Who Is the Next Marvel Villain?

Since Avengers Endgame is almost here, it is time to explore:
Who might be the next big Marvel baddie?

Who is going to show up to give our heroes a new treat to their peace and happiness? Who is going to wreck the happiness that they are finally feeling after the world has been set right again?

Will this villain make an appearance in a post credit scene or will we have to wait?

How much longer can we WAIT to see this movie without EXPLODING from anticipation??? (deep breaths... deep breaths...)

Soon Thanos will be gone and the world will be right again. Some of our heroes maybe forever changed, but  hopefully the Thanos story is completely wrapped up. We know that the universe moves forward and so our heroes will need another antagonist. Who will burst out of the scene to cause trouble in the MCU.

I believe it is time for Kang the Conqueror.

Kang is a time traveling genius that has amazing technology at his disposal. He desire to to conqueror and rule and he believes he is entitled to do so.

Why Kang?

1. If the Avengers use some form of time travel to reverse the affects of Infinity War, then they have opened up the MCU to time travel.

2. Now that Disney owns Fox, they have access to The Fantastic Four and Kang is a great villain to introduce them to the MCU without having to deal with a baddie that is Galactus yet.

3. You need a villain that can bridge you from Thanos to the next mega bad guy, but still feel like a threat for a phase or two.

4. We are going to need time to connect to new heroes and Kang is the perfect type of villain to get us to love our new heroes.

5. Wanting to conquer and rule is a great antithesis to Thanos' desire to just balance the universe.

We all know that a new bad guy is on the horizon. The question is not "if", but rather "who" and "when".

I believe we will get a hint of the new villain without him (or her) actually being revealed at the end of Avengers: Endgame. I believe the heroes will have a moment to breath, but the universe will begin to stir as a new danger arises.

Kang sounds like a possibility to me... What do you think?

Movies of 2019

Here are a few of the movies that look interesting this year. I pulled my list from a website called firstshowing.net. I would encourage you to follow this link for a full list of the movies scheduled for 2019.

Wow what a list... I had no idea some of these movies were coming out. My most anticipated of this list are Captain Marvel (March), Marvel's Avengers: Endgame (April). Spider-Man: Far From Home (July), and of course Star Wars: Episode IX (December). Disney has a lot of movies coming out this year not just there Marvel and Star Wars movies. Pixar's Toy Story 4  has to be a must-see.

I hope you enjoy my list of 2019 movies. Which ones can you not wait to see? Please comment below.

Release dates are subject to change.

JANUARY 2019

January 11 (Friday)

A Dog's Way Home

January 18 (Friday)

Glass

January 25 (Friday)

The Kid Who Would Be King

FEBRUARY 2019

February 8 (Friday)

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

What Men Want

February 14 (Thursday - Valentine's Day)

Alita: Battle Angel

Fighting with My Family

February 22 (Friday)

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

MARCH 2019

March 1 (Friday)

A Madea Family Funeral

March 8 (Friday)

Captain Marvel

March 15 (Friday)

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

March 29 (Friday)

Dumbo

APRIL 2019

April 5 (Friday)

Pet Sematary

Shazam!

April 12 (Friday)

Hellboy

April 17 (Wednesday)

Penguins

April 26 (Friday)

Marvel's Avengers: Endgame

Summer 2019

MAY 2019

May 10 (Friday)

Pokémon Detective Pikachu

May 15 (Wednesday)

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

May 17 (Friday)

A Dog's Journey

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

May 24 (Friday)

Aladdin

Minecraft: The Movie

May 31 (Friday)

Godzilla: King of Monsters

JUNE 2019

June 7 (Friday)

The Secret Life of Pets 2

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

June 14 (Friday)

Men in Black: International

June 21 (Friday)

Pixar's Toy Story 4

JULY 2019

July 5 (Friday)

Spider-Man: Far From Home

July 19 (Friday)

The Lion King

AUGUST 2019

August 2 (Friday)

Dora the Explorer

Hobbs & Shaw

The New Mutants

August 9 (Friday)

Artemis Fowl

August 16 (Friday)

The Angry Birds Movie 2

Playmobil: The Movie

August 23 (Friday)

Overcomer

SEPTEMBER 2019

September 6 (Friday)

It: Chapter 2

September 13 (Friday)

Spies in Disguise

September 20 (Friday)

Downton Abbey

OCTOBER 2019

October 4 (Friday)

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Joker

October 11 (Friday)

The Addams Family

NOVEMBER 2019

November 1 (Friday)

Terminator

November 8 (Friday)

Sonic The Hedgehog

November 15 (Friday)

Kingsman 3

November 22 (Friday)

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Frozen 2

DECEMBER 2019

December 13 (Friday)

Jumanji Sequel

December 18 (Wednesday)

Masters of the Universe

December 20 (Friday)

Star Wars: Episode IX

December 25 (Wednesday - Christmas Day)

1917

The Call of the Wild

Little Women

Did Avengers Infinity War introduce S.W.O.R.D.?

