Chuck's Movie Breakdown

          Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we're at the end of Marvel May , so let's discuss The Falcon and the Winter Soldier .            Released between March and April of 2021 on Disney+, this miniseries picks up with Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes after the events of Avengers: Endgame.  Sam has chosen not to accept the mantle of Captain America, as he knew the American government wouldn't accept him as the new Captain America due to his ethnicity. Meanwhile, Bucky Barnes is working to make amends for his past as an assassin for HYDRA, and is upset with Sam for giving up the mantle that Steve Rogers entrusted to him. Meanwhile, a mysterious terrorist group called the Flag Smashers, led by a woman named Karli Morgenthau, crops up and are working to return the world to the way it was during the five years that half the population was wiped from existence because of Thanos. Meanwhile, the US government chooses US Army soldier John Wa...

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we've reached the penultimate review of Marvel May , and it's a good one. Back when Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige announced Marvel's Phase Four slate, it included both movies and Disney+ original series. To wrap up Marvel May , we'll be looking at the first two of these series: WandaVision .          The series is set in the town of Westview, New Jersey, where Wanda Maximoff is living an ideal life with the Vision...in the style of a 1950's television sitcom. Not just the 1950's, but also the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, and 2000's eras of television sitcoms are referenced throughout the series. Wanda's neighbors include the ever nosy and bubbly Agnes, Mr. and Mrs. Hart, Geraldine, Norm, and several others. Wanda and Vision also have two sons: twins Billy and Tommy, and Wanda's brother Pietro stops by, and takes the boys trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Looking at it, this all seems nice.....

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we're at the end of Marvel's Phase Three, which means that we've reviewed every Marvel Studios film so far here on Chuck's  Movie Breakdown . Now, after today, we do have some more reviews for Marvel May , but future Marvel May  events will most likely be centered on Marvel films outside of Marvel Studios. So, let's wrap up Phase Three with Spider-Man: Far From Home .          So, Peter Parker, after the events of Avengers: Endgame,  is looking forward to his class trip to Europe, because he wants to spend some time alone with MJ. Happy Hogan, however, let's Peter know that Nick Fury is looking for him. Peter, however, has no interest in saving the world, because the world wants him to be the next Tony Stark.           In Europe, Peter is tracked down by Fury, who has two reasons for seeking him out: first, to give him a pair of glasses (with an A.I. called E.D.I...

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, I just got back from the theaters, and I went to see Spiral: From the Book of Saw . A stand-alone spin-off film, this chapter of the Saw franchise was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, who directed three of the most popular films in the Saw franchise: Saw II, Saw III, and Saw IV . The writers on this film were Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger, the same writers behind the last entry of the Saw franchise: Jigsaw , based on a story treatment by the film's lead actor, Chris Rock. So, his does this one compare to the rest of the series? Let's find out as we take a look at Spiral.           So the movie opens at a Fourth of July carnival, where police detective Marc Boswick chases a suspect into a sewer tunnel, only to be attacked by an assailant in a pig mask. Some time later, Boswick wakes up chained to the ceiling of a subway tunnel, with a device strapped to his head, and the only means of escape from ...

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, here it is. The Marvel May review everyone has been waiting for. This is honestly the one I've been wanting to get to ever since Marvel May last year. Here it is: Avengers: Endgame .            So, the movie opens on the Barton family farm, with Clint teaching his daughter Lila archery, with Clint's wife, Laura, and two sons, Cooper and Nathaniel, all near the barbecue, with Laura making hot dogs. Suddenly, Laura and the kids disappear, being snapped out of existence by Thanos, leaving Clint all alone. Adrift in space, Tony Stark and Nebula are aboard the Benatar , with power and supplies running dangerously low. Luckily, they are located by Carol Danvers, who returns them to Earth, where Tony gets some medical treatment for how long he went without air, water, and food.             After a conversation, with the Avengers trying to figure out their next move, Ca...

          Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, after Warner Bros. and DC had success with Wonder Woman  in 2017, it was only a matter of time before Marvel released their own mainstream superhero film led by a woman. And in March of 2019, we got that film: Captain Marvel .              The movie focuses on Vers, a warrior who lost her memory and was taken in by the Kree, and joins StarForce, led by her mentor Yon-Rogg. After a conversation with the Supreme Intelligence, a Kree A.I. that controls the Kree homeworld, Vers and StarForce head to a planet, where the populace has been infiltrated, and replaced, by a race of shape shifters known as Skrulls. The Skrulls capture Vers, and go through her dormant memories of her past, looking for one individual specifically: Dr. Wendy Lawson. The Skrull leader, Talos, sets course for Earth, and Vers escapes confinement, crashing onto the planet Earth, landing inside a Blockbuster Video store ...

       Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, earlier today, at the end of my review of Avengers: Infinity War,  an important question was raised about that particular movie: where was Ant-Man? Well, as we continue Marvel May , let's answer that question with the 2018 sequel to 2015's Ant-Man : Ant-Man and the Wasp .           The movie opens with a recap of Janet van Dyne's disappearance into the Quantum Realm, after shutting off her regulator and shrinking between the molecules of the titanium she'll of a nuclear missile headed for Washington DC. Years later, Scott Lang, currently under house arrest after the events of Captain America: Civil War , having afternoon playtime with his daughter, Cassie, and a check-in with FBI Agent Jimmy Woo. After Cassie goes home with Maggie and Paxton, Scott goes on his normal daily routine, and has a flash of a memory that doesn't belong to him, but to Janet. Scott then calls Hank, and is later picked up by...

           Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, as we get into the last couple weeks of Marvel May , it's amazing to look back not just on how far I've come with this movie review blog, but how far Marvel has come with their movies. So, let's kick off this final stretch of Marvel May with Avengers: Infinity War .            The movie picks up with Thanos and his four top henchmen: the Black Order, which consists of Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, and Cull Obsidian, as they attack the ship that fled the destruction of Asgard at the end of Thor: Ragnarok.  Thor, Loki, and Hulk do their best to fend off the attackers, but are unsuccessful, and Loki gives Thank sweat he wants: the Tesseract, which houses the Space Stone. Thanos crushes the cube, and adds the stone to his golden gauntlet, alongside the power stone (which he retrieved earlier on Xandar). Heimdall sends Hulk back to Earth by summoning the Bifrost, Thanos kills...

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we're getting closer to the end of Marvel May , which means we only have a few more Phase Three movies to get through. So, let's dive into Black Panther . Released in February of 2018, this film was the first MCU film to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture. So, let's see just how good it really was.            The movie opens in the city of Oakland, California during the early 90's, where T'Chaka, the king of Wakanda, confronts his brother N'Jobu about a stolen stockpile of Vibranium, which was stolen by Ulysses Klaue. T'Chaka believes that N'Jobu have Klaue information on how to get into Wakanda and steal the Vibranium, and ultimately, N'Jobu is killed, leaving behind a son.             Years later, the new king of Wakanda, T'Challa, carries out a mission to rescue a friend of his, Nakia. After the rescue, T'Challa, Nakia, and Okoye of the Dora Milaje a...

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, as Marvel May continues, we're at the halfway point of Marvel's Phase Three, with the third chapter of the Thor series: Thor: Ragnarok . With yet another new director at the helm, Taika Waititi, this third movie does away with trying to make a fantasy epic and just goes all-out with some cosmic fun. Heck, the movie features Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" at least twice during the movie. So, let's dive right into Thor: Ragnarok.        The movie opens with Thor, wrapped up in a chain and dangling from the top of a cavernous lair that is home to Surtur the Fire Demon. Thor defeats Surtur and takes his crown back with him to Asgard, where he's greeted by the new guardian of the Bifrost: Skurge. Thor then goes to see his father, Odin, whose watching a play recapping the plot of Thor: The Dark World , with Asgardians stage actors portraying Thor, Loki, and Odin. However, the Odin he meets is actually Loki in d...

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we've discussed Marvel Cinematic Universe films from studios like Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, and of course Disney. Today, however, we're going to be discussing an MCU movie from a different studio: Sony Pictures. This is Spider-Man: Homecoming.             The movie opens, in a prologue set after the Battle of New York depicted in The Avengers, with Adrian Toomes, a New York City salvage worker whose contract with the city gets voided by the newly formed Department of Damage Control, a joint venture between the U.S. government and Stark Industries. Damage Control has taken over salvage operations and are requiring all New York City salvage groups to hand over any salvaged Chitauri tech. Toomes and his crew, including the likes of Herman Schultz and Phineas Mason, decide against this and instead work to create weapons from the salvaged alien technology and sell them on the black marke...

