the first sequel in an abysmal downward spiral of Kryptonian fecal matter. If you want to see Supes II as it SHOULD'VE BEEN do yourself a favor and pick up the Richard Donner cut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_II:_The_Richard_Donner

41. The Wolverine

I think I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so....

Maybe I'm just burnt out on Wolverine but this movie just had me rolling my eyes and face palming throughout...the bullet train scene stands out and the Silver Samurai fight at the end...meh.
This one's gonna fade into obscurity...










40. X Men Origins: Wolverine

Dysfunctional family, sibling rivalry, obesity, gambling, father/son issues, Will I Am getting a spinal tap, crappy CG adamantium claws, naked Hugh Jackman running around, killing defenseless old people, totally botched continuity....all forgiveable....


 Absolute failure realizing the Dead Pool character......JIHAD!!!!

39. Thor: The Dark World

Thor the Dark World picks up immediately after the Avengers with Loki in shackles back in Asgard.

Best thing about TDW, Tom Hiddleston, worst thing Natalie Portman....her performance was so dialed in.

I loved the scene with Jane and Thor at the lake on Naboo Asgard where Thor tries to explain the convergence, Holy fuckin' De Ja Vu! Hiddleston does such a great job as Loki, Malekith doesn't get nearly enough time to be developed! He's just a token bad guy. The other aspect of TDW that was mentioned but never explored was the rivalry between Lady Sif and Jane Foster, that could've been fun to see....

The post credits scene was a great tie in but did I miss how the ether solidified into an infinity stone?

38. Amazing Spiderman

Although this reboot of the franchise was "better" than Spiderman III, I still didn't find it that good.

The casting was meh, I didn't enjoy Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker and his Spiderman came across as some punk kid with a chip on his shoulder and a problem with authority that got some "sick" abilities and a costume.

Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben didn't work for me either....I just saw Martin Sheen. 

And Dennis Leary was Dennis Leary being a cop instead of a Firefighter.

Emma Stone is a fantastic actress and even her Gwen Stacey seemed hollow.

37. Antman

I finally got around to watching Antman....it was more entertaining than I expected. Michael Douglas was great as always and Paul Rudd did a good job. The movie had heart and as an introduction to the MCU it did a decent job, I appreciate that they didn't make Antman's entrance to the MCU a grandiose one. 
The final battle was hilarious. If you never see Antman you won't be lost with the MCU but it's a good simplistic superhero flick that doesn't take itself too seriously.

36. Thor

When ever a movie says "from the studio/ producers/ directors that brought you (......)" that's never a good sign. 
But this movie wasn't that bad....
Thor felt more like a good fantasy movie than a Marvel super hero movie to me, and unlike Iron Man it didn't feel like an origins movie either. I enjoyed Thor and can confirm he is no homo in this movie, but I wouldn't spend the money to buy it when it releases on Blu Ray & DVD.  My review here: Thor Review 

35. Hellboy

Guillermo del Toro brings a lesser known comic book hero to the silver screen. Ron Pearlman was great as Hellboy, Abe Sapien was cool to see on the big screen, the makeup Pearlman sports in the movie was very impressive. Nazi's, a baby from hell, Rasputin and hell hounds, unlike Judge Dredd, Daredevil and the Punisher this movie was a great representation of the comic book character, I'm looking forward to the sequel, The Golden Army!

34. Spiderman

It certainly took the friendly neighborhood Spiderman a long enough time to hit the silver screen, but due to Spidey's acrobatic crime fighting style it was probably impossible to do without the power of CG. I enjoyed the origins story it was funny seeing him discover his new powers, Rosemary Harris as Aunt May was great, I really think she was terrific. And she Shined even brighter in Spidey II. Tobey Maguire was ok as Peter Parker and Kirsten Dunst did a commendable job as Mary Jane.

The weak link in this movie was Willem DaFoe, I loved him in Platoon, but his performance in Spiderman went from creepy to downright clownish as the Green Goblin. That helmet was awful!