*** Spoiler Warning***

Well... kind of...

If you have not seen Avenger's Infinity War I would suggest you do not read this blog.

Okay...

Everyone still here has seen the movie so I am wondering if the post credit seen was just a tease of Captain Marvel or could it also have a bigger meaning. Did we just get introduced to S.W.O.R.D.?

S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department) is a fictional counter-terrorism and intelligence agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Its purpose is to deal with extraterrestrial threats to world security. (From Wikipedia)

Thanos would definitely fit within their job-description and be a neat addition to the next phase of the MCU.

If it was a call to S.W.O.R.D. it does raise a few questions.

1. Where have they been?
2. Why didn't they respond to the Chitauri invasion? (or did they?)
3. What is their relationship with Shield?
4. What is Captain Marvel's role with the organization?

I am very excited for the MCU to introduce Carol Danvers. She is a game-changer and hopefully she is bringing along with her the entire might of S.W.O.R.D. to reign down fire on Thanos and help restore order to the universe.

Are You Ready for Infinity War?

Who lives?
Who dies?
Who is just no longer an Avenger?

With the release of the biggest movie of all time...well, at least it was the movie with the longest build up of all time...everyone is wondering who will make it out of this first movie and into the second. I believe most of our heroes will make it through, but some may suffer major damage. I think Vision is in real trouble, but I do not know if they will just kill him off. He could always return to being a computer-based AI for now. Hawkeye will probably not even appear until the next movie or the very end of this one. I believe Captain America is a good candidate for a potential loss at either the end of this film or the end of the next.

The only thing that is certain is the landscape of the MCU is about to change greatly. Who do you think is leaving? Will they all make it through?

Who Won the Summer Superhero Title?

Summer is coming to an end and it is time to look back and decide who won the superhero crown of summer 2017. In my opinion, there are 3 strong contenders. Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (GotG2), and of course, Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Wonder Woman was a great movie. As a father, I love the message it had for girls. She was beautiful and powerful. She was the master of her own destiny. Besides the message, DC delivered a superhero movie that was as good as any MCU film. One of the reasons I liked it so much was that it was not just a copy of a Marvel movie. It was an original story that included her origins, but did not only dwell there.

Spider-Man: Homecoming was my second favorite Spider-man film of all time. I actually liked parts of it better than Spider-Man 2. It choose not to rehash Spider-Man's origin, but instead, accept the fact that most of us know it.

GotG2 was a fun ride to take again. It did a wonderful job of recapturing most of the magic of the first one. The film picked up at the end of the other one and moved the story forward. The chemistry has only gotten stronger between this cast.

The crown ultimately goes to Wonder Woman, but just barely. All three of these movies were great.   

Movies for 2017

Here are a few of the movies that look interesting this year. I pulled my list from a website called firstshowing.net. I would encourage you to follow this link for a full list of the movies scheduled for 2017.

The top three movies coming out in 2017 that I am anticipating are Star Wars: Episode VIII, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Wonder Woman. There are many other movies I am very excited for, as well, including: Logan, Cars 3, Pirates, Spider-Man, Justice League, and others. The lead into summer looks packed and it continues until mid-July. I hope you enjoy my list of 2017 movies. Which ones can you not wait to see? Please comment below.

Release dates are subject to change.

JANUARY 2017 
January 6 (Friday)

Hidden Figures
A Monster Calls
Underworld: Blood Wars

January 13 (Friday)
Monster Trucks

January 20 (Friday)
Split
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage

January 27 (Friday)
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

FEBRUARY 2017
February 3 (Friday)
Rings
The Space Between Us

February 10 (Friday)
John Wick: Chapter Two
The LEGO Batman Movie

MARCH 2017
March 3 (Friday)
Logan

March 10 (Friday)
Kong: Skull Island

March 17 (Friday)
Beauty and the Beast

March 24 (Friday)
CHiPs
Power Rangers

March 31 (Friday)
Ghost in the Shell

APRIL 2017
April 7 (Friday)
Smurfs: The Lost Village

April 14 (Friday)
The Fate of the Furious

Summer 2017

MAY 2017
May 5 (Friday)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

May 12 (Friday)
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

May 19 (Friday)
Alien: Covenant
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
The Nut Job 2

