Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) Teaser - Review

Last time we saw Thor (Chris Hemsworth) at the end of Avengers: Endgame, he was engaging in playful banter with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and had taken up with the Guardians of Galaxy or “Asgardians of the Galaxy” as he had rechristened them. The teaser makes it clear that Thor has checked out on his superhero duties and is looking to enjoy his life. Similarly, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) is bored taking care of New Asgard. The teaser ends with our first look at female Thor (or Mighty Thor as per IMDB).

Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) continues the colorful and playful tone of the previous movie. Can't help but point out how different this movie is from DC's latest offering (The Batman). The latter is dark not only in terms of lighting and cinematography, but even content wise. I personally enjoy both flavors of superhero movies and would like both the studios to play to their strengths. DC does standalone movies well and Marvel has pretty much written the rulebook on creating a shared cinematic universe.

Check out the trailer below:

Back to the movie - Korg too returns. The biggest addition to the cast is arguably Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. Very smart marketing decision by Marvel Studios to not feature Gorr in the teaser. Russell Crowe portrays Zeus and we get a fleeting glimpse of him. Both these actors have portrayed DC Characters before (Batman and Superman's dad respectively) and would be great additions. 

Chris Hemsworth's Thor is enjoying himself as the God with no plan and is living his life to the fullest. He is seen briefly as a pirate on a ship and this reminded me of Drax's description of Thor from Avengers: Infinity War as being the child of a pirate and an angel. Hemsworth has great comedic timing and has an excellent chemistry with Chris Pratt. I look forward to their interactions in this movie and beyond.

 

Kevin Feige is taking the MCU in a new direction in Phase 4. Dr Strange: Multiverse of Madness looks set to bring in the X-Men (and possibly Fantastic Four) into the fold and is rated R. Now we have a female Thor - Natalie Portman returns to the MCU and looks beefed-up for the role. This is an exciting time for MCU fans and I cannot wait to see how the MCU is shaped by the events that transpires in these two movies.

 

Trivia: The song “Sweet Child O' Mine” by Guns N' Roses is played in the teaser. 

 

Click here to read all my posts related to Marvel Comics.

Image Sources: Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

You might also like:

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Review

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) -  Review

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) Trailer - Review/Reaction

Got to hand it to Kevin Feige. Ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was launched Iron Man in 2008, there has been no looking back. If Spider-Man: No Way Home (NWH) brought all three Spider Man actors together, now Feige has finally made every MCU/Marvel fan's dream come true: bring the X-Men (and possibly The Fantastic Four) into the MCU.

 

Check out the trailer:

 

The Multiverse is upon us and Dr Strange is brought to trial for his actions in NWH. And guess who is there on the panel - Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) himself. If that does not get you excited, it is highly possible that John Krasinski will debut as Reed Richards aka Mr Fantastic. Plus, it looks like Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (or one of her variants) will be the bad gal this time.

 

There is so much to love about this trailer. Sam Raimi's trademark shots. Especially that shot of Shuma-Gorath looks fabulous. I also liked the shot of Dr Strange in a prehistoric looking place. It might be “Savage Land” from the X-Men lore. Not to mention the multiple variants of Doctor Strange himself.

And it is always good to see Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). 

 

Click here to read all my posts about Marvel Comics.

Image Sources: Marvel Studios, Truenorth Productions, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

 

You might also like:

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Review

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) -  Review

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) Teaser - Review/Reaction

The much awaited first teaser for this year's first MCU movie has arrived and has Benedict Cumberbatch returning as the Sorcerer Supreme along with the supporting cast (Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Stuhlbarg).

 

Check out the trailer:

Against Wong's advice, Dr Strange has used an incantation that has opened up the Multiverse. No wonder that we are introduced to an alternate version of our titular character who is not as benevolent as the one we are familiar with. The Sorcerer Supreme reaches out to Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) for fighting this new threat.

