“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”

As much as I was looking forward to this movie, something felt off. It was missing the fun and humor from the previous movies. A big problem with this movie is that it is way too dark. And when I say dark, I mean both in its color palette and the overall story. The Guardians movies are known for colors that pop off of the screen, and you barely get any of that in this movie. And the overall story is just very dark and disturbing at times. I think some children may have nightmares after seeing this movie. There are a lot of violent deaths and some truly disturbing hybrid human/animal creatures.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is Rocket’s movie. His origin is shown through flashbacks, and I think his story could have been told in either a solo Rocket movie or a Disney+ Special. And again, it is very dark and shows a lot of animal cruelty in the flashbacks. It’s all CGI but in a realistic style. Animal lovers and children may be disturbed by the sounds and images.

Rocket doesn’t really crack jokes in this one because he is going through such a difficult time in both the past and the present, and that is sorely missed. Guardians 3 needed to end on a high note with a good time for the audience, and you don’t necessarily get that here. It’s a nice ending and a bit fulfilling, but we could have used more levity throughout.

This movie is also very long, at 2 hours and 30 minutes. Certain characters and storylines were not needed. They could have easily knocked off a half hour of the film, and it would have probably been more enjoyable.

What has always made the Guardians movies work in the past was the chemistry that the actors/characters share. The chemistry is still there, but most characters go through rough times during the movie. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still dealing with the death of Gamora (Zoe Saldaña). It affects his leadership, and the whole crew is worried about him. Gamora 2.0, or whatever you want to call her, is not the same girl that Peter fell in love with and doesn’t want anything to do with that previous relationship. Ever since The Holiday Special, Mantis (Pom Klementieff) has developed a temper and seems to scream at people a lot, which kind of ruins the character for me. Drax (Dave Bautista ) still does a good job with the comic relief, but he also grows emotionally throughout the journey. And Groot is Groot. 

I always push for Disney and Marvel to give us good villains, and they knocked it out of the park with The High Evolutionary, played by Chukwudi Iwuji. Finally, we get an actual villain that is just a villain. The High Evolutionary is not misunderstood or a victim of circumstance. He is a man with a god complex and just plain evil, and he is OK with that. That is what makes him so great.

One of my favorite Marvel comic book characters is Adam Warlock, and they absolutely ruin him in this film. In the comics, he comes across as wise and two steps ahead of everyone else. In this movie, Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) is a man-child who is mostly concerned about impressing his mother. That is a far cry from the character depicted in the comics. It’s sad because his design is pretty good, and when he uses his powers, it’s impressive. He lacks the confidence, wisdom, and intelligence that made the character so good in the comics. Either Gunn didn’t do his homework with the character, or he just didn’t like the character and wanted to make him look like an idiot. Also, James Gunn loves to push his brother (Sean Gunn) more and more in each film. When used in small doses, Kraglin is a fun character, but he doesn’t work as one of The Guardians. Thankfully he spends most of his time away from the main Guardians, but he still is given way too much screen time.

I have no idea how James Gunn chose the songs for this movie, but he must have been listening to a completely different radio station than I was back in the 70s and 80s. These songs are so obscure that I can’t even figure out who the band is. Sure, there are tunes from Heart and The Beastie Boys that most people will recognize, but the majority of these songs are not memorable at all.

There are two after credit scenes in this movie. They are not the best ones that Marvel has ever done, and it’s probably up to you whether they are worth sticking around for. One is just a few minutes after the end of the movie, but the other one will make you sit through all the credits. Neither are earth shattering, so I would look for them on the Internet when you get home.

I was looking forward to Guardians 3 and hoping this would have been the perfect ending for the franchise. In some ways, it is, but I was still wanting more. At times, it’s a bit too dark for kids and some adults. The movie could have been shorter and a lot more fun. In the end, it was good to see the characters one last time, but I am still hoping that one day we get “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 4.”

I give “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3” a 7/10.

Guardians of the Galaxy at Disney Parks

Walt Disney World Resort

As some of the only Marvel characters that Disney can legally use at Walt Disney World, the Guardians are featured in EPCOT’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. The ride replaces Ellen’s Energy Adventure / Universe of Energy, utilizing the same façade for guests to enter the Wonders of Xandar pavilion.

For a limited time, you can find a Guardians of the Galaxy cookie and “Perfect Sovereign Waffle Bites” at EPCOT to celebrate “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”

Disneyland Resort

In California, Avengers Campus was constructed around Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!, a reskin of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror that opened in 2017. You can also catch a dance-off, which is currently featuring Mantis for a limited time.

Check out more limited time “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” offerings at Disney California Adventure below:

• Zarg-Bits at Pym Tasting Lab
• Chocolate Espresso R&D Martini at Pym Tasting Lab
• Milky Fizz Drink and Souvenir Sipper

International Parks

Star-Lord and Gamora also host a dance-off at Avengers Campus in Disneyland Paris and at Tomorrowland / Stark Expo in Hong Kong Disneyland.

Avengers Campus at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris is also offering limited time food and beverages for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”

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When you watch the original Disney animated classic on Disney+, you will be greeted with a warning that states: “This program contains negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. They were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove the content, we want to acknowledge the harmful impact, learn from it, and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together,” before the film starts. There is no such warning before “Peter Pan and Wendy,” implying that, theoretically, everyone should be happy with the newer version because it corrects everything that was wrong with the original.

But is it a better film? The simple answer is no. It’s a typical Disney live action remake.

What surprised me about “Peter Pan and Wendy” is how radically different it is from the original Disney animated film. Walt Disney took liberties with the original, too, so you can’t totally fault the new version for all the changes. In fact, some of the changes are more faithful to the original story written by J.M. Barrie. My problem is that Peter is not the central character in his own story — it’s Wendy. (Though, perhaps our expectations should have been different, given that they added Wendy’s name to the title.)

Wendy, played by Ever Anderson, is more of a leader in this version, though she comes off as tough and uncaring at times. She rarely smiles and is troubled by the era-appropriate expectations of becoming a lady.

In this version, she’s bothered that her parents are sending her to boarding school and expect her to be on the path to adulthood. I don’t think Wendy comes across as likable; instead, she’s mad that the whole world is seemingly against her. That is a mistake; in my eyes, Wendy was the mother figure and voice of reason in the original. Here, she becomes the hero.

Then there is Peter. Alexander Molony plays him, and there is no sugarcoating his performance — awful. His portrayal is emotionless, boring, and often robotic like he’s reading lines off of cue cards. He has no real presence or impact with his performance. If the director instructed Molony to play the character like Mr. Spock, then mission accomplished. But that is not Peter Pan to so many.