May 26 (Friday)
Baywatch
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

JUNE 2017
June 2 (Friday)
Captain Underpants
Wonder Woman

June 9 (Friday)
The Mummy
World War Z 2

June 16 (Friday)
Pixar's Cars 3

June 23 (Friday)
Transformers: The Last Knight

June 30 (Friday)
Despicable Me 3

JULY 2017
July 7 (Friday)
Spider-Man: Homecoming

July 14 (Friday)
War for the Planet of the Apes

AUGUST 2017
August 4 (Friday)
The Emoji Movie

SEPTEMBER 2017
September 8 (Friday)
It

September 22 (Friday)
Ninjago

September 29 (Friday)
Flatliners

OCTOBER 2017
October 6 (Friday)
Blade Runner 2049
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
My Little Pony

October 13 (Friday)
Friday the 13th

October 27 (Friday)
Cloverfield Movie

NOVEMBER 2017
November 3 (Friday)
Thor: Ragnarok

November 17 (Friday)
Justice League

November 22 (Wednesday - Thanksgiving)
Pixar's Coco
Murder on the Orient Express

DECEMBER 2017
December 15 (Friday)

Star Wars: Episode VIII

December 22 (Friday)
Jumanji
Pitch Perfect 3
The Six Billion Dollar Man

December 25 (Monday - Christmas Day)
The Greatest Showman

Are These the Droids You're Looking For?

With Rogue One just a few weeks away, the world awaits to see how the first stand alone Star Wars film will fair at the box office. I don't believe it will capture the excitement of The Force Awakens but I think it will carry an excitement of it own. It will be nice to go back in time to see the Galactic Empire in the height of its power. And the cost of stealing the plans to the dreaded Death Star.

There have already been several characters announced that will have major roles (i.e. Darth Vader, Mon Mothma)  or cameos (i.e Bail Organa). There are a few more characters that are key to the end of this film that I wonder if we will see.

1. Princess Leia - At the beginning of a New Hope we know that Princess is on the run from Darth Vader with the stolen plans. When did she get those plans and from whom? Will we see some form of a lady in a white dress with her hair in buns boarding a Rebel blockade runner?

2. C-3PO - Will we see a certain golden body protocol droid that is fluent in over 6 million forms of communication? We know that he is also on the Rebel blockade runner at the beginning of A New Hope. Will Threepio show up with Bail Organa?

3. R2-D2 - One of the most important little droids to the Star Wars galaxy is C-3PO counterpart R2D2. He has been in every episodic film. He is always in trouble and definitely a part of the action. How did he get the plans? What role will he play in Rogue One?

I do not know if we will see any of these classic characters, but if I had to guess which one is most like to be a part of Rogue One, it would be R2-D2. The other 2 may make some form of a cameo, but I am beginning to think that R2-D2 may play some role in the third act of this film. What do you think? Who might we see? Will R2 play a role in Rogue One?

Who won the superhero showdown?

Before Suicide Squad gets released in August, I thought it would be fun to compare the 3 superhero films of 2016. I am comparing Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, and X-Men: Apocalypse. I will leave Deadpool and Dr. Strange for another post.

First... the good. BvS did a good job of making up for lost time and, to the surprise of many, Ben Afleck crushed it as Batman. It created a universe in a matter of a single film. CACW had amazing action and storylines. The airport scene is probably one of my favorite scenes in any movie, not just superhero movies. X-Men told an epic tale and reintroduced characters in a fresh, new way.

Second... the okay. BvS attempted to redeem Man of Steel by making Superman a little less dark. Civil War had a rather large cast to give screen time, but they were able to do a pretty good job with it. X-Men's treatment of one of their biggest villains wasn't quite strong enough.

Lastly.... the bad. BvS's story jumped around and seemed to be forced at times. Marvel is still struggling to have a truly engaging villain (except Loki) to balance against the team. CACW is no exception with two different villains who are both weak. X-men struggles with keeping an interesting story moving.

I really did like all three of these films. My favorite, by far, was Captain America: Civil War. I believe that Batman v Superman has set up a bright future and I am looking forward to the rest of Ben Afleck's interpretation of this iconic hero. X-Men came in very strong.

