The Marci Rating System

*This is possibly the least comprehensive review I could write. Here’s the thing: I was very distracted by the cat. (And happily so!)

*I liked it! (The movie, I mean. Also the cat.)

*Here’s a question about Kree naming conventions.  Example Kree names: Yon-Rogg, Vers, Mar-Vell.  And… Minerva?  Really?  I feel like I’m missing something.  [Okay, wikipedia says it’s actually Minn-Erva, so… okay? I guess?]

*In the flashback with Goose, does Dr. Lawson say, “He likes you,” or “She likes you.”  AKA does Goose prefer a female pronoun, or a male pronoun?  Inquiring minds want to know.

*Why has Goose not been in EVERY Marvel movie?  aka: Goose is the hero we all deserve, and I want seven seasons and a dozen movies.

*I like cats, clearly. 

*Carol was totally great too!  And Maria!  And Monica! 

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.

First, a review of my pre-movie list:

1. Arthur does not have a nickname in the movie.  Maybe fandom will pick up the torch on this one?

2. Arthur calls himself Aquaman in the final voiceover, and I lol’d (okay, the green pants were pretty funny too).  The name Aquaman shows up in various media, along with “The Aquaman.”  Please let there be an extra filmed of Mera making fun of this name.

3. The IMAX EXPERIENCE was indeed GREAT!(!!)

And now for my post-movie list:

1. I may have to watch Justice League just to see him interact with the others.  (Okay, maybe just Diana.)

2. I look forward to watching this movie again when I can turn on closed captioning.  I frequently couldn’t tell whether my lack of comprehension was because A) they were using made up words (see: Xebel, Karathen); B) they were mumbling; or C) I was distracted by the ENORMOUS IMAX SCREEN.

3. I liked it!  Oceans are terrifying!  

BONUS: So the big question in the post-Avengers MCU movies was always, ‘Why didn’t the characters just call each other?’  The great thing about Aquaman is that you can legitimately explain that away, since he so clearly doesn’t have a phone!

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So I finally watched Ant-Man & the Wasp.  (Or however they’re writing Ant Man these days.  Antman?  IDEK.)  Since my #1 objection to the first movie was the lack of Wasp and Janet, I really felt like I should give this one, which included both, a chance.

It was surprisingly enjoyable!  I read the wikipedia summary first, because I hate suspense and prefer a stress-free viewing experience.  

Things I liked:

*GROUP HUGS.  
*Janet’s super powers.
*FIVE named female characters who all had lines!  Sometimes TWO WOMEN were onscreen talking to EACH OTHER!
*Hope in general, and also Hope’s entire aesthetic.

Things that made no sense:

*The plot?  The backstory?  The fact that the ants clearly possessed human-like intelligence yet no one seemed to find it morally objectionable to force them into labor?  

*(Seriously, though, why, again, were Hope and Hank “on the run” for two years?  Because the suit was Pym tech so they had broken the accords?  So they were fugitives?  And their house was taken away?  What?  Have they — never heard of lawyers?)

Anyway, I didn’t really expect the movie to make sense, so that helped a lot with my enjoyment.  I give it a thumbs up!

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.

For a movie that came out in 2007, the tech and plot hold up surprisingly well in 2018. (I mean, in the sense that I had no idea what computers were capable of in 2007, and I still don’t today.) And it completes my 4th of July movie viewing!

1. The same actress who played Lucy McClane also played Gwen in Sky High. It seemed super obvious to me this time around, but I’m not sure I ever noticed before. (And apparently they got her to come back for the 60 second airport run-and-hug scene in Good Day to Die Hard, so kudos for continuity there.)

2. I had 100% forgotten that the line, “When do we start winning?” is in this movie. Which is awesome.

3. Somewhat hilariously, given the general trend of fanfic for the movie, my “movie mode” time in f.lux ran out about five minutes from the end, leading to the whole ambulance conversation scene being romantically sepia-toned.

4. For some reason I really thought this movie was the one with Maggie and Glen, the funny hackers who are actually in Transformers. (Which is a bummer, because I’m definitely not re-watching Transformers just to see them.)

5. John McClane clearly has some kind of healing factor, because he seems to get *less* injured as the movie goes on. Also he gradually repels more and more dirt, which is possibly even more impressive.

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Very brief review:

*I liked it! I thought perhaps I would not, since Han Solo is not a super likable character for me?

*Which does not mean I did not have Some Issues with it.

Key takeaway:

*When Will The Droids Be Free???

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I’ve been trying to figure out why Thor 3 was so enjoyable to watch, compared with basically everything else the MCU has put out recently (except for Black Panther, which was great!). And I finally came up with two things.

1. Character interaction — Thor and Loki have known each other for thousands of years. They grew up together. They have shared stories, and in-jokes, and when they switch back and forth between sniping at each other and presenting a united front, it actually seems like a legit siblings thing to do. And since their lives are so long, the fact that they basically haven’t seen each other for five years doesn’t seem like a big issue.

2. ‘They’re aliens’ free pass — When you try to put superheroes into our current reality, I usually can’t quite get past the massive infrastructure damage. None of our systems are set up to handle that kind of thing. (Except probably Wakanda’s, which is why I breathed easier during Black Panther.) But aliens! They have alien stuff! (Seriously, remember Rocket’s magical ship-fixing thing in GotG2? Literally hand-waving away the problems!) And their alien biology makes them surprisingly hardy, or at least hardy enough that I can convince myself that they were Probably All Just Fine And Not Dead At All.

In conclusion: Thor 3 — more convincing family feels; less stress!

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Rented Thor Ragnarok, enjoyed it greatly. Hoping to have some kind of more coherent thoughts on it at a later date.

In the meantime, a tangent on accents, because I still cannot get over “Doctor Strange” and his American accent. WHY? [Also, the gloves. WHY??? A truly, staggeringly, weird outfit choice.] [[For someone who is supposedly connected with the mystical energies of the universe, he has a strangely Earth-centric view of things.]]

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Saw Black Panther yesterday, thought it was excellent. Would watch again. And now, answers to the Very Important Questions. (Pretty non-spoilery, especially if you have seen the trailers.)

1. Does T’Challa like cats? Answer still unclear. I would tentatively say signs point to yes.

2. Does *everyone* in Wakanda like cats? Also still unclear. I would tentatively say signs point to a likely *respect* for cats, but not necessarily a liking.

3. Will there be cats in the movie? Yes! (Totally counting dream!cats.)

4. Will there be a *lot* of cats in the movie? I didn’t really clarify what a “lot” would be. Google tells me panthers don’t live in packs, so seeing even a small number in one place might count as a lot. There were several, anyway.

5. Will there be an actual (CGI) black panther in the movie? YES. I mean, it was a vision on the astral plane, or whatever. But yes.

6. Will anyone get to pat the CGI panther? Sadly no, but kinda yeah? I mean, the panther transformed into his dad, and they hugged, but that seems different. Going to go with no on this one.

7. Will my cat enjoy watching this movie when it comes out on dvd? Very possibly. He likes it when things move around a lot on the screen, and there was a lot of motion in the movie. He will probably enjoy all the running parts.

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.