Peter should be the child that never grew up, but in this version, Peter seems more like he is miserable, never smiles, and doesn’t know how to have fun. He also comes off as though he wishes he was anywhere else but in this movie.

The one standout for me was Tinker Bell, played by Yara Shahidi. She seemed like the only character having fun and genuinely expressing joy. They radically changed Tink’s character, too, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse.

In this version, she’s not jealous of Wendy — they’re best friends. In fact, she’s seemingly even better friends with Wendy than she is with Peter, because Wendy wants to know more about Tink and to hear her speak. When Wendy finally says goodbye to Neverland, she cries more that she will miss Tink, not Peter. This underscores the impression that Peter and Wendy had no real relationship (and definitely no chemistry).

And then there is Captain Hook, played by Jude Law. I am not the biggest fan of Jude Law’s acting. He usually comes off as bored and doesn’t really push himself. And big surprise: that’s how he plays Hook.

The character is also radically changed here. This goes back to Disney’s more recent trope that there are no real villains, just misunderstood people. Some may like the change, and others may think it doesn’t work. For me, if you don’t have a strong, evil villain, you aren’t going to have a good movie.

(It should be noted that Walt Disney felt the animated version of Hook was not all bad, stating that “The audience will get to liking Hook, and they don’t want to see him killed,” as cited in “The Disney Villain” by Ollie Johnston.)

Another shocking change was the crocodile chasing after Captain Hook. First, I am shocked that no one at Disney thought to refer to the character by his name, Tick-Tock. They essentially turned the crocodile into Jaws. This is not a lovable, goofy looking crocodile to add some comic relief. This is a giant monster showing no mercy to its victims as he eats them and rips them apart. For some kids, this will be pretty scary, so exercise caution.

As I had mentioned, many characters and storylines have been radically changed from the original. Check below for a full list.

SPOILERS BEGIN

• Tiger Lily, in this version, is never a damsel in distress. She is basically Rambo-lina. In fact, it’s John and Michael that are kidnapped by Hook, not Tiger Lily. Peter does not save Tiger Lily. Tiger Lily saves Peter.
• To be more inclusive, The Lost Boys are both boys and girls.
• Tinker Bell does not betray Peter and The Lost Boys by leading Hook to their hideout. Wendy sings a song, and Hook hears it from miles away. Tink is nothing but good in this version.
• James Hook was once a Lost Boy and Peter’s best friend. He started missing his mother, and Peter banished him from the Lost Boys and Neverland forever.
• Wendy does walk the plank in this version, but she is not saved by Peter. She is saved by Tinker Bell. Tink gives Wendy pixie dust that makes her fly, and Wendy basically becomes Peter Pan for the rest of the movie. According to Hook, “She has the boy’s magic.” Wendy replies, “This magic belongs to no boy,” given that both Peter and Wendy need the pixie dust from Tink to fly.
• At one point, Peter can’t fly and is falling to his death, and Wendy saves him. Peter never saves Wendy.
• Peter once lived in The Darling’s home before they lived in it. That’s why he visits so often.
• Peter apologizes to James (Hook) for treating him so poorly. Soon after, it appears James falls to his death, and he is presumably eaten by the crocodile. Just before the movie ends, you see James and Smee floating on some of the ship’s debris. Peter comes back to rescue James, and they become friends again.

SPOILERS END

Overall, “Peter Pan and Wendy” has very little going for it, and it’s not very good.

It’s patently obvious that Disney would prefer that you watch this over the original animated “Peter Pan.” Disney wants to correct some of their former choices, and it sometimes comes off as preachy. Rafiki once said, “The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.”

I’ll add another thing: you can’t change the past. You learn from the mistakes of the past, and you try not to repeat those same mistakes going forward. I feel that If Disney wants to promote evolved and current values, then they should write new stories and make movies that reflect positive changes.

I give “Peter Pan and Wendy” a 4/10.

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Right off the bat, one thing that “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” has going for it is Kang. He’s undoubtedly the best villain in the MCU since Thanos, and Jonathan Majors is a great actor that we’ll be glad to have around for a long time. It’s encouraging to see his character get a strong start, as we expect he’ll be causing all sorts of trouble to every superhero he encounters along the way. He’s killed plenty of Avengers throughout the multiverse, after all. But that’s where the positivity ends.

Granted, I’d say the first act is actually pretty good. Seeing Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) adapt to life post-Blip is just boatloads of fun, right from the get-go with his little internal monologue-turned-bestselling novel. All’s right in the world of Ant-Men, with current Ant-Man and the Wasp Lang and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) joined by former heroes Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). Then finally we meet the almost-grown Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), Scott’s daughter and the newest heroine with a bug suit. It did seem like Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas had very minimal screen time in this one, focusing more on Rudd, Newton, and Pfeiffer. Personally, I thought we’d see more of The Wasp since her name is in the title, but maybe it could still count for Pfeiffer.

Sadly, things start to get a little too weird after they spend some time in the Quantum Realm, a subatomic universe introduced in past “Ant-Man” installments but greatly expanded upon here. The world-building is impressive for sure, and quite visually stunning at that, but bears a strong resemblance to Walt Disney Animation Studios’ latest disaster of a film, “Strange World.”

The plot and villain arc also drew immediate comparisons in my mind to 2010’s “TRON: Legacy,” in that Kang and Clu are nearly the same villain, ruling over an oppressed group of native inhabitants. Both aim to escape the world in which they’re trapped into our world and those beyond, yet can only do so with the assistance of the main protagonist.

I think another part of the problem is Ant-Man should never have been the focus of three movies. He’s not Batman or Spider-Man, his superpower is essentially a suit that makes him shrink or grow exponentially, as well as communicate with ants. That’s not the kind of superhero that most kids would aspire to be. Ant-Man is far more suited for the supporting character role as he was in “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” But his solo endeavours, although fun, are not anything special. I’m always waiting for a more compelling hero to show up somewhere, and they never come.

I think fans of Marvel comics may enjoy “Quantumania” more than most, since it provides a litany of references to characters and storylines from the entire spectrum of Marvel comic books. But the average moviegoer or those who subside only on the MCU will most likely be disappointed. As I said, it’s fun at times, but it’s also very trippy and seems to be tailor-made specifically for those hardcore Marvel fans.

Again, Kang is a great villain, and I cant wait until he gets a better movie to show how just how formidable he can be. It’s unfortunate that his first adversaries are the Ant-Man clan, he deserves to be squaring off against the The Avengers as a whole, or even just the main players like Iron Man or Captain America. Being defeated by Ant-Man is not a great look for the man who’s supposed to be the most dangerous and feared being in the multiverse.