It's understandable why Spiderman did so well.....everyone knows Spiderman!

Fun but not amazing....

33. Batman Returns

Look at the expression on Keatons face in this poster.... 
I had the same one after leaving the theater... 
Burton kinda screwed himself by having Nicholson's Joker in the first film whether he intended on a sequel or not. If this was the first and  Batman returns had Nicholson's joker it would've worked out better IMO. As good as DeVito was as the Penguin it can't compare to Nicholson as the Joker...he's trumped both ways.

32. Dredd

This was a HUGE improvement over Stallone's Dredd movie! Simple story with intense action. The scene with Ma Ma high on Slo-mo in the tub was cool! 

I did how ever see The Raid: Redemption shortly afterwards and the two movies are almost identical! Someone ripped off someone else's story.....

31. The Crow

I remember seeing this back when I was in college and thinking, "Why couldn't the batman movies be this awesome?"

Brandon Lee....son of Bruce Lee as a reincarnated vigilante angel! C'mon the movie is awesome some start to finish, amazing atmosphere, all Goth, with the title song from The Cure....which I was also a big fan of! 

A very cool movie about death and rebirth and then there's that whole Brandon Lee dying during filming a scene that's some crazy shit!

I remember my friends and I going frame by frame to find the moment he was shot...

FIRE IT UP!!!

30. Blade

When was the last vampire movie that made bloodsuckers so cool!? Blade was fresh and the hero was badass, Wesley Snipes was perfectly cast for the role, and Stephen Dorff as Deacon frost was a great choice also, the two played off each other too well. The overall story may have been a little hokey but it was fascinating to watch and goth kids everywhere rejoiced as this Superhero flick made vampires the in crowd.

The only low point in the movie for me was the end of the fight between Blade and Deacon Frost....the CGI effects where poor, the thing looked like a bubbling blood clot. Otherwise Blade was well worth the admission price.

29. X Men: Days of Future Past

Holy retcon Batman! Time travel can undo all the wrongs with X3 AND help realign this franchise. I'm getting burnt out on Wolverine. Michael Fassbender is great as Magneto...he breathes new life into the character. And speaking of new life....Quicksilver! I'm looking forward to seeing how Magneto's son crosses over to the Avengers franchise.

28. Man of Steel

Is this franchise worth this many attempts to regain it's cinematic glory that was the original Christopher Reeves Superman? I don't know, what I do know is this was a much better movie than Supes Returns! Henry Cavil was well cast. I couldn't care less that Kal El snapped Zod's neck...I'm not a purist. The things that irked me were when Zod makes first contact Clark is in the kitchen drinking a beer while a football game is playing on TV behind him, it's also dark outside so lets figure it's between 8 and 9PM in Smallville Kansas (Central Time Zone), which means it's between 9 and 10 PM in Metropolis (NYC), ok first why is the daily planet office packed like it's the middle of the day? And on top of that how is it also dark Japan, China, Tibet or where ever it is when Zod makes first contact.

The only other issue I have with Man of Steel is after the destruction of Zod's ship, Metropolis looks like Europe after WWII....it's totally FUBAR! Then Supes and Zod go mano a mano and destroy even more of Metropolis! Than minutes after Supes snaps Zods neck we see Clark walking into the Daily Planet and being intoduced to Lois Lane! 

27. Dead Pool

This was a love letter from Marvel and Ryan Reynolds to fans of Dead Pool. I enjoyed the movie, it absolutely nailed the character of Dead Pool, the soundtrack was perfectly fitting and honestly Ryan Reynolds was not only the perfect casting but he kinda earned it after being that fake ass "deadpool" in the X-men origins Wolverine movie... 

I couldn't keep track of the in-genre jokes but there was a shit ton of them! My favs were his jabs at his Green Lantern movie.

So Ryan you're 1 for 2 in the Super Hero genre (not your fault I know) lets kick some more ass in Dead Pool 2! Maybe Patrick "wheels" Stewart will make it for DP's second outing.