First Glimpse of Doctor Stange

Marvel gave us our first look at the Sorcerer Supreme. Doctor Strange is a very different type of comic movie. This teaser gets me excited to see more of this world. If you are unfamiliar with him, you might want check out his page on Marvel.com.

Dr. Strange is set to hit theaters on November 4. 2016.

Are you Excited for the Jungle Book?

Do you want to revisit the world of Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, and Shere Khan? Are you interested in Christopher Walken's interpretation of King Louie?

The critics have had a chance to see the movie and they are very excited. I am sure this will not last, but as of today (April 5, 2016) Jon Favreau's adaptation of Disney's The Jungle Book has a Rotten Tomatoes scores of 100%. This movie is set to hit theaters on tax day, April 15, 2016.

Are you planning on seeing the movie? Does hearing that the movie has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes make you more likely to see it in theaters?

Batman v Superman? Dawn of Justice?

Now that many have had a chance to watch the movie, I believe there are a few questions that we really need to ask. Did Batman v Superman live up to the hype? Did the Dawn of Justice part work? Did it accomplish launching a new cinematic universe?

Did Batman v Superman live up to the hype? The answer to this question is somewhat yes and no. I loved the actual throw down between these two icons (albeit too brief) and felt that it did the two heroes justice for their strengths and weaknesses. I believe the build up was fair, but when the actually fight came about, the motivation was weak.

Did the Dawn of Justice part work? By itself, I believe this part of the movie was effective. DC is playing catch-up, and because of this, they were forced to build their world quickly. If BvS had been one movie and Dawn of Justice another, this very well might have worked wonderfully. They could have filmed the movies at the same time and released them within the same year. I do not feel that it would have been a cash grab, but instead a wise use of screen time.

Did it accomplish launching a cinematic universe? I believe that the answer here is yes, but we will have to wait and see just how well. Most people agree that Affleck works as a good Batman. Even Henry Cavill's Superman is quite agreeable overall. What little time we saw Wonder Woman got me excited to see her stand alone film. The other cameos did not impress me, but I did not hate them either. I guess I am trying to say "it is what it is" and we will have to wait to see what it becomes.

Overall, I did not hate BvS, but I felt it got a little crowded towards the end. I liked humanity verses an alien, even a good alien, as motivation and wish they had just stayed with that story. I will have to admit that I was disappointed, but not turn off. I am very excited for Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman.  What did you think? Are you still excited for the DC cinematic universe?

5 Movies Launching new Adventures for 2016

2016 just happens to be the year in Hollywood where the stars align to bring us 5 movies designed to launch us into new phases of movie franchises or relaunch a genre. Let's take a look at these movies.

1. Deadpool - The studios have tried rated "R" superhero films before but not like Deadpool. The "merc with a mouth" has always been over the top and so, to do it right, the film makers are going over the top with his movie. The question is..."Will Deadpool be the exception or the rule?" Only time will tell on this one.

2.  Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the newest journey into the wizarding world of Harry Potter. The movie will be set before Harry, Hermione, and Ron and will focus on new adventures. There is a lot riding on this movie to prove that worldwide audiences still want to escape into this world, even if our old, familiar friends are not there to greet us.

3. Warcraft and Assassin's Creed are both set to hit the big screen this year. Most attempts at bringing a video game franchise into the Hollywood fold has failed to deliver. Can these two massive video game franchises usher in a new era of cross-medium productions? Will audiences enjoy a two hour version of there favorite games?

4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - This is the first anthology film released in the Star Wars film galaxy. The release of  The Force Awakens clearly proved the audiences want to see more episodic adventures. Will a single story about a particular event be received well? Rogue One has the task of proving that movie goers do not just want episodes, but they also care about smaller tales.

5. Batman v Superman - The movie that has the most riding on its success is Dawn of Justice. This movie is set to establish a whole DC movie universe. If it is good, or even just okay, then the universe can be built upon it and Man of Steel. But if it flops, then there are some rough days ahead for DC. This single movie is probably the most highly anticipated film of 2016.

There are plenty of other great movies coming out in 2016. I wrote a blog with some of the movies that I am looking forward to this year. Check it out here: Movies for 2016. One thing is for sure... this is going to be a good year for movies!

Episode VIII Moves to December

With the success of The Force Awakens, it is not hard to believe that Disney is going to want to continue to ride the wave of Star Wars fever.  In December, they are releasing Rogue One the first of the antology films and the plan was to release Episode VIII in May of 2017. Disney just annouced that they were pushing back Episode VIII back to December 15, 2017. It should not come as a suprise that they were willing to make this change after the success  SWTFA achieved in December. This could set up an interesting stand off between Star Wars and the new Avatar film set for release that December. Unfortunately, we will all have to wait a few extra months to continue the Skywalker story.