As with all Marvel movies, there are some end credits scenes, and we get two this time. First up is a mid-credits scene, which fans of the comics will get the most out of. The second is post-credits, and will likely be more relevant to most viewers. Specifically, it targets those who’ve watched a certain Disney+ series which already featured one variant of Kang. In the scene, we meet a couple familiar characters from the series, which may be setting up another season as well.

All in all, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is better than most of Phase Four, but that really isn’t saying much. The weak story and lack of audience care for Ant-Man and his insect compatriots severely weaken the film. As with nearly all of Phase Four, there’s little to no rewatch value, I simply have no interest in watching this movie again, and doubt most viewers will either. Not a very good start for Phase Five of the MCU, if you ask me. And as the one poised to be the franchise’s next major villain, Kang deserved both a better film to introduce him, and far more respect/fear from the characters. Ant-Man and The Wasp are always welcome to be in any Avengers movies that come out, but hopefully this is the last Ant-Man movie that I have to endure.

I give “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” a 6/10.

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Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid) is a courageous explorer who leads an expedition team in order to find life outside of their land of Avalonia. He is accompanied by his less-than-courageous son, Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal), who accidentally stumbles upon an energy-producing plant that he names Pando. Jaeger wants to forge ahead, but Searcher feels it is more important to return home in order to use this new energy source to provide power and technological advancements for their whole village. Years later, Avalonia has become a mini-utopia thanks to the discovery of Pando. One day, Searcher discovers that something is infecting and killing the Pando, and it if something isn’t done to stop the infection, Pando may become extinct. Searcher goes on a new expedition below the surface in order to find the root of the problem. He is joined by his wife Meridian (Gabrielle Union), his son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White), and a crew of explorers. They must encounter a strange new world in order to prevent a life-shattering catastrophe.

I will say that “Strange World” was more enjoyable than Lightyear, but that isn’t saying much, either. I could tell that this movie was going to be a tough sell just from the trailers that were released. It’s just another mediocre movie by Disney. At the most, there were ten people in my showing of “Strange World” and no enthusiasm. It’s great that “Strange World” is a strange world, but it also needs to be a beautiful world and, even more important, an interesting world in order for audiences not to be bored. The designs just aren’t very interesting, and everything looks too similar. There is an abundance of pinks and oranges in this world. The creatures are either of a plasma or squid design and, again, lack any kind of fascination. One of the main characters, Splat, is just a walking blue slime. I will give credit to Disney for allowing this creature to express itself through pantomime instead of giving it an annoying celebrity voice to communicate with other characters.

There is a lot of messaging in this movie. The main message is about saving the environment, but the other one has to deal with fathers and sons. Both fathers in this movie have their sons’ futures planned out for them without giving them a choice. And it is the back-and-forth arguments that lead to the eventual acceptance of their sons and their dreams. “Strange World” also introduces the first openly gay main character in a Disney animated movie.

As far as Ethan’s sexuality is handled, it’s refreshing to see that Ethan never has to struggle or worry about acceptance from his family or society. It is also important to note that the character of Ethan is not defined by his sexuality, but by who he is as an individual and what he dreams of accomplishing. Ethan is not perfect, unlike other characters in the movie. He sometimes fails, but he never gives up and keeps on trying. And because of this aspect, most people will be able to relate to Ethan, and he becomes the most likable character in the movie.

“Strange World” does a good job with messaging about saving the environment and acceptance, but the story has to always come first. Focus on writing a compelling story should always be Disney’s main goal. If Disney wants to insert messages or views on society in their movies, have that come later, but don’t overdo it, and never preach to your audience. Finally, an audience has to leave entertained. Let’s hope that going forward, Disney starts to entertain us more.

I give Strange World a 6/10.

Editor’s Note: This article contains the opinions of the author, Joe Hogarty. These opinions may or may not align with those of WDWNT LLC, Tom Corless, or anyone else on this planet. Please feel free to voice your own thoughts in the comments section below.

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Now some may see that as a homage to Chadwick Boseman. but others may see it as Disney trying to extract even more money from the audience since you have to pay double the normal ticket price in order to see both movies. Either way, Disney comes across as out of touch with how the audience feels.

T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) has suddenly died, leaving Wakanda to mourn the loss of their king. T’Challa’s mother, Ramonda (Angela Bassett), takes over as the Queen of Wakanda and must deal with other nations insisting that her kingdom share their most precious resource, vibranium. A new source of vibranium is found underwater, but is protected by Namor (Tenoch Huerta), the leader of the underwater kingdom of Talokan. A brilliant student, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), finds herself in the middle of a conflict between the Wakandans and the Talokans that may lead to a war between the two nations. Shuri looks to resolve any conflict peacefully, but has a difficult time dealing with the headstrong Namor.

Keeping in line with the other MCU movies in Phase Four, this movie under-delivers. I loved the first Black Panther movie. It had a great hero, a great villain, a great cast, and an amazing story. Wakanda Forever has none of that. It is long, it’s boring, and it’s just not very good. It was a real struggle trying to keep my eyes open throughout this film, and that is never a good sign. I honestly think there are maybe three or four good scenes in this film, and that’s about it.

With no T’Challa, Shuri has to lead this movie. Letitia Wright is good, but she is no Chadwick Boseman, and she is no Black Panther. This movie is 2 hours and 41 minutes, and I’m pretty sure you don’t see her in her Black Panther costume until after 2 hours. Hopefully, you will be awake by then. Maybe I’m wrong, but I can’t see this being a box office bonanza like the first one was. Fans will see it the first week, but I can’t see people going back for repeat viewings. I did want to point out that most of the actors are very good, it’s just the story is not.

After Endgame, Marvel has had a villain problem. A really good movie needs a really good villain, and you just don’t have one in this movie. Namor is the main antagonist, but like all villains in the MCU lately, we have to sympathize with him instead of fear him. As a comic book fan, I was really looking forward to eventually seeing Namor in the MCU. First of all, he looks nothing like the comic book character. It may work for some people, but core fans will be disappointed. Plus, this guy is not a good actor at all. Namor also wears jewelry in his nose and ears, which was never the case in the comics. [Editor’s note: Marvel has chosen to give Namor a different story and city for the MCU which draws from Mesoamerican, Mayan, and Aztec culture, to which the jewelry is an homage.]

As per usual, there is an after-credits scene, but there is just one, and it is a mid-credit scene. And it is the best scene in the movie, so I would stick around to see it.