 

Genre veteran Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey Maguire), replaces Scott Derrickson as the director. Astute movie fans would remember this reference to Dr Strange in Spider-Man 2:

 

Another nod was the fact that Peter Parker's workplace (Joe's Pizza) was located on Bleecker Street - Dr Strange's Sanctum Santorum is situated at 177A Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. Now the circle is complete with Sam helming this movie. Hopefully, he will repeat his magic again. Speaking of Scott Derrickson, it seems he was interested in bringing Namor in the sequel. Perhaps, this was the reason he left the project due to “creative differences”. Nevertheless the Sinister auteur has been replaced by one of the legends in the genre and we are getting our first Horror movie from MCU.

 

As I had mentioned in another post, Benedict Cumberbatch seems a bit off in his role as the Sorcerer Supreme. The fire and passion that he brought to the screen as Sherlock is missing here. We get a brief glimpse of Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer in wedding gown. The teaser promises a lot of action set pieces as can be expected from a MCU movie. I do look forward to the teaming up of Scarlet Witch and Dr Strange. Wanda almost singlehandedly defeated Thanos and was one of the few Avengers who have accomplished this. Wanda and Stephen working together would make for a very powerful combo.

 

Plus, I am interested to see what other surprises the Multiverse throws at us - may be introduce us to couple of X-Men....

Trivia

• The Octopus like creature that Dr Strange is battling is Shuma-Gorath.
• The movie also marks the live action debut of America Chavez. The superheroine is played by Xochitl Gomez.
  

Click here to read all my posts about Marvel Comics.

Image Sources: Marvel Studios, Truenorth Productions, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

You might also like:

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Review

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - Review

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Trailer - Review/Reaction

 

The latest trailer for the webslinger's latest movie outing is out. And it promises to be the mother of all cross overs, even by MCU standards.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man has taken Doctor Strange's help to solve his identity crisis and the outcomes are far worser than anything he could have expected.

Check out the trailer:

As readers would know from the previous trailer, characters from parallel universe/multiverse have descended on Peter Parker's reality.

 

This includes Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), J Jonah Jameson (J K Simmons) and Sandman from the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire movies. We have Lizard and Electro/Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) from Marc Webb/Andrew Garfield movies. 

 

I am personally excited by the return of Green Goblin as Willem Dafoe is a terrific actor. Another noteworthy point is the comic book faithful depiction of Electro's costume this time. Alfred Molina seems to be genuinely enjoying his return to Spidey's Universe.

There are some aspects of the trailer that also raised my concern. Benedict Cumberbatch looks a bit bored in his role as the Sorcerer Supreme. There is a clear difference between this performance and what we have seen him do as the Sherlock in the BBC series.

Plus, most of the jokes fell flat (at least for me). Hope the other jokes in the movie are funnier.

 

Obviously, like most other fans, I am also eagerly anticipating the return of Tobey Maguire to his arguably most famous role. Did not enjoy Andrew's performance and would not care either way for his appearance.

 

Doc Ock seems to be on Spidey's side this time. It would be fun to watch the 3 Spider-Men/Doctor Strange/Doc Ock take on Green Goblin/Lizard/Sand-Man/Electro alliance.

 

And, let us not forget about a certain alien symbiote and a living vampire who should also pop up in Spidey's timeline soon...

 

Click here to read all my posts about Marvel Comics.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to this blog by clicking here.

Image Sources: Pascal Pictures, Marvel Studios, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)

You might also like:

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Review

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - Review

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Trailer - Reaction/Review

This is the third film in the series, following Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far from Home. Joining our friendly neighborhood superhero is Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who uses his powers to separate Peter Parker from Spidey. Peter is having issues from the secret identity disclosure (courtesy of Mysterio) in the previous movie and Sorcerer Supreme tries to help his fellow Avenger, against Wong's advice.

Seems Wong is right. The third movie in the MCU's Spider-Man franchise promises to be a true crossover - we see Doctor “Doc Ock” Octopus (Alfred Molina) and Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) return to harass Peter. Electro/Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) also is listed in the IMDB credits.

