Chuck's Movie Breakdown

         Hey guys, Chuck here, and we've reached the end of yet another Marvel May.  And, to finish out Marvel May, not only am I taking a look at one of the worst Marvel films of all time, but quite possibly the worst superhero film of 2012, which I will remind you, my faithful readers, gave us such bangers as The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Amazing Spider-Man.  So, let's finish out Marvel May with Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance .          One of only two films released under the "Marvel Knights" banner, the other being 2008's Punisher: War Zone, this movie sees Johnny Blaze in Europe, trying to figure out how to deal with the curse that turned him into the Ghost Rider. Johnny is approached by Moreau, a holy warrior protecting a woman named Nadya Ketch, along with her son Danny, who is a target of Roarke, who is actually Mephistopheles with a different face. Roarke is also using Nadya's ex, Ray Corrigan, to go a...

         Hey guys, Chuck here, and we're really close to the end of Marvel May . So, to finish out this year's Marvel May,  we're going to look at a pair of movies that, while definitely anticipated at the time, aren't the most fondly remembered amongst a majority of Marvel fans. Although, they do carry a small number of dedicated fans. And the first of these movies is the 2007 film Ghost Rider, which was produced by Sony Pictures, the studio behind Spider-Man, and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, the director of 2003's Daredevil movie with Ben Affleck.          So, Ghost Rider follows Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stunt driver who is part of a father-son daredevil team with his father, Barton Blaze. Johnny is also in a relationship with a young woman named Roxanne Simpson, and the two plan to leave both of their fathers behind and start a life together. Unfortunately, Barton is revealed to have cancer. That night, while tuning up the ...

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, I just got back from my local movie theater, where I went to see The Little Mermaid,  Disney's live-action remake of the 1989 animated feature film of the same name. This version stars Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, and features the vocal talents of Jacob Tremblay, Daveed Diggs, and Awkwafina. The film also comes to us from director Rob Marshall, whose directing credits for Disney include such films as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Into the Woods, and Mary Poppins Returns.            So, the story of the film is very much the same as the 1989 animated original. Ariel is a mermaid, a princess of the undersea kingdom of Atlantica, and is the youngest daughter of King Triton. She meets and falls for a human, Prince Eric, and cuts a deal with the sea witch Ursula to become human for three days to spend time getting to know Eric more intimately. No...

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and we're wrapping up the Blade trilogy on Marvel May with Blade Trinity.  Directed by David S. Goyer, this movie marked a low point for the Blade  trilogy, and marked the final Marvel Comics film from New Line Cinema. Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson return as Blade and Whistler, respectively, and are joined by newcomers including Jessica Biel, Dominic Purcell, Ryan Reynolds, Patton Oswalt, Parker Posey, Callum Keith Rennie, Natasha Lyonne, and Triple H.        So, this movie sees a vampire cult finding a tomb in the Syrian desert, believing it to be the resting place of the first vampire: Dracula. Yep, after a unique concept with the Reapers in Blade II, Blade Trinity gives us frickin Dracula. Seriously. Anyway, the vampires set up Blade to have, apparently, killed a human. So, this means that both vampires and law enforcement are after Blade. Whistler sacrifices himself and dies, for real this time, a...

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and welcome back to Marvel May . Yesterday, we talked about Blade, and today, we're looking at a sequel that exceeds the original in every way. Blade II, released in 2002, was directed by Guillermo del Toro, and sees the returns of Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson, along with newcomers Norman Reedus, Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela, and Luke Goss.          So, the movie picks up with Blade, now teaming with a new weaponsmith named Scud, finally finding and rescuing Whistler, who has been a hostage of vampires, and curing him from becoming a vampire.          Unfortunately, a new plague has emerged within vampire society, and has turned several vampires into Reapers, which are a mutated breed of primal vampires that feast on the blood of humans and vampires alike. So, desperate to keep the Reaper strain from growing into a problem, the vampires approach Blade, their fierce enemy, to join th...