It seems like Disney is making these movies in order to push out the eventual Disney+ series. And we might see two or three series spawn from this movie. Like I said before, Disney and Marvel are out of touch with what the audience wants. They don’t want to give us what we want, they are giving us what they want, or they feel we should want. Disney and Marvel seem to be playing on the audience’s heartstrings by using the death of an actor to sell a movie and asking the audience to ignore the fact that there really don’t have a good story to tell. The best thing to come out of this movie is that it finally brings to a close Phase Four of the MCU. Here’s hoping that Phase Five will be much, much better.

I give “Black Panther: Wakanada” Forever a 5/10.

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The stuff that went on in the original “Pinocchio” was a nightmare to me. Stromboli locks Pinocchio in a cage and tells him that eventually, when he has no more use for him, he is going to chop him up and use him for firewood! We also saw the bodies of ex-puppets chopped up and lying in a pile!

Pinocchio goes to Pleasure Island with a bunch of juvenile delinquents, where they smoke cigars, drink beer, and act like a bunch of jerks. Then after their hangover, they are turned into donkeys, have their clothes ripped off of them, and then are shipped off to who knows where to work as donkeys! Forever!

Then Pinocchio and his father are stuck in the belly of a whale starving to death and waiting to be digested. They finally escape and are pursued by this nightmare of a whale in a horrifying chase scene. It’s finally over, and it looks like we will be getting a happy ending, but no, Pinocchio is found lying face down as dead as can be. Queue the morbid trumpets to add to the horror. The Blue Fairy shows up at the end and brings him back from the dead, and he is now a real boy, and everyone is happy. But that happy ending did not erase the image of seeing a floating and dead Pinocchio, and also knowing that no one went back to rescue those boys who will forever remain donkeys.

With Disney putting out live action remakes of their classic animated movies every year or so, I figured it was only a matter of time before they got to “Pinocchio.” And, of course, I was curious how the horror that I experienced as a child was going to play out. I do want to make it clear that although the original movie scared the crap out of me as a kid, I still love it and think it’s one of the best movies that Disney has ever made.

So how is this live action version of “Pinocchio?” It’s a bit of a mixed bag with some good stuff and some bad stuff, but nowhere near as good as the original. For the most part, the movie remains faithful to the original Disney version. There are some changes made to the story, which were less effective than the original. As far as scares go, the Stromboli part is toned down a lot. The Pleasure Island scenes are also less frightening. The kids are still turned into donkeys, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the original, where that one kid wants his mama. And Pinocchio’s death? If you are interested in that, I’ll discuss that in The Spoilers.

I’ll start off with the good stuff first. Pinocchio looks pretty much exactly like the character that we have grown to know and love. It seems like nowadays, everyone has the rights to make their own version of Pinocchio, but it’s the Disney version that most people are familiar with and relate to. That’s what they want to see, and that’s what they get in this movie.

Benjamin Evan Ainsworth provides the voice of Pinocchio, and it’s pretty spot on. The character of Pinocchio is the best part of the movie, and if they would have messed that up, it would have been a complete disaster. Cynthia Erivo does a great job as The Blue Fairy, and I like how they changed her introduction and interaction when she first encounters Pinocchio. It’s different from the original, but it works. Erivo also has a beautiful singing voice for “When You Wish Upon A Star.”

Keegan-Michael Key voices the character of Honest John, and you can tell that he must have seen the original many times and has a lot of fondness and respect for the character. I was really happy to see that they got the characters of Honest John and Gideon right, and a lot had to do with Key’s performance. I thought Pleasure Island looked incredible. They went completely overboard with the look of the carnival and definitely made it look like a place kids would be tempted to go to. The sets look great, and they represent a more colorful version of an Italian village that brings about a modest fairy tale look.

Alan Silvestri composed the music for the film, and he does a really good job bringing back old themes and creating new themes for the score. Silvestri is known for composing “Forrest Gump,” “The Polar Express,” and “Back To The Future.”

Now for the bad. Like most remakes, it raises the question, “Did we really need this?” It is for fans that might appreciate a slightly different retelling of the story, but for most people, it may feel like they wasted two hours of their life.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt voices Jiminy Cricket, and I thought he was the worst part of the movie. I like Gordon-Levitt in some things, but don’t know how he got the role. It feels like he is phoning it in and just doing a poor imitation of Cliff Edwards, who voiced the original Jiminy. Also, the design of Jiminy looks very cheap.

Sofia is a new character, a talking seagull voiced by Loraine Bracco. She’s kind of like Skuttle, if Skuttle was a girl and smoked ten packs of cigarettes a day. The kid who plays Lampwich is awful and doesn’t come off as a tough kid at all. He reminded me more of the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist.

Tom Hanks as Geppetto is another mixed bag. He kind of works in the beginning, but then eventually, he loses his Italian accent (listen to him when he is on the boat).

I was especially disappointed to learn that Robert Zemeckis directed this film. He’s directed some great films such as “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” the “Back To The Future” trilogy, “Forrest Gump,” and “Contact.” I liked his animated movies too, like “The Polar Express,” “A Christmas Carol,” and “Beowulf.” You definitely see some of his direction in this, and you get the sense that he’s having a great time with the Stromboli and the Pleasure Island scenes. But “Pinocchio” is not one of his best efforts.

Warning: I’m about to get into spoilers, and some are major ones. I wanted to discuss the big changes that were made in this film, most of which I felt were not good changes.

Start of SPOILERS

• In this version, Geppetto has a real family. Something happened where both his wife and son died. You see a picture of his son on his mantle, and in it, he is dressed very similarly to Pinocchio.
• Geppetto spends most of his life making cuckoo clocks, but he doesn’t sell them because his wife loved them so much. He eventually sells them so he can buy a boat to look for Pinocchio.
• The cuckoo clocks are filled with Easter Eggs, and a lot of them don’t match the time period. There are cuckoo clocks of Roger and Jessica Rabbit kissing, Rafiki and Simba on Pride Rock, and Woody from “Toy Story.” When the director does stuff like that, it shows he just doesn’t care. The other ones that I was able to catch were Donald Duck, Maleficent, and Snow White.
• There seems to be quite a bit of prejudice implied towards Pinocchio. His teacher kicks him out of school because he is a puppet, and Stromboli tells Pinocchio that his father could never love him because he is not real.
• There is another new character that they added called Fabiana, who works for Stromboli. Except where Stromboli is evil, she is pure good. She befriends Pinocchio and gets Stromboli arrested, and takes over his puppet theater as a more fair and kind puppeteer.
• The Blue Fairy just appears in the beginning when she brings Pinocchio to life. Other than that, she is never seen again.
• Pinocchio basically frees himself from Stromboli’s cage.
• When Pinocchio tells a lie, his nose grows. When he tells the truth and does something good, his nose shrinks. This applies to his donkey ears and tail too.
• Once the kids are on Pleasure Island, they do not smoke cigars or drink beer, they drink root beer. (Disney and their “no smoking and drinking” policy at work.)
• There are evil spirits on Pleasure Island that gather up the children after they turn into donkeys.
• Pinocchio uses Sofia to water-ski while searching for Geppetto.
• Pinocchio is used as a propeller on the back of Geppettos boat to escape Monstro.
• Pinocchio doesn’t die; Geppetto does. Pinocchio cries over Geppetto’s dead body and sings “When You Wish Upon A Star.” Then a magical tear drops from him, bringing Geppetto back from the dead.
• It is left ambiguous whether Pinocchio actually ever becomes a real boy. Jiminy explains that Pinocchio did prove himself to be brave, honest, and unselfish. But he goes on to say that many stories have been told about him and that people say that he was transformed into an honest-to-goodness real boy. He questions whether that actually happens, but he feels that in his heart, Pinocchio is as real as any real boy can ever be. We do see a glimpse that maybe he did become a real boy (or, at least, a CGI boy).