Movies for 2016

Here are a few of the movies that look interesting this year. I pulled my list from a website called firstshowing.net. I would encourage you to follow this link for a full list of the movies scheduled for 2016.


The top three movies coming out in 2016 that I am anticipating are Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Captain America: Civil War, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I did not know about a few of these movies and others I am on the edge of my seat with anticipation. I hope you enjoy my list of 2016 movies and please comment below on which ones you cannot wait to see.

JANUARY 2016

January 8 (Friday)
The Forest
The Revenant (Expands)

January 15 (Friday)
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Ride Along 2

January 22 (Friday)
The 5th Wave

January 29 (Friday)
The Finest Hours
Kung Fu Panda 3 (in 3D)

FEBRUARY 2016
February 5 (Friday)
Hail, Caesar!

February 12 (Friday)
Deadpool
Zoolander 2

February 26 (Friday)
Gods of Egypt
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (Limited)

MARCH 2016
March 4 (Friday)
Zootopia

March 18 (Friday)
The Divergent Series: Allegiant

March 25 (Friday)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

APRIL 2016
April 15 (Friday)
The Jungle Book (in 3D)

April 22 (Friday)
The Huntsman Winter's War

April 29 (Friday)
Ratchet and Clank

MAY 2016
May 6 (Friday)
Captain America: Civil War

May 20 (Friday)
Angry Birds

May 27 (Friday)
Alice Through the Looking Glass
X-Men: Apocalypse

JUNE 2016
June 3 (Friday)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

June 10 (Friday)
Now You See Me 2
Warcraft

June 17 (Friday)
Pixar's Finding Dory

June 24 (Friday)
Independence Day Resurgence

JULY 2016
July 1 (Friday)
The BFG
The Legend of Tarzan

July 8 (Friday)
The Secret Life of Pets

July 15 (Friday)
Ghostbusters

July 22 (Friday)
Ice Age: Collision Course
Star Trek Beyond

July 29 (Friday)
The Bourne Betrayal

AUGUST 2016
August 5 (Friday)
Suicide Squad

August 12 (Friday)
Ben-Hur
Pete's Dragon

SEPTEMBER 2016
September 16 (Friday)
Bridget Jones's Baby

September 23 (Friday)
Storks

OCTOBER 2016
October 7 (Friday)
Gambit
Monster High

October 14 (Friday)
Underworld 5

October 21 (Friday)
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

NOVEMBER 2016
November 4 (Friday)
Doctor Strange
Trolls

November 18 (Friday)
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

November 23 (Wednesday - Thanksgiving)
Bad Santa 2

DECEMBER 2016
December 16 (Friday)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

December 21 (Wednesday - Christmas Week)
Assassin's Creed


December 25 (Sunday - Christmas Day)
Jumanji

Dr. Strange looks awesome!

Dr. Strange is here!

Entertainment Weekly  gave us our first look at the world of Dr. Strange. Benedict Cumberbatch will be playing the Master of the Mystic Arts in November of 2016.

This is very different than a lot of the worlds that have been introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

If you are unfamiliar with Dr. Strange you can find out more about him on Marvel's Characters page.

Best story in the new Avengers movie

I hope by now you have had a chance to see Avengers: Age of Ultron. I want to take a minute and look a few of the characters.

*** Mild SPOILERS ahead! ***

Since there are so many different characters and so much action in these Avengers movies, true character development can be difficult. I believe Avengers: Age of Ultron does deliver on a few story lines.
let's take a look at my 4 favorite.

1. Ultron- The machine with artificial intelligence gets us to hate him with only a few appearances on screen. James Spader does an excellent job of delivering his lines with real arrogance and condescension.

2. Vision - Even though the Vision only enters in the third act, he gives us a crash  course on who he is and what he stands for in this fight. There is a real air of mystery, and yet, he is familiar because of his origins.

3. Wanda - I feel this is the best of the new characters. Throughout the movie we are made to understand why she is who she is and why she hates Stark.

4. Hawkeye -  In my opinion, this movie, more than any other in the Marvel cinematic universe story, stars Burton.  We get to see his family. We get a much better idea of his place within the team. We are really made to care about him, much more than the previous MCU film.

Who did you see as the best character? Do you think A:AoU delivered on the hype? Let me know. I read all comments!