26. Iron Man 2

Everyone said Iron man 2, hell yeah! This movie is gonna be twice as good as the first!
Well it was bigger and had more action and Olivia Munn and epic indy car crashes but it really didn't seem better than the original in the end. It was fun but I wasn't feeling the Tony Stark charisma in IM2 like in The Avengers. And the final battle against Whiplash was very underwhelming.
A good sequel, larger scale, fun.....nothing epic like Alien to Aliens but a solid summer block buster experience. 






25. Iron Man 3

This one was tough to place! Should I compare it to the Avengers movie or Ironman 2???

There was no chance IM3 was gonna be able to compete against The Avengers so I am comparing it to IM2. IM3 has some really awesome sequences but it also has some not so awesome moments ...

1) 10 y/o Harley Keener helps a billionair genius track down the Mandarin

2) Ben Kingsley not really The Mandarin

3) Guy Pearce really the Mandarin....breathing fire

4) Super Pepper Potts saves Tony Stark

Lets see where the M.C.U. takes Cap and Thor after the events of The Avengers!

24. X Men First Class

Michael Ironside commanding a battleship!!
Best Movie Evah















23. The Incredible Hulk

Can gamma radiation erase my memory of Ang Lee's Hulk movie?

This IS the Hulk I know! The Bruce Banner that's on the run from the U.S military, that is constantly moving around to avoid being caught.  The one I watched as a kid.

Ed Norton reminded me of the actor from the TV series, Bill Bixby.

I liked Tim Roth's character, Gen Blonsky who devolves into The Abomination. 

The fight between The Incredible Hulk and The Abomination was  awesome. 

HULK SMASH indeed!

22. Doctor Strange

Marvel Studio's definitely knows how to cast the best actors for their roles in the MCU. Benedict Cumberbatch is a much better Steven Strange than Kahn.
Infact the entire cast was very very impressive! Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One, Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo!
This was a lighthearted fun trippy origins movie, my son who's turning 7 loves the MCU but had a hard time with this one....mostly due to the spiritual/ astral plane aspects. But there was some very cool action sequences my favorite one's were between Tilda Swinton and Mads Mikkelsen.
Visually, Doctor Strange takes the effects of Inception and cranks them to 11. Doctor Strange also reminded me of the first Matrix with Mr. Dr. Strange's journey of discovery.

22. Black Panther

I took my son to see Black Panther and I walked out thoroughly entertained. I went in with the mind set that I had to see BP because of the investment we had in the MCU and to see how this film fits into the puzzle. When I left I left with the feeling that I had just watched a fantastic movie that stood on it's own two feet with an incredibly relevant story, sick action and special effects and an amazing supporting cast.
 Michael B Jordan's Killmonger was a very interesting character because he isn't like any of the other villians in the MCU, he is simply a product of our own (humanity) flaws, which makes him completely relateable!

21. Thor Ragnarok

What a comeback! I mean the first Thor movie was OK, I didn't really care for The Dark World but Ragnarok took all the good elements of the Thor movies and sprinkled in a more lighthearted tone more akin to Guardians of the Galaxy and HUZZAH! the best Thor movie to date! Cate Blanchett hit a grand slam in my opinion as Hella! Perfect Casting! And I also thought Tessa Thompson was another great casting choice.  
I saw this with my son and he loved it...(he's almost 8 and thankfully was laughing so loud he didn't hear the orgy comment when they were headed towards the devils anus) and yes that's really in the movie!
Karl Urban as Skurge was good and Korg's voice was hilariously off. 
I really enjoyed Ragnarok, the retro sound soundtrack, and visual style, it matched the fresh more fun approach of the movie and never felt over done or forced. Thor Ragnarok was  definitely worth the price of a ticket!   

20. The Lego Batman Movie

Absolute hilarity from start to finish I enjoyed it as much as my son, and the soundtrack....pure gold! 

TLBM really expanded my knowledge of the Dark Knight and his Universe...Lobster Thermador....who knew!

And thanks to the movie I now know the secret password to the bat cave computer!