End of SPOILERS

The live action remakes that Disney has been putting out never surpass the original. They are just cash grabs with a built-in audience that has a fondness for the original animated movie. And it doesn’t help that most of them just aren’t any good. In the end, these movies still make a lot of money because people still go and see them out of curiosity and fond memories of the originals, but most of all, people go and see them because they still have hope that this time things will be different.

Pinocchio is not different. At times, it does offer something new, but usually, the new stuff doesn’t improve the story, but makes it worse. I think kids will like it, but if they have never seen “Pinocchio,” you know which one they should see first. Donkeys and all.

I give Pinocchio a 5/10.

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Chris Hemsworth returns as Thor in his fourth solo outing as the God of Thunder. This time around, he has a little help from his ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster. Jane, played by Natalie Portman, also has the power of Thor — and it’s going to take the both of them to stop Gorr the God Butcher from destroying all of the gods in the universe.

“Thor: Love And Thunder” does not have a great story, but it is a fun movie. The plot seems rushed at times, and there were a ton of things that I felt the movie would have been better off without. But there are just enough good parts that made me overlook the wacky parts. In the end, you want to leave a movie entertained, and I was. As far as Thor movies go, I would say it is definitely better than “Thor: Dark World,” but not as good as the original “Thor” movie. Whether you like it more than “Thor: Ragnarok” may depend if you prefer more Hulk or more Jane Foster.

At first, I was concerned about Thor. His character has become a bit of a buffoon in the last few movies, and at times he still is in this one, but I feel like there are times in this movie when his story gets very deep and his character is maturing instead of regressing. I was also glad to see that this is still Thor’s movie. Even though there is a lot of Jane Foster and Valkyrie, it is not their movie. They are just supporting characters and also very good ones.

I was also concerned about Natalie Portman as Mighty Thor. Portman is a kind of petite actress; she is 5’ 3”, and Jane Foster’s Thor in the comic book is an intimidating figure. But Portman nailed it. She is a great Thor and a great Jane Foster too, and I would love to see more of her Thor in the MCU. In the previous movies that Thor and Jane were both in, I always felt that they didn’t have much chemistry. Not this time around. In fact, some of the best scenes in the movie center around the two of them, and you get the feeling that they really do love each other. I think if those scenes were not in the movie, I would have rated it much lower. And there are several scenes like that throughout the movie, and they are each perfectly written and performed.

Barely any movie is perfect, and this movie is no exception. Probably the biggest problem that some will have with this movie is that it is very heavy on the comedy. Marvel usually does a good job injecting comedy into their movies, but there comes a time when they have to realize that there is a main story that they need to follow, and sometimes comedy becomes too much of a distraction. We could have done without the goats and some stupid scenes with Thor and Stormbreaker. Korg could have also stayed behind for this one, and I don’t think anyone would have missed him. And the Asgardian children should have remained in their beds and not have been a plot device.

Christian Bale joins the cast as Gorr the God Butcher. Bale usually puts in a good performance. But he’s just OK in this. You don’t see much butchering from the God Butcher. Most of the killing is done off screen, and we are left to imagine what was done, which is kind of disappointing. Maybe they toned it down to be more family friendly, but I would have preferred more butchering over the overdose of comedy we got. And the character of Gorr again highlights a huge problem for Disney. All of their villains need to be portrayed as sympathetic or misunderstood by society. Give me a scary villain who just wants to win at the end by destroying everyone who gets in his path. I don’t want to meet Gorr in some group therapy session one day.

I will warn parents that part of the plot has to do with all of the children of Asgard being kidnapped by Gorr, and I think some of those scenes might be scary for some young children. None of these kids are like young Leia from the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series. They are held in a dark place, and they are all scared, and they often scream out of fright. Parents know their children best and what they can handle. I’m sure it’s fine, but I thought I would mention it.

As usual, with all the MCU movies, there are after credit scenes (and there are two of them this time). And for a change, both are quite good. So I would stick around for both as one introduces a potential hero or villain for the inevitable Thor 5. The final end credit scene is a nice epilogue to the movie.

Love and Thunder is a fun movie, but sometimes it comes dangerously close to being a spoof of a Thor movie than an actual Thor movie. I would say that Thor and Jane’s relationship saves the movie from its comedic shortcomings with some great performances by Hemsworth and Portman. It’s not the best MCU movie ever made, but it’s not at the bottom of the list either.

I give Thor: Love And Thunder a 7/10.

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Even though I really enjoyed “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness,” I have a feeling not everyone is going to have the same experience. I won’t get into spoilers, but I think some people will love the direction they went with some characters, and some may be quite upset. This movie seems like it will satisfy Marvel fans more than your regular moviegoer. It helps if you have some knowledge of past movies, but I would say that it’s probably essential that you have seen “WandaVision.”

A warning to parents with young children: this is the darkest Marvel movie yet and can be quite scary, graphic, and disturbing at times. This movie almost crosses into the horror genre. It still has its fair share of humor, but there comes the point where the humor is just gone.

I absolutely despised “WandaVision” and was never a fan of Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda. But without a doubt, Elizabeth Olsen steals this movie. She gives one of the greatest performances in a Marvel movie and maybe her whole career. I was really impressed with just how much she added to this movie and was blown away each time she was on the screen. Benedict Cumberbatch also did a fantastic job and showed why he was always the perfect choice to play Doctor Strange. I liked the first Doctor Strange movie but didn’t love it. I always felt that Doctor Strange was better when he played a side character or as part of a team, such as when he was in “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “No Way Home.” But I would say that this movie proves that Doctor Strange has a lot of potential and is important to the MCU. For me, this sequel was way better than the first.