The only question that remains is: Will Andrew Garfield have a cameo as well. I am sure/hoping that Tobey Maguire will be back.

Check out the trailer:

 

The trailer was ok. I found it to be mildly interesting. The only parts that piqued my interest was Willem Dafoe's return as Green Goblin. I am more excited for his return than for Doc Ock, even though we only heard Dafoe's voice. Dafoe did a great job as Aquaman's mentor and I cannot wait to see him menace Spidey once again. 

 

For the rest of the cast, the regulars are ok. Tobey Maguire's incarnation and his fellow cast continue to be my favorites and while I enjoy the ongoing MCU series, the tone is a bit off for my taste. Nevertheless, Cumberbatch is having fun and having JK Simmons and Dafoe makes the movie a must watch.

 

Fun Fact: Sam Raimi, who directed the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy, is directing the Doctor Strange sequel: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Click here to read more posts related to Marvel Comics.

Image Sources: Pascal Pictures, Marvel Studios, Columbia Pictures

You might also like:

Suicide Squad Trailer - Review

Batman: Assault on Arkham - Review

Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) Trailer - Reaction/Review

 

We have the first official trailer for the sequel to the worldwide blockbuster: Venom.

Eddie Brock/Venom (Tom Hardy) have clearly settled into their life together, with the alien symbiote now preparing breakfast for his human host. He still frequents the local store owned by Mrs Chen (Peggy Lu).

 

But trouble is brewing in the form of Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) and Shriek (Naomie Harris). Fans of Marvel Comics/Spiderman will immediately recognize Cletus as the alter ego of the homicidal Carnage.

 

Michelle Williams returns as Anne Weying, Eddie's flame and Stephen Graham joins the cast as Detective Mulligan.

Check out the trailer:

Tom Hardy slips back effortlessly as the unwitting host of the murderous symbiote. He continues to show a great sense of humor as Eddie. Woody has been cast in yet another role of a unhinged individual that he has played so well in other movies (2012, War for the Planet of the Apes). I look forward to seeing the cast-against-type Naomie Harris play the antagonist.

With two villains combining their powers and Carnage being stronger than Venom, could this mean a certain more famous webslinger will have a cameo appearance?

 

The movie is being marketed as a comedic superhero flick, very much in Deadpool's alley. The other interesting aspect is that the movie has been directed by Andy Serkis. Andy has given some of the best motion capture performances (Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, Planet of the Apes trilogy).

 

Andy has already directed three movies and this is his highest profile movie yet. His previous movie (Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle) was overshadowed by Disney's version, that was directed by Jon Favreau. Let us see if he steals all the limelight with his latest attempt.

 

Click here to read all my posts about Marvel Comics.

Image Sources: Marvel Entertainment, Pascal Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)

You might also like:

Jurassic World - Review

Godzilla: King of the Monsters - Trailer Review

Joker (2019) Teaser Trailer - Review

For a long time, there has been a lot of online chatter about the different Jokers in the DC comics based movie universe (DC Films or DC Extended Movie Universe as it is referred to). We have seen Jared Leto's interpretation of the Prince Clown of Crime. Now we have our first look at Joaquin Phoenix's take on the super-villain.

In addition to Joaquin, the movie also features Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Brett Cullen and Frances Conroy. Todd Phillips (The Hangover trilogy, Old School) directs the origin movie for inarguably one of the most famous baddies to have inhabited a comic book.

Check out the trailer:

Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a struggling comedian. Like Travis Bickle, he is at odds with the world and is being slowly driven to losing his sanity. Joaquin's Arthur is also seen flexing his  lean and mean physique. If that reminds you a bit of Scorsese's Travis Bickle, you are right on the money.

Martin Scorsese was once attached as a producer and there were rumors that one of his frequent collaborators (Leo DiCaprio) would don the grease paint. But as a small consolation, we have his other favorite collaborator, Robert De Niro (the Taxi Driver himself) starring in the movie.