19. Blade II

Guillermo Del Toro (Hell Boy) took the best parts of the first and added more blood, more gore, and more horror but was able to retain the cooler aspects of the Vampire lifestyle in the 21st century. Is the enemy of my enemy my friend or enemy...Blade teams up with the Bloodpack, a formidable squad trained to hunt down Blade but find themselves allied against a new strain of vampire.

As cool as Deacon Frost was he seemed like a vampire technophile compared to Nomak, son of Vamp lord Damaskinos. Namak may come from vamp royalty but he ain't no pushover. The fight scenes were crazy eye candy!

Guillermo Del Toro made the second instalment of the series the "Empire Strikes Back" of the Blade trilogy!



18. Captain America: The First Avenger

I was really surprised by Captain America, the first trailer didn't really sell this movie too well, the fan made one was pure gold though. 
Captain America was a very entertaining movie with a superb cast and awesome action and Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull! Mr Rodgers.......
Chris Evans is perfect as Steve Rogers / Captain America.
Check out my Captain America Review .

17. X-Men

It's tough enough to do an origins story for one Superhero, Bryan Singer attempts to introduce 6 hero's and 4 villans...not an easy task, just ask Sam Ramiri about Spiderman3! X Men accomplishes this task pretty well, for Joe-movie-goer who never read one X Men comic they were able to differentiate all the different characters,their abilities, who's good, and bad. Wolverine and Rogue are really the only two character's who's origin is touched upon and Wolverine's continues through to the second movie.

Ian McKellan as Magnetto took some getting used to, Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier was a perfect casting in my opinion.

Lite on action, and a rather silly story X Men accomplishes the difficult task of introducing so many different super hero's.

Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) steals most scenes and is the marquee character, which isn't a bad thing.

16. The Dark Knight Rises

The third and final chapter in Christopher Nolans Dark Knight trilogy was good, the movie mirrored  the occupy wall street protests going in NYC. Bane represented the 99% (the lowest common denominator)  ....the people's champion during batman's absence. 
Watching TDKR was similar to having the last 50 pieces in a 1000 piece puzzle, you can see what the picture is gonna be but some parts haven't been figured out yet.
I'm glad Nolan choose Bane as one of Batman's final villains, he's well enough known without being mainstream and gave Nolan room to mold him to fit in this trilogies realm. Tom Hardy as Bane, Cillan Murphy as Dr. Johnathan Crane, Joseph Gordon Levitt as Detective John Blake...all members of team Nolan did fantastic jobs with their roles.  The highlight for me was Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate....her little secret was fantastic! Ya gotta always watch out for that slow blade!
A respectable conclusion to a fantastic trilogy for a comic book super hero!

15. Batman

Tim Burton takes the Dark Knight and puts his trademark atmosphere into Gotham City, Jack Nicholson creates a Joker that all others are compared to, I can't wait to see where Heath Ledger takes the Joker in the upcoming TDK! Michael Keaton does a good job as Bruce Wayne/Batman, but any scene Nicholson was in he stole the spotlight.

Burton's vision of Gotham was great but his Batman was not as dark as his comic version. Batman unlike most super heros is more of an anti hero as he is more akin to a mercenary.

14. Avengers: Age of Ultron

The hype for Avengers Age of Ultron was at biblical levels and honestly there wasn't much of a chance of it meeting our lofty expectations, the movie was fun and had some spectacular action scenes, and seeing the World's Mightiest Super Hero's team up is awesome but....ultimately I feel AoU sacrificed the enjoyment of this individual film for the overall MCU experience.

Joss Whedon had alot of puzzle pieces that needed to connected in AoU in order to lay the groundwork for phase 3 and he did so masterfully but that's my overall issue with the movie....it felt like multiple movies pieced together to form a super hero mosaic.

13. Big Hero 6

I can't believe I forgot this gem in all my previous Cinematic Superhero Showdown's! Although this is a Disney Pixar film BH6 is actually a Marvel Comic, I took my son to see this and I was floored at how much we enjoyed it.

