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Avengers 4-Ever After

Restlessness lost! I was worried about being able to sit through the running time of "Endgame" despite fervent desire to see it,  which drove me further to see it with company in an extra effort to fight off that discomfort. But I probably would have managed without that. Honestly, the pacing might have suited me more than that of "Infinity War" despite the increased length.

Another mild surprise?

I liked the quantum suits more than I thought I would when the Avengers actually put them on. The colour palette still isn't my favourite, but it lent a bit of a Japanese super squad effect to things. Like Power Rangers or Voltron. That kind of thing. It mitigated the loss of those diverse costumes with more inherent appeal.

And Rob Downey basically felt like Ian Malcolm for the first 15 minutes, which hit me with a bit of desire to see Stark hang with the Grandmaster. Though even when the first "Iron Man" came out, I felt a sort of affinity between Jeff and Downey. Anyway.

Also, isn't this around the 3rd anniversary of that comic  where Cap first hailed Hydra? It was amusing to hear that line cheered in the movie after its harsh decrial in the books.

Ultimately? Ridiculous. But not ridicilulous like the Ultimate universe's analogous chapter ender Ultimatum, which was a whole other kind of ridiculousness. This was far more satisfying, in part because it still left a full world that allows for all sorts of future stories to be told. After Ultimatum, that universe felt slightly like the first bit of "Endgame" where the whole world was depressed after the snap. People say the movie's take a lot from Ultimate Marvel, but regardless of that claim's truth, they're better at wiping the slate clean. For one thing, they actually clean it instead of smashing it to bits.

And hey. The longest paragraph of my "Endgame" post was only tangentially related to the film. Seems on brand.

Also! In being a saga ender with an expressive green giant, a bunch of time travel in sevice of fixing a broken world, and a notably attractive character that got fat and lazy, "Endgame" really reminded me of "Shrek Forever After". And because "Endgame" had a mellow Kinks song in it, I was also reminded of my friend's insistence on listening to his favourite "Waterloo Sunset" in the car as he drove me from the Shrek movie. I was also listening to a lot of Kinks before I went to see "Endgame", but it wasn't the mellow stuff.


Bonus Question!

Best Hawkeye moment?

Jeremy Renner has his own kind of endearing charm, but it's not that of comic book  Clint Barton. That's fine, but Jer's "totally awesome" line felt like the closest thing to the Hawkeye of the page.

With the possible exception of pictures of young Jeremy Renner.

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Shazamming

Just saw "Shazam". It's a movie about a child mind in an adult body with sparkly power. I couldn't miss it.

Also, it followed "Spider-Man 2" in the classic superhero movie tradition of having a villain who looks like a dude in Matrix cosplay.

One other thing. The combination of the marketing slogan "Just Say The Word" in combination with the throwback 80s feel makes me think of Phil Collins's "Sussudio", and I don't know if that was intentional. In any case, it's my head canon theme song for the movie.

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Bonus Question!

Are Redditors in Reddit's Star Wars section Jeditors?

Aquabrothers

I saw "Aquaman" with my brother, which seemed appropriate for a film about fraternal bonds. He and I probably have a better relationship than Orm and Aquaman though. I'd heard that the film was going to be an underwater mix of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, and I was there for it. The aesthetics definitely sold that. I mean, damn. If you want to see what an Atlantean Stormtrooper would be like, you're going to get that. But the family dynamics felt like a blend of "Game of Thrones" and "Arrested Development". If there were a House Bluth, Patrick Wilson's Orm would be its main face.

Overall, the movie's good enough to make up for the fact that its existence means that we'll never get to see Momoa's naturally perfect performance of Lobo, but at least both characters share an affinity for dolphins.

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Also, kid Arthur in the prologue totally looked like a young Vincent Chase.


Bonus Question!

Mrs. Coulter versus Atlanna! Battle of the blond mothers played by Nicole Kidman!

Coulter's formidable, but Atlanna survived the Trench. She's got to have the edge.

Copyright © 2011, Jaymes Buckman and David Aaron Cohen. All rights reserved. In a good way.