Joaquin Phoenix seems to have delivered a knockout performance as the titular character. While it is too early to judge, based on a 2.5 minute teaser trailer, that smirk in the closing scene is quite telling.

Set to the song “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin, the trailer sells itself as an urban crime drama with the lead character who is out of control and spiraling into the abyss of insanity.

In addition to Martin Scorsese's movies, the movie is also inspired by Batman: The Killing Joke, the graphical novel by Alan Moore. 




This trailer has raised my expectations and hopes for the movie and Joaquin's performance. Fingers crossed, that the final product will live up to the hype.

Click here to read all my posts about DC Comics.

Image Sources: BRON Studios, Creative Wealth Media Finance, DC Comics, DC Entertainment, Joint Effort, Village Roadshow Pictures, Warner Bros.

You might also like:

Jurassic World - Review

Godzilla: King of the Monsters - Trailer Review

Shazam! (2019) Trailer - Review/Reaction

Warner Bros. has released the (supposedly) final trailer for the next superhero movie: Shazam!

To readers who are unfamiliar with the titular character, here is a quick intro: Billy Batson is a kid who assumes the adult alter ego of Captain Marvel/Shazam by saying the word - “Shazam”.

Check out the trailer:

Shazam was created in 1939 (a year after Superman) and gave the Man of Steel a run for his money in terms of popularity and sales figures. Powers wise too, he rivals Superman in terms of super strengh, speed and flight. Plus, he can manipulate electricity.

The casting seems to be perfect here. Kind of like Aquaman. Zachary Levi looks to be a great choice for the role. The same goes for Asher Angel as Billy Batson and Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman.

All three of them show excellent comedic timing in their respective scenes. Looks like David F. Sandberg has repeated the James Wan magic of casting actors who may or may not be great thespians, but can bring these comic book characters to life in the best way possible. And the movie looks to be having a stronger sense of humor than Wan's excellent take on the King of the Seven Seas. 

Speaking of Aquaman, a common link between these two movies is Djimon Hounsou who plays The Wizard who grants the superhuman powers to Billy and played King Ricou in James Wan's picture. More trivia: Djimon also portrayed Korath in Captain Marvel (yes the other one).

David seems to be a huge fan of DC Comics. In addition to the obvious Batman reference in the store, there were a couple of shout outs to Superman.

• Shazam catching the bus and placing it back on land safely is a reference to the famous Supes poster.
• The final scene in the trailer has the line - “Leap tall buildings in a single bound”, which is a famous Supes catch phrase. David smartly utilizes this to provide arguably the funniest scene in the trailer.

Of further interest is the fact that the movie includes two cast members from the cancelled Justice League Mortal movie (that would have been directed by George Miller): D.J. Cotrona and Adam Brody. These two actors were supposed to play Supes/Clark Kent and The Flash/Barry Allen respectively. I am curious to see what roles they play in this movie.



Shazam has an extended family known as “Marvel Family” and they are making their live action debut as well. Mary Marvel is being played by Grace Fulton.

Finally, we come to Dr Thaddeus Sivana, the antagonist. This is the second time Mark Strong has played a DC comics baddie. He also portrayed Sinistro in the ill fated Green Lantern. To the best of my knowledge, Dr Sivana is pure brains. I suspect that he is playing (temporary) host to Black Adam and is hence able to go toe to toe with the powerhouse known as Shazam. We will see if my theory holds true when the movie hits the screens in April 2019. But come what may, Mark looks better cast here and I believe he will deliver a fantastic performance and leave a much stronger impression compared to his previous DC outing.

After the billion dollar success of Aquaman, DC Films seems all set to continue the winning streak.

Click here to read all my posts about DC Comics.

Image Sources: Warner Bros., DC Entertainment, DC Comics, New Line Cinema

You might also like:

Jurassic World - Review

Godzilla: King of the Monsters - Trailer Review