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, as we continue to look into Marvel's Phase Three movies for Marvel May , we are heading back to the stars with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.            The second Guardians of the Galaxy  film, once again written and directed by James Gunn, starts with a flashback of Meredith Quill, Peter Quill's mother, as she goes on a date with a young man named Ego. Ego, it turns out, is the father of Peter Quill in this movie. Flash forward to just a few months after the end of the first movie, and the Guardians are fighting a giant monster to protect a supply of anulax batteries for the Sovereign, a golden-skinned, human-like race of intelligent beings, who hand over Gamora's adopted sister Nebula to the Guardians, haven taken her prisoner beforehand. Unfortunately, the Sovereign quickly hunt down the Guardians after it's revealed that Rocket stole some of the batteries to sell on the black market. T...

            Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, today we're back with two more review for Marvel May , starting with this review of Doctor Strange .           So this movie, released in November of 2016, focuses on neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange, whose hands are severely damaged in a tragic automobile accident. After several attempts to use science and medicine to fix his hands, he meets a man named Jonathan Pangborn, who was paralyzed, but found the means to walk again. Pangborn points Strange to Kamar Taj, where he meets the Ancient One, who helps teach Strange the ways of the mystic arts.            Strange's other instructors including Karl Mordo and Wong. Wong works primarily in the library, and gives Strange the books he studies to learn various spells. The Ancient One, who is the current Sorcerer Supreme, also teaches Strange of the many dangers out there, including that of Dormamu and the Dark Di...

         Hey guys, Chuck here. As late as it is, at the time of writing this review, I'm going to make this as quick as possible. Here's my review of Captain America: Civil War , the first film of Marvel's Phase Three, and the second Marvel film to be directed by Anthony and Joe Russo.          So, we open with a prologue, set in 1991, of Bucky Barnes aka the Winter Soldier, as he is tasked with assassinating Howard and Maria Stark, which he makes look like an automobile accident. Years later, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Sam Wilson, and Wanda Maximoff are in Lagos, Nigeria, searching for Brock Rumlow aka Crossbones, who is searching for a biological weapon, which could prove dangerous if released. Steve and the Avengers succeed in stopping him, but he blows himself up, causing Wanda to fling him several feet into the air, but civilian lives are still lost.          Some time later, Tony Stark, who has been wo...

          Hey guys, Chuck here. For our next review of Marvel May , we're taking a look at a movie that was supposed to be a Phase One MCU movie, but got pushed back to the point where the original director left the project, and the film got reworked into the film we know it as today. Here we go: Ant-Man.           The movie opens with a scene at the Triskelion, where scientist Hank Pym, furious with S.H.I.E.L.D. leadership, specifically Howard Stark, at an attempt at recreating Hank's Pym Particle formula. The Pym Particle is a serum that allows one to alter their molecular density, to shrink to tiny sizes or grow to enormous sizes. Further enraged by the mention of his missing wife, Janet, Hank leaves S.H.I.E.L.D. and vows that no one will ever get to touch the formula for the Pym Particle so long as Hank is alive. Although Mitchell Carlson, one of the heads of S.H.I.E.L.D. is wary of letting Hank go, both Peggy Carter and Howard ...

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we're nearly at the end of May the Fourth, and so I thought it would be fun to take a look at the first live-action television series in the Star Wars series: The Mandalorian. Created by Jon Favreau, the director of Iron Man , this series debuted as a Disney+ launch title, and was an instant success. But what made it so? Let's find out as we take a look at The Mandalorian. Spoilers for seasons one and two ahead.          So, our hero is a Mandalorian bounty hunter named Din Djarin aka The Mandalorian, or Mando for short. Mando receives a new mission to recover an asset for The Client, who is a former Imperial agent. Oh, yeah that's right, this series is set between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens . Anyway, Mando heads to a den of Mandalorians, where he gets an armor upgrade from the Armorer. So, Mando leaves the planet he's on, Navarro, and heads off to acquire the Asset, meeting an U...