The animation is is gorgeous, the voice actors do an incredible job and truly evoke the wide range of emotions in this movie.

This movie has lots of heart! 

Yokai might be a little scary for the lil ones but other than that this is the perfect introduction to superhero's to your children....and Stan Lee does make his obligatory appearance! 

I want a sequel! I want to See Tadashi return as 

  

12. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The sequel to the undisputedly awesome 2014 GotG is Frank Miller's recurring nightmare...but I loved it. In Vol 2 The team gets split up, Peter, Gamora and Drax crash the Milano. Peter learns who his father is and fights him after his father offers to rule the universe with him. Meanwhile Rocket and Yondu team up with Nebula but are betrayed and handed over to the bad guys..............................................................................wait a minute what movie am I writing about?

Long story short this was a terrific sequel that only suffered because of people's unrealistic expectations. 

The whole Tazer Face scene had me laughing so hard I snorted like a pig! 

11. The Dark Knight

Why so Serious?

Before TDK came out I thought Nicholson's Joker would be the one all other's would be compared to, I was wrong Heath Ledger's (RIP) Joker is the most powerful and disturbing villain in any super hero movie I've ever seen, money, power, infamy, Ledgers Joker doesn't care about any of that he is the epitome of chaos. Aaron Eckhart does a great job as Harvey Dent/Two Face

10. Iron Man

After seeing this movie I decided to do this list, Iron Man was a fun ride! Simply put Robert Downey Jr. was a great casting choice for Tony Stark, as far as an origins movie I think it was slightly better than Spider Man 1, Jeff Bridges was a better villain than Willem Dafoe, and Iron Monger was so much better than the Green Goblin ugghh that mask was soooo stoopid! Gwyenth Paltrow's Pepper Potts was as good as Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane, but I like Pepper Potts character a bit more. Iron Man was definitely worth the $10 a ticket...dam movie tickets are getting so dam expensive, and the theaters for the most part aren't reflecting the high prices in their quality....but that's another discussion.

9. X Men 2

Lets get the proverbial ball rolling! With the origins stuff out of the way more or less lets take these mutants to the next level. I wasn't to crazy about Ian McKellan's Magnetto in the first movie but he grew on me in each consecutive sequel. X2 started out with an attack on the president and set the stage for what was hinted at in the first movie. Humanity's fear of the unknown and the atrocities we do to each other because of our fears.

X2 unites the 2 mutant sides against the humans, this angle was also done in Blade 2...it worked well in both movies.

X2 also introduces Nightcrawler and Lady Death Strike to the cast of mutants, both visually impressive in their own way, Nightcrawlers makeup is very impressive, LDS beautiful yet deadly and the fight between her and wolverine was great! X2 adds more action without sacraficing the over arching story. A definite improvement over the first X Men film.

8. Spiderman Homecoming

Spidey really needed this movie to be good, after the roller coaster ride we've had with the last 3 and fortunately Homecoming was great, highly entertaining and I really bought Tom Holland as Peter Parker, and Michael Keaton as the birdman Vulture was the best realized villian Spidey has faced in his cinematic career in my opinion....yes I think Keatons Vulture is better than Molina's Doc Oc. 

The movie did an incredible job fitting into the MCU and at the same time adding new layers to the Avengers/ MCU. 

And kudos to Marvel and Sony for pulling off a plot twist that M. Night Shaymalan would be impressed by!

7. Spiderman II

What was that line from Scream 2? Oh yeah, "sequels suck", this doesn't seem to be the case for some of our super hero's...at least for the second sequel.

Like Blade and X2, Spidey hit the floor running in his sequel, unlike those two, Spiderman had to fight the good fight alone, but when Peter Parker resolved his persona issues he found himself facing the visually impressive Doctor Octopus. Played by Alfred Molina, he really did an amazing job with the villain. This movie had people cheering when Spiderman fought Doc Oc.