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and I hope you had a great weekend. We're back with more Marvel May, and I want to start off with a little bit of Marvel movie history. In the years between the Marvel Comics revolution of the '60s and the year 1998, Marvel films were struggling to get made, let alone released. Marvel did have success in live-action television with things like Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Doctor Strange , but their films were very disastrous, and very few ever made it to the box office. Howard the Duck, produced by George Lucas, and The Punisher, starring Dolph Lundgren, were both box office bombs, and a Captain America movie with Matt Salinger barely registered. And the worst was a Fantastic Four movie produced by Roger Corman that was so bad, it never got an official release.          Needless to say, Marvel was in dire straits. After an acquisition by Toy Biz, Marvel began selling film rights to their properties. And t...

           Hey guys, Chuck here, and I just saw the movie Fast X, the latest chapter in Universal's long-running franchise Fast & Furious.  This film sees returning cast members Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, John Cena, Jason Statham, and Charlize Theron, with newcomers including Brie Larson, Daniela Melchior, Alan Ritchson, and Jason Momoa. Also, we have a new director in Louis Leterrier, who famously directed Universal/Marvel Studios' 2008 film The Incredible Hulk.          So, Dom and the family are being targeted by a new rival, but one who has something of a past history with them. Dante, our main villain for the movie, was the son of Fast Five antagonist Hernan Reyes, and is after revenge for his father's death. Also, the government agency Mr. Nobody belonged to has a new head agent, Aimes, who is also after Dom and the family, but they are getting help from Tess...

          Hey guys, Chuck here, and this is the last X-Men review for Marvel May . But, it wasn't intended to be so, as 20th Century Fox had several films planned for development, but all of them were scrapped either due to creative issues or because the Disney buyout of Fox caused them to be scrapped. For example, a Multiple Man movie was planned, and set to star James Franco, a Kitty Pryde solo movie was also planned, and a highly anticipated Gambit movie with Channing Tatum was in the works. Not to mention, a third Deadpool, an X-Force movie from director Jeff Wadlow, and more. Fox wanted to build stiff competition for Marvel Studios with the entire expansive catalog of characters and teams related to the X-Men.  But, none of them were meant to be, and Disney was stuck with two movies, already produced, that needed to be released. First was Dark Phoenix, and finally we have the subject of today's review: The New Mutants.         ...

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and we're back with Marvel May . And let's be clear, I wasn't looking forward to this one. Like, really, I saw this when it came out, and I was disappointed in it even then. But, in recent years, I have grown to appreciate the film, especially after looking back at X-Men: The Last Stand . So, with that in mind, let's take a look at the biggest cinematic letdown of 2019: Dark Phoenix.            So, the movie opens with a prologue with Jean Grey and her parents, and Jean's powers cause an automobile accident, which she is led to believe killed her parents. In the hospital, Professor Charles Xavier meets with her, and offers to take her somewhere she can learn to control her abilities.          Cut to years later, and it's the year 1992, and the X-Men are asked to head into space and rescue the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour, which was struck by a wave of solar flare-esque energy. ...

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and wherever you are, I hope you're enjoying this Sunday, which for me in the US is Mother's Day. And if you're not really one for Mother's Day, well, check out today's Marvel May review of the 2017 film Logan.  Directed by James Mangold, this movie marked what was meant to be the last outings for Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier. However, with Patrick Stewart's appearance in Multiverse of Madness, as well as Hugh Jackman's upcoming appearance in Deadpool 3, I think we can assume that this was the last time 20th Century Fox would have these actors in these roles. Joining the two of them are the likes of Dafne Keen, Richard E. Grant, Stephen Merchant, and Boyd Holbrook.          Based on Mark Millar's "Old Man Logan" story arc, this movie follows Logan, who is starting to age and slowly die due to the Adamantium finally taking its toll on his body. Yes, the metal that made Log...

         Hey guys, Chuck here, and we're taking a look at Bryan Singer's follow up to 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past : 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse.  Based on the "Age of Apocalypse" storyline from the comics, this movie sees the return of First Class cast members James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, and Lucas Till, as well as both Evan Peters and Josh Helman from Days of Future Past , with newcomers including Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smitt-McPhee, Lana Condor, Sophie Turner, Ben Hardy, Olivia Munn, and Oscar Isaac.         The movie opens in Ancient Egypt, where a powerful mutant named En Sabah Nur, accompanied by his lieutenants known as the Four Horsemen, is taken to a pyramid to partake in a transference ceremony, where his entire consciousness is transferred into a new body, with the mutant selected being one who has a rapid healing ability. During the transference, the guar...