The film isn’t perfect by any means. There is one character I felt was either not well written, or it could be that the part was miscast, and they played a major role in the movie. At times, the CGI is just plain awful. Some monsters and demons take you out of the movie because they look like a bad 90s movie. And at some point, Doctor Strange himself looks incredibly fake. The last third of the movie was the worst part; maybe they had written themselves into a corner, and it was hard to come to a satisfying conclusion without making certain decisions. 

There have been rumors and potential leaks of certain superheroes and celebrity cameos that could appear in this movie. Fortunately, they were highly exaggerated. Even though there are a few, they don’t hijack the movie.

As with most Marvel movies, there are two after-credit scenes. One occurs just as the mid-credits end, and that scene is quite meaningful and introduces an important character from Doctor Strange’s comic book history. The other scene occurs after all the credits have completely ended, and it’s a minor comedic bit. I wouldn’t bother with that one, and by the time you get home, you will probably have found it on the internet.

“Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” feels like a true MCU movie. I really can’t say that about the other movies that we have seen far from Phase 4 in the MCU. There are some great performances in this movie, especially by Elizabeth Olsen, and quite a few surprises too. This movie gets dark, and it makes that change within minutes of the start. Some kids, and maybe some adults, may have problems with some characters and specific scenes. I wouldn’t say this movie makes it into the top five of MCU movies, but it is nowhere near the bottom either.

I give “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” an 8/10.

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Sometimes you are looking forward to seeing a movie. You have really high expectations, the trailers were great, and then once the film is over, you leave feeling disappointed. Then there are other times when you are convinced that a film is going to be an absolute train-wreck. The trailers are awful, the marketing does nothing for you, but once the film is over, you end up saying to yourself, that was actually a lot better than what I was expecting. “Turning Red” is without a doubt the latter. I wouldn’t label it a Pixar classic, but it’s got its moments.

Surprisingly, this movie can be funny, real, and at times, very deep. I really want to commend the writers for bringing in real world issues that many people have struggled with throughout most of their lives. I think the movie can help children and adults overcome certain debilitating issues that they have struggled with, especially with the subject of acceptance and being open to their family and friends.

The mother in this movie can be somewhat of a narcissist and sometimes an over controlling mother from hell. When Mei is getting good grades and behaving like her mother expects her to, the mother is very nice, loving, and proud of her daughter. But once Mei steps out of line, or does not meet her mother’s expectations, you see a different side of the mother, which greatly affects Mei. In the real world, parents like these exist and it greatly affects the child’s life. If not addressed properly, this can lead to a never-ending cycle that will impact generations of children that come after them. And who knows, maybe seeing this for some may make them realize that their life mirrors what’s on the screen and it may open their eyes and result in an end to this behavior. I want to point out that the mother in this film is not evil. She’s not. Without a doubt the mother loves Mei, but she just needs to be more accepting, less controlling of her daughter, and understand the concept of boundaries.

Mei and her friends are typical teenage girls. They love boy bands. They love hanging out together. And their parents don’t necessarily understand them. Mei and her friends all have different characteristics, like you would see with most kids, but there is something that brings them together that makes them best friends. School life is never easy and sometimes you have to deal with either bullies or kids that just want to make your life miserable. One thing about Mei’s friends is that they have her back in times of trouble. And who cares if Mei is a giant red panda, she is still Mei to her friends. Depending on the success of this film, I could see them giving Mei and her friends a Disney+ spinoff series.

My favorite part about Mei is that she is far from perfect. I sometimes see movies where they try to elevate a character and they just make them so perfect that it turns you off. Yes, there are strong and brave girls and boys in the world, but not all of them are. This girl is constantly making mistakes and is very awkward. Mei also respects her family and her heritage. She wants to please her family so much, even if it means sacrificing her own happiness at times. No kid is perfect. Growing up, most kids are confused and have to deal with failure and rejection. It’s great that kids get to see someone like this on the screen. I’m not saying there never were characters like this before, but just lately, kids movies have been used to emphasize that even though the character may have struggles, they always overcome them because they are perfect.

One of the problems that I had with the film is that they could have trimmed about fifteen minutes off of this film and it would have been much tighter. Another negative for me is the giant red panda itself. I think the movie could have still worked without Mei turning into a giant red panda. The main part of the story is growing up and being torn between not upsetting your family and doing things that make you happy. You don’t need a giant red panda to convey that narrative. I think if the panda could have been left out, and if the story was worked on a little more, it may have been something really special. However, they don’t hide from the fact that the giant red panda is also symbolic of a certain part of puberty. Maybe they felt it was important to keep in the character because it represented some kind of artistic expression of what a young girl may go through during that time in her life. The animation is good, but it’s no “Raya and the Last Dragon.” Characters look more abstract than realistic, and the only thing that people might be impressed with is maybe the individual hairs on the panda.

This movie is probably not for everyone. I think the target audience is more around the age of the characters themselves. But I think this movie will speak to a lot of people, regardless of what age they are. The end really conveys a wonderful message. If you truly love someone, you will accept them for who they are and allow them to be who they are meant to be, not who you want them to be.

I give “Turning Red” a 7.5/10.

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Without a doubt, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is the biggest movie event in the franchise’s history. If you are a fan of the series, the film might not be perfect, but there is enough mind-blowing events that occur in this movie to satisfy the biggest of fans. It is best to go into this movie knowing very little and hopefully you are able to avoid any spoilers that may be making their way onto the internet. The hardest thing that I have ever had to do is not spoil this movie. I promise, I won’t! Let’s just say, if you are a fan of any of the Spider-Man movies in the history of the franchise, you will find a lot of things in this outing that will make you smile.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” begins immediately after the events of “Far From Home.” Peter (Tom Holland) is swinging with MJ (Zendaya) around New York City, when they are suddenly interrupted by breaking news from J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons). A video is displayed on the Time Square jumbo-tron which shows Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) revealing to the world that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Having his identity revealed to the world is not only affecting Peter’s life, but also the people that he loves and his friends. Peter visits Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) with hopes that he can work his magic so that the world doesn’t remember that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned and villains from other universes emerge to create chaos for Spider-Man. It is up to Spider-Man to find a way to get the villains back to where they came from and put things in his world back to normal.

“No Way Home” is a very fun movie, but it does suffer from a few issues. A big problem for me with this movie is that there really is not one villain that stands out. With “Homecoming,” we saw an excellent performance by Michael Keaton as The Vulture. That was followed by “Far From Home,” with another great performance by Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio. No Way Home has five returning villains from various Spider-Man movies and not one of them really shines as a villain. In fact, for the most part, they are all too nice. That’s not to say that they aren’t villains in this movie, but the way they turn from one side to the other just isn’t very inspiring.

Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is the big MCU superhero guest-star in this movie. Cumberbatch always does a good job portraying the character of Doctor Strange, but he seems a little off at times in this one. I couldn’t imagine Doctor Strange risking a spell that could possibly lead to the multiverse being opened.

The majority of this movie centers around the trio of Peter, MJ, and Ned working together and trying to set things right. With this being their third movie together, they all do seem like close friends and we get to see their personalities and quirks a lot during this movie. All of the actors put in very good performances.

The very last scene with Tom Holland as Spider-Man was my favorite part of the movie. It’s probably my favorite scene in the whole trilogy. This is a version of Spider-Man in the MCU that we have never seen before. This was something I have been waiting for since Tom Holland first started playing Spider-Man. That one scene really gave me hope and made me excited for what is to come.

There are two after-credit scenes. One is a mid-credit scene and the other is an end-credit scene. The mid-credit one is interesting and definitely opens the door to some possibilities that Spider-Man fans will appreciate. The end credit scene, that appears after all the credits have rolled by, is actually a trailer for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” I would just look for this trailer online. If it’s not there now, I’m sure Marvel will release it fairly soon.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is not a perfect movie. At times, it can be slow-paced, and it’s not the best written in the series. But the end battle and some very memorable scenes are definitely worth the price of admission. Avoid spoilers, friends who have seen the movie, and especially the internet. Prepare to be amazed!

I give “Spider-Man: No Way Home” a 7/10.

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Encanto is the latest film from Walt Disney Animated Studios, telling the tale of a young Colombian girl and her desire to find her place. Each member of the Madrigal family has been blessed with enchanted powers and abilities. Unfortunately for Mirabel, she is the only member of her family that does not exhibit such powers. At times, she feels that she has been cursed and wonders why she is the only family member who is not special. Throughout her journey, she comes to learn that there are more important things than magical powers that make one special.

Encanto was led by the directors of Tangled and Zootopia, which in my opinion, are two modern Disney animated classics. Going into the movie, I had really high hopes that this would be the case for Encanto, but this movie was a slight disappointment for me. It just seemed to lack the fun and interesting stories of their previous features.

I think one of the big problems, similar to Eternals, is that there are too many characters. There just isn’t enough time for much character development, other than Mirabel. There are maybe a dozen family members and I think it would have been best to cut that number in half. I understand that they were probably going for the idea of showcasing a large diverse number of family members, but the only names I really could remember were Mirabel, Bruno, Luisa and Abuela. In a case where there are too many characters, some will stand out, while others will not. I will say that this movie is really fast paced and it does not drag at all.

Maybe it would have been too similar to Frozen, but I think the story would have worked better if it focused more on Mirabel and her sister. Mirabel and her sister are two polar opposites and they do not get along. Seeing the both of them work together to find out that maybe they have more in common than they originally thought could have led to a more interesting story.

On the positive side, this movie is a visual work of art. Walt Disney Animation Studios has become a powerhouse when it comes to their animation style. They really have no competition. I think it would be fair to say that they even surpass Pixar now. The colors in this movie just pop with such detail and there are so many of them. Even when a scene has its dark moments, you can’t help but notice the beauty and fine detail in those scenes. I do favor the design of the characters in Disney Animation to Pixar. When I look at Tangled, and even the recent Raya And The Last Dragon, I’m still amazed at what Disney can accomplish with their characters.

I also think its great that this movie helps showcase Columbian culture. The diversity of each family member, the architecture, the lush landscapes, the food, the music and the importance of family are all represented in Encanto. There is such a big world out there that could be used as a backdrop to modern fairy tales and it’s nice that the audience gets to see it. It makes you leave the theater and wish that maybe we could see some of Encanto represented in EPCOT’s World Showcase.

The voice actors in Encanto are all very good. Everyone seems to match their characters voice perfectly, and for me, there was only one recognizable voice. I appreciate that because I would rather identify the voice with the character than with a well known actor.

The one thing that I have noticed is, that in the last few years, Disney has been making movies without villains. You look at Moana, Ralph Breaks The Internet, Frozen II, Raya And The Last Dragon, Onward, Soul, and Luca. Like Encanto, the one thing they have in common, is there is no main villain. A great villain makes a movie. Where would the Lion King be without Scar or The Little Mermaid without Ursula? The hero always needs a great antagonist so that their victory is that much sweeter. And from the list of movies that I just mentioned above, are any of those movies really considered Disney classics? I think Disney has gotten too soft and that they might feel that kids don’t want to see bad guys anymore in their movies. Bring back the villain!

As far as the music goes, I’m just not a big fan of Lin Manuel Miranda’s music. I know that there are millions who are, and that I am in the minority, but to me his music doesn’t work well with Disney animated features. There are a few standouts, but I also think there are some duds too. Waiting On A Miracle is by far my favorite, but the music that I enjoyed the most were those that were sung in their native language. I’m glad that they included some songs that were sung in Spanish and it makes me look forward to re-watching Encanto with the Spanish language option. I love watching Coco in Spanish, and Luca only improved for me once I was able to watch it in Italian. I have a feeling that will be the case for me with Encanto.

I’m not sure what children are going to think of Encanto. The movie is beautiful to look at, and there are some amusing characters for them to see, but I think the story will go over their head. There are a lot of things that just are not explained properly. I think the message of Mirabel not having powers will probably be very relatable to children that may not excel in sports, or don’t feel they have a special talent, but I also think they would rather watch Frozen for the hundredth time instead of seeing this movie over and over again.

Before I end this, I needed to talk about the animated short that appears before the start of the Encanto. It’s called Far From The Tree and I loved it. It is about a young raccoon who learns from their parent how to survive in the wilderness. For the first minute, I was asking myself, why does this look so different? Then I realized that it was done in the hand drawn animation style. This put a big smile on my face and made me realize that Disney has to go back to doing some animated features in the hand drawn animated style. It’s not very long at all, but I got more enjoyment out of Far From The Tree than I did with all of Encanto. And the raccoons were raccoons! They didn’t sing, they didn’t have human voices, but they expressed every emotion perfectly. I have a lot of respect for director Natalie Nourigat and I hope we see a lot more of her work in the near future.

Encanto is one of Disney’s most visually stunning animated features. Some of the music is very well done, that highlights the spirit of family within Columbian culture. In no way does this film drag, but at times, it’s just not as interesting as previous Disney entries and lacks the charm of previous animated features.

I give Encanto a 6/10.

