Better Late Than Never on "Captain Marvel"

Continuing to get caught up with movies that I have wanted to see, but didn't have time while they were in the theaters, my wife and I finally watched "Captain Marvel" the other night.

We both wanted to see it while in theaters, didn't have the time, realized that we are Disney + subscribers and decided it was time to finally watch it, and I have to say, I enjoyed this movie. While it is not "Black Panther" or "Endgame", "Captain Marvel" was a fun and entertaining movie. Sure, there were some parts that felt a little tacked on, or they could have cut it, but that is small nit picking stuff. All in all, I found this movie to be good.

First off, Brie Larson is a great, great actor. She has been in some of the best independent movies I have seen, won Oscars for them, been in comedies that were hilarious, and now, she got to try her hand at a Marvel movie, playing the most powerful Marvel hero. And to no ones surprise, she was excellent. I bought every second of her performance. I like how literal she took everything. I believed all the heart felt moments. Her stunts were kick ass. She was kick ass. When she realizes her full potential, that was an amazing scene. The fight between her and Annette Benning, who was great, was totally awesome. Her final battle scene was incredible. The back and forth between her and Nick Fury was tremendous. She was really, really good in this role. I don't know why I wouldn't expect that at this time, but she was great.

As was the rest of the cast. Sam Jackson as young Nick Fury was perfect. Seeing a young Agent Coulson was great. Captain Marvel's friend, Rambo I believe her name was, was super believable as the best friend who thought she lost her best friend. She was also a kick ass pilot as well. Jude Law as the bad guy, I mean, he is really crushing most of his roles lately. He is even good in movies that aren't so good. So, when I get to see him act well in a good movie, that is a treat. Ben Mendelsonn, who is super underrated as an actor, was so good as the main Skrull guy. I fully expected him to be the main villain, and spoiler alert, when he isn't, that was a shock, and it totally got me. He is a good guy. He is just looking for a safe place for his family and friends to live. I loved the misdirection.

As for the color and way the movie was shot, it was awesome. I like when Marvel does these fun and super bright movies. It reminded me a ton of "Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2", except a little less bright. But, it worked. The special effects were amazing. I mentioned the fight scene between Larson and Benning, that was cool as hell. The way she bends her body into a wall that is made of silver, that was so cool. Oh, and the music, it was wonderful. The movie takes place in the mid 90's, so I got to hear a ton of songs that I remember listening to when I was a teenager. And the way they set them to battle scenes, it was pure perfection.

While I may like the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies a little more, or acknowledge how important a movie like "Black Panther" is, or how final "Endgame" was, I still see the importance of a movie like "Captain Marvel". It introduces us to a very important, very powerful superhero, and it is a great origin story. I put this one right up there with the original "Ironman". It is giving us the story of the new most important Marvel hero, and it tells it with a fun, and good, attitude. Marvel does good superhero movies, and "Captain Marvel" is one of the better ones out there tight now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Better Late than Never on "Rogue One"

SPOILER ALERT - "Rogue One" has been out for a while, and people have talked about it for months. This article will also talk about major plot points in the movie. You have been warned. 

In what is becoming a never ending quest, I'm not saying that to complain by the way, my wife and I just recently watched "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story". I have been on this quest to see every "Star Wars" related movie since my daughter was born over a year and a half ago. "Rogue One" was currently the only one I hadn't seen. I wanted to go to the theaters, but it gets harder and harder the older my kids get. So, I bought it the day that it came out on DVD and Blu-Ray. My wife and I sat down last Thursday night, we were warned by several people to not let our 5 year old watch it, andfinally watched it.

The 2 of us could not have had completely different reactions to the movie. While I enjoyed the darkness and war story undertones set in a "Star Wars" universe, my wife said she was bored and would have just rather watched "The Force Awakens" or any of the other "Star Wars" movies, except for the prequels. When we finished, I told her I loved it, and that was when she dropped that hot take on me. I asked her why she did not like the movie and why would she rather watch the other stuff in the "Star Wars" cannon? She told me that she likes the other movies because they are more fun, have funnier scenes and she enjoys the fun and very fast paced atmosphere that George Lucas and JJ Abrams created with the original, and new, "Star Wars" movies. I get this argument.