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and this is, quite arguably, the one X-Men movie I have most wanted to talk about. Seriously, this will probably be my personal favorite Marvel May review. So, here it is: X-Men: Days of Future Past.  Serving as a sequel to both X-Men: First Class and X-Men: The Last Stand, this movie combines the casts of both eras of the X-Men franchise. So, we get the returns of Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Shawn Ashmore, Daniel Cudmore, and Elliot Page (credited as Ellen Page) from the original movies, and James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, and Lucas Till from First Class.  Threading the two casts together is Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and also featured in the movie are cast members Omar Sy, Booboo Stewart, Fan Bingbing, Adam Canto, Evan Peters, Josh Helman, and Peter Dinklage. Also, Anna Paquin returns as Rogue, either in a cameo (theatrical cut) or as a major player in the third act (Rogue ...

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and we're finally talking about a good Wolverine movie today for Marvel May. Released in 2013, The Wolverine was directed by James Mangold, and sees Hugh Jackman as Wolverine heading to a new setting: Japan.         We actually open in a war camp, where Logan protects a Japanese soldier named Yashida from a nuclear blast, as the bombs are dropping on Nagasaki. Years later, and Logan is dealing with PTSD from killing Jean Grey during X-Men: The Last Stand , and is living in the Canadian mountains. Logan goes after some guys for apparently nearly killing a Grizzly bear, but a Japanese woman named Yukio claims credit for doing so, as she was looking for Logan to take him to Japan, as Yashida is dying and wants to see him.         So, in Japan, an older and dying Yashida tells Logan he has the technology to make him mortal and end his lifelong torment. Logan dismisses the idea, but later find...

        Hey guys, Chuck here and it's been quite a weekend for me, especially getting to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.  But, it's back to the X-Men franchise with today's Marvel May review: X-Men: First Class.  Released in 2011, this was arguably the best comic book film of the year.          We open with a scene at Auschwitz in Poland during World War II, and we see a young Erik Lensherr, separated from his parents by the Nazis, causing the gate to bend as he reaches for his mother. A Nazi knocks him out, and we see these events being observed by a doctor named Klaus Schmidt. We then cut to the Xavier Mansion in West Chester, New York, where a boy named Charles Xavier hears a noise from the kitchen. Seeing through the charade of an individual appearing to be his mother, it turns out to be a girl with blue skin and the ability to shapeshift. She introduces herself as Raven, and Charles offers her a place in the mansion. Back a...

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and we're back with more Marvel May.  Last night, I went to see Marvel Studios' newest film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,  the third film of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, and also the final Marvel Studios project to be written and directed by James Gunn, whose next superhero film will be 2025's Superman: Legacy.  But, we're here to talk about Guardians of the Galaxy, so, let's get into it.         So, the Guardians of the Galaxy are still in the midst of reassembling Knowhere, which was the base of operations as of the GotG Holiday Special,  when they find themselves under attack by Adam Warlock, a superpowered being created by Sovereign leader Ayesha to destroy the Guardians. After Adam's attack, the Guardians patch themselves up...but one problem. Apparently, Rocket has a Killswitch in his heart preventing anyone from healing him without the proper pass key. And who has it? None o...

          Hey guys, Chuck here, and to celebrate May the Fourth, I want to discuss one of my personal favorite Star Wars projects on Disney+: Star Wars: Visions.  This animated anthology project consists of two volumes of shorts. The first volume, released in 2021, is predominantly made up of several anime shows, while the second volume, released just today, has a slew of shorts made by various animation studios from across the globe.          Now, when this title was announced back in 2020, I got excited for the idea of anime studios producing Star Wars shorts, and I got even more excited when the anime studios producing the shorts was revealed: Kamikaze Douga, Studio Colorido, Studio Trigger, Science Saru, Geno Studio, Production I.G., and Kinema Citrus. With the second volume, Lucasfilm looked at animation studios on a wider global scale, and I found myself intrigued by the choices here as well: El Guiri from Spain, Aardman from ...