Spiderman 2 really captured the essence of the comic book character, every single character in the movie seemed like they were torn straight from the comic book! Great Super Hero, terrible delivery boy lol.

6. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I'm sorry but does Gary Shandling look like a toad or is it me?
Amazing follow up to Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers! Far better than Iron man's post Avengers movie. The film stands on it's own and works well in the M.C.U. so joe movie goer can enjoy it and those that have been keeping up with the MCU can enjoy it for what it is and how it fits into the larger picture. Chris Evans was the ideal choice for Steve Rodgers. I enjoyed the story and how HYDRA survived in the shadows and continued to manipulate society from post WWII all the way to the present and actually infiltrated/amalgamated into SHIELD. This actually got me hyped to see the Agent Carter series also. There's so much shit going on heading into Age of Ultron! Hydra has an Infinity Stone, will Bucky help the Avengers battle Ultron, will Thanos show up? Will Magneto show up to free his children (of the atom)Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver?


5. Guardians of the Galaxy

The number one reason I enjoyed GotG so much was IT'S A FUN MOVIE! It's an adventure in space, that isn't hindered by political intrigue, taxation of trade routes, scientists that act like they're sponsored by red bull when surveying a strange new world, messiah-like characters that save humanity from machines, yada yada yada.
Having prior knowledge of the comic's isn't really necessary to enjoy the movie and in fact may be a good thing if you're not in case  the MCU made some changes to GotG cannon. The soundtrack as I suspected absolutely fits the comedic atmosphere of the movie with some amazing songs from the 80's!

It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a movie so much that I'd be willing to pay to see it a second time, but I would for GotG.

4. Batman Begins

Best origins story for any super hero so far, tied with Spidey 2 for best authentic representation of the character from it's comic book source material.

Why is this so much better than say Superman returns? Chris Nolan had an ORIGINAL vison, and didn't just polish up Burton's Batman. He also gave us a really unique villian instead of re-using the Joker again we got one of the franchises original villians, Ras Al Ghul and Sarecrow! Christian Bale is so much better as Bruce Wayne/Batman than Michael Keaton, George Clooney or Val Kilmer.

If the Joel Shumacher series left a bad taste in your mouth, Batman begins will be like a shot of Listerine!

Although this is the best representation of the comic book character, Batman Begins doesn't seem like a comic book story at all, absolutely worth having in your personal collection!

3. Captain America Civil War

Allow me to congratulate Cap, he has done something no other Super hero has been able to accomplish, have 3 good films that have each been better than the previous! Think about it, Christopher Reeves Superman, Tobey Macguire's Spider-Man, The first 3 X-Men movies, Even Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy! None of them were able to do what Chris Evans Captain America has done.

I remember writing the review for Captain America: The First Avenger and saying how surprised I was at how much I enjoyed it, now 5 years later I'm writing to say, I expected a great Captain America movie and I got perhaps the greatest movie in the MCU to date...no pressure Star Lord.

2. The Avengers

The Avengers movie is best described as greater than the sum of it's parts, meaning as good as Iron Man 1 and 2, Captain America and Thor were The Avengers took all those awesome super heroes and amplified them to the power of greyskull the SUN!!
Super Fun Summer Super Hero Flick, Great Acting, Awesome Dialog, Special Special Effects.
   










1. Superman

When you mention any other actor who's done a super hero movie none more than Christopher Reeve embody the Hero they played more in my opinion. Sure Superman is dated and the special effects pale in comparison to newer super hero movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, but none have the heart and soul that this film had! One of my favorite scenes in any movie is when Phyllis Thaxter as Martha Kent walks out to Clark Kent in the wheat field, that scene is beautifully understated and yet full of so much emotion!

Christopher Reeve's Superman represented all that was great about America and all humanity regardless of what was happening in real life. When I saw this as child I believed, just as the poster said...

The music by Johnathan Williams was just as powerful as Superman. Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor might not have been a very powerful villain but his diabolical plan was evil yet genius enough to qualify him for magna cum laude of evil villain school.

Superman remains a timeless American classic.