There are definitely moments in "Rogue One" that could be deemed boring and or hyper violent, but my take on "Rogue One" was that is was a movie about war, it just happened to have "Star Wars" in the title. Had this just been a straight up movie about combat, and they used real weapons instead of blasters and everything we have become accustomed to in "Star Wars", I think it would have been considered an excellent movie about the brutality of war. Do not get it twisted, "Rogue One" is a very, very brutal movie. There is a happy ending, if you want that, but everyone, spoiler alert, dies. The only dude left standing in the end was Darth Vader. Sure, there was that very odd, yet cool scene with a CGI Carrie Fisher, RIP, but Vader is the only guy left standing to move on to the Death Star.

"Rogue One" erased all the bad stuff that the prequels did with Darth Vader, and restored him to the truly badass villain that he is meant to be. When he shows up in the middle of the movie and chokes out Ben Mendelsohn's character with the force, I got goosebumps watching that scene. Then, the last scene with him, again, spoiler alert, was horrifying. RD told me this, and I totally agree with him, that last scene with Vader is a straight up horror movie. It was so intense and scary and all the screams from the guys getting done in by Vader was terrifying.

Where my wife wasn't all that crazy about all the new characters introduced in "Rogue One", I liked them all. We both agreed that Chirrut Imwe, the blind guy with the awesome karate skills that thought he was like a Jedi, was the best new character, but we also liked his buddy, Baze Malbus, with the big armored suit and enormous blaster. They were both very badass. Riz Ahmed, as Bodhi Rook, the pilot that was captured by Forrest Whittaker's squad, was kind of a traitor, but he pulled through when he was needed. That dude is a very good actor. Speaking of Forrest Whittaker, his character, Saw Gerrera was awesome, and his death scene was brutal. Sorry for all the spoilers, but the movie has been out for awhile now. Diego Luna was very good in his role as Cassian Andor. I liked how he was a no nonsense badass that always seemed to do what was best for his people. Felicity Jones was incredible as Jyn Erso, the lead in the movie. I love that "Star Wars" is giving all the hero roles to females lately. It is a very nice change of pace. Jones was great throughout and I bought her as much as I did Daisy Ridley in "The Force Awakens".

I really enjoyed everything about "Rogue One". I really like war movies, and "Rogue One" is a movie about war. There are a few "Star Wars" call backs. There is Darth Vader obviously, but R2D2 and C3PO show up. There are Mon Calamari soldiers, like Admiral Ackbar, that help out the rebellion. There is the rebellion. And there's the Death Star. But, other than that, this was a brutal, violent movie about how tough war can be.

I get my wife's criticism. She likes to watch movies for fun that move seamlessly from one scene to another. When she watches a movie she wants to escape and just enjoy herself for 2 hours and not have to think. Me, I like movies that set up for big, big battle scenes. I mean, there are a lot of minor fight scenes here and there in the first 90 minutes. The one that immediately comes to mind for me was when the blind dude takes out about a dozen Storm Troopers, then his buddy finishes off the rest of them. But, the last 30 minutes is an incredible battle scene that is also tragic and horrifying. It was such a great final battle to what I consider a very good movie. The topping was that final battle scene with Darth Vader. It was so horrifying, but also very, very incredible.

So, while my wife wasn't the biggest fan of "Rogue One", I enjoyed the hell out of it. It doesn't rank up there with " A New Hope" or "The Empire Strikes Back", or even "The Force Awakens", but I do like it more than "Return of the Jedi", and all three of the terrible prequels. It was a hit for me. If you like war movies, I think you will definitely enjoy "Rogue One". I thought it was great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is glad his son did not see the last Vader scene in the movie. Ty does not want his son trying to slice the dog up with a fake lightsaber while he throws the dog on the ceiling. 

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