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I think a lot of people are going to compare Eternals to Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 1. Guardians was a risk because unlike Captain America, Thor or Iron Man, most people had never heard of these heroes. If Guardians proved one thing, it proved that you don’t have to have A-list superheroes in order to be a successful franchise, but what Guardians had that Eternals does not have, is a great cast with a lot of chemistry, a fun story and a better director.

The Eternals are a group of aliens with each unique superpowers that were sent to the Earth thousands of years ago to protect humanity from the threat of the destructive Deviants. Throughout the centuries, The Eternals use their powers to help and guide humans to progress and advance. Once all the Deviants appear to be eliminated, the Eternals disagree on how much of their involvement should effect humanity. Each Eternal decides to go off and live their own life and decide how they will contribute to Earth’s history. A tragedy occurs that leads to the revelation that the Earth will be destroyed and all of humanity wiped from existence. The members of the Eternals must be found and reunite if there is to ever be a chance of preventing the cataclysmic event from ever occurring.

The biggest problem with Eternals is that there are too many characters. There are 10 Eternals in all and good luck remembering all of their names. They could have easily scrapped at least 4 characters from the movie, bringing the characters down to maybe 5 or 6 at most. That leads to the next problem in that it is too long. At 2 hours and 37 minutes, the only other MCU movie that is longer than this movie is Avengers: Endgame. That is fine if you have a good story with interesting characters, but they kind of fail in both categories. It is basically a long journey trying to find each Eternal, and then once they are found, trying to convince them to help save the world. Another problem is that the story gets convoluted and will leave many confused at times, especially kids. The whole jumping around different periods of the Eternals time on Earth didn’t help and was poorly executed.

The two standouts are Gemma Chan as Sersi and Richard Madden as Ikaris. Gemma Chan is incredible and should be an example of, how sometimes, less is more. Chan throughout the whole movie has a kind and soft demeanor. Her character does not look to be thrust into the spotlight, but she is, due to her natural acting abilities. When she is on screen, you are focused on her and you look forward to her interactions with others or even with times when she is by herself. I cant say enough good things about Gemma Chan as I left the theater wanting to see more of her.

The other characters, and actors that portray them, are somewhat forgettable. The big surprise for me is that Angelina Jolie, who plays Thena, has a very small role in this. You would think that with all of the advertising for this movie that she would have a more prominent role in it. This isn’t a complaint at all. Like I said, sometimes, less is more. I will say that in every scene that she is in, she does a good job. Similar to Gemma Chan, her acting seems more natural and less in your face. The characters that were given the most dialogue were either uninteresting, annoying or not good actors.

When there is action or battles in Eternals, that is when the film shines. There are a lot of amazing fight scenes that highlights each heroes’ unique abilities. The special effects are also very impressive. Lately Marvel seems to be forcing way too much dialogue in their movies. That’s great when it works, but if it doesn’t, it’s just boring and people are sitting there praying for more action. There just isn’t enough action to save this movie from being overly long.

The big question that most people will have is where are the other heroes in the MCU? They know that they exist because they mention the events of Infinity War and Endgame and a ridiculous excuse for why The Eternals did not interfere and help to stop Thanos. They also mention Superman and Batman. So in a weird way, the heroes from the DC Universe could have also helped. Were they all on vacation? And as much as I love Superman and Batman, I find it a very controversial choice to promote the competition in a Marvel movie.

There are two after credit scenes. For a change, I think both of them are interesting and not necessarily throwaways. They both lead to an Eternals 2, which I couldn’t be less interested in seeing. They even say during the closing credits that The Eternals will return. Why would Disney green light a sequel even before they were able to measure the success at the box office for of an unproven franchise? It makes no sense.

Which brings me to the performance of The MCU’s Phase 4. Out of Black Widow, Shang Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings and Eternals, I enjoyed Eternals the most. With that being said, I don’t think I would want to see it again. I think that Marvel is making a mistake by pushing a lot of unknown properties without sandwiching them in between legitimate proven blockbusters. PT Barnum once said, “Give the people what they want and they will come.” Marvel seems to be doing the opposite and are giving the people what Marvel wants. I’m pretty sure that most audiences would have rather seen sequels to Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther or Guardians Of The Galaxy.

So far, none of the Phase 4 entries have been must see movies, and neither have any of the Disney+ series either. Marvel seems to want to push a completely different and new group of superheroes on us, but so far, they aren’t doing a good job. They are relying too much on the fact that audiences will continue to follow Marvel because the Marvel stamp or logo is on the movie title. Marvel should ask Star Wars how that worked out for them.

Eternals has several things going for it. When there is action on the screen, it is really well done. The special effects are top notch. Gemma Chan practically saves the movie by herself just by her performance. Ultimately, it’s a long movie, that can be confusing at times, filled with uninteresting superheroes and its no Guardians Of The Galaxy.

I give Eternals a 6/10.

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Marvel has filed a lawsuit in order to retain the full ownership rights of its most popular characters including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Thor and Doctor Strange. Marvel fears that their most popular characters may be eligible for copyright termination, which would result in the ownership rights going back to the families and heirs of the original creators of the characters, such as Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and Gene Colan.

Steve Ditko’s estate had recently filed a notice of termination warning for the character of Spider-Man, which he co created with Stan Lee back in 1964. According to copyright law, the creators of characters can reclaim a character’s rights that were sold and used by publishers after a certain amount of time has expired. If Ditko’s estate is victorious, Marvel would have to give up its copyright rights in June of 2023. Marvel would still retain the international rights of Spider-Man since the copyright law only applies to the United States.

This is not the first time that Marvel has has dealt with legal action regarding termination rights. Back in 2014, Marvel was successful against the estate of Jack Kirby who filed a suit to obtain the rights of many of Kirby’s characters. The court ruled in Marvel’s favor, saying that Kirby essentially entered into a work for hire agreement. DC had also been served with a a lawsuit for the rights of Superman by the heirs of his creator and DC was also successful.

If Marvel and Disney do have to give up the ownership rights to its most popular characters, it could be just the beginning of many legal battles that Disney may have to face regarding ownership rights and could cost the company billions. Stay tuned to see how this plays out.

Source: THR

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With less than two weeks until its release in theaters, Marvel has released a brand new trailer for “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”

Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” opens in theaters on September 3.

Source: Marvel Entertainment

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The post VIDEO: Marvel Releases a New Action Packed Trailer For ‘Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings’ appeared first on WDW News Today.

This new trailer for Marvel’s “Eternals” is also the final one. Watch as the team comes together to take on the Deviants.

Marvel’s “Eternals” opens in theaters on November 5th.

Source: Marvel Entertainment

The post VIDEO: Watch The Final Trailer For Marvel’s “Eternals” appeared first on WDW News Today.