Guide to the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 1 & 2

PHASE I
Iron Man 
This is the first film and assumes as much. It very gradually introduces the audience to a superhero character before dropping the bomb of that it's only the beginning of a larger universe. 

The Incredible Hulk
This film is stylistically similar to Iron Man and expands on the "larger universe" that Iron Man promised. We get our first character with actual powers. 

Iron Man 2
This film escalates the universe and begins really putting pieces in place for The Avengers. The post credit scene sets up Thor. 

One Shot: A Funny Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (on the Captain America Blu Ray)
This is an optional little interlude that expands on Agent Coulson on his way to the events of Thor. 

Thor
Expands the cosmic side of universe and gives the biggest glimpse into SHIELD. It further sets up The Avengers by introducing its villain and the terrasect. 

One Shot: The Consultant (on the Thor Blu Ray)
Functions as an epilogue to Thor and explains the closing scene from Hulk and precisely when those events took place. 

Captain America: The First Avenger
Though chronologically the first of the series, it relies on Thor to make sense. The bookend scenes also take place almost immediately before The Avengers. 

The Avengers
An act one finale to the events to date. This is the climax to stories from all five previous films and sets up the future of the series. 

Why the War Doctor Was a Pointless Act of Creative Cowardice

It's been almost a year since the landmark 50th Anniversary episode of Doctor Who aired. Upon repeat viewings, the episode does still hold up, but there is one thing I now find irksome; the War Doctor really didn't need to be there. Either the 8th or 9th (preferably the former) would have functioned in that role without a massive retcon and the creation of a zero sum character. Let's look at Moffat's reasons for bringing in the 8.5th Doctor and see why they are invalid and just created more problems. 

Beginner's Guide to Classic Star Trek

Let's face the sad fact that J.J. Abrams new Star Trek films are here to stay.  While they are increasing the number of people who are aware of Star Trek and have seen the movies, most of these new people are often viciously reprimanded that they chose the wrong installment to enter Trek.  Indeed, the new films are truly dumbed down action pieces with little substance and lackluster plots.  Action was never the lure for Trekkies, it was the gravy.

Speaking personally, every time I've told someone to try to watch the older Trek, they usually express intimidation at the size of the franchise, and with 726 episodes plus 12 films, I don't blame them.  What I've done for them is pare the franchise down to absolute essentials.  Instead of watching six full series, they only watch a sampling of each of them to get gist of them.  Ideally, this is enough to hook them into watching more, but if not, they can at least counter the reprimands of the die hard trekkies with an informed decision.

Phase II Begins: Iron Man 3

The latest, and possibly final, installment of the Iron Man films is a mixed success.  On one hand, it's high action with new themes, and Stark's loveable snark is turned all the way up to 11.  Sadly, the film is overcrowded with undeveloped elements and nonsensical plot developments.  For most, it may be an improvement on Iron Man 2 since it's a true hero's struggle  from start to finish and the lessons learned are much stronger, but that doesn't excuse an unfocused story, a mish-mashed villain, and frankly, a significant disservice to the source material.

NOTE: This is a review of IM3 as a film in itself and what it bodes for the future of Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Some Spoilers ahead.

A Completionist Guide to Battlestar Galactica

Most people I know who start watching this series view it in the order of release.  Well, that's not really necessary or even beneficial.  There are prequel series, TV movies, and web series that are scattered throughout the series run and only rarely appear in the proper order with the main series.  Now, after careful analysis, I've determined that a chronological viewing is equally, if not more, acceptable as the release.    

Caprica: (all episodes)
Movie: Blood & Chrome (available on DVD/Blu Ray or digital download)
Webisodes: Razor Minisodes (available on Razor DVD)
Season 1: (all episodes)
Season 2: Scattered - The Captain's Hand
Season 4 Movie: Razor
Season 2: Downloaded - Lay Down Your Burdens
Webisodes: The Resistance (available on DVDs and online)
Season 3: (all episodes)
Season 4: He That Believeth in Me - Sometimes a Great Notion
Webisodes: Face of the Enemy (only available online)
Season 4: A Disquiet Follows My Soul - No Exit
Movie: The Plan
Season 4: Deadlock - Daybreak

If you're planning to enter the Battlestar saga for the first time, I suggest you follow the order I've laid out and tell me what you think.  Caprica and the first two web series are optional, but recommended.  It's also all or nothing.  If you skip Caprica, then jump straight to Battlestar Galactica season 1.  Neither Blood & Chrome nor the Razor Minisodes function very well as introductory material.  

If you're familiar with BSG and are planning to introduce someone to it, read on and I'll outline my reasons for this order.  

The Most Epic Movies Never to be Made

So we all have a few film ideas rolling in our head.  Films we'd like to see made and, if done right, would be great.  Odds are, though, they will never enter production.  As a prospective filmmaker, I have more than a few, and while I'm usually paranoid about sharing my ideas in case I actually get around to making them, here's a few I don't mind letting loose in case someone in Hollywood picks up the baton.  

Announcements and Fact Check Fails

I'm coming up on my two year anniversary as a blogger.  As such, there are a few changes coming.  First of all, some of you may have notice a drop in the frequency of posts before the holidays.  Recent full time employment has eaten into my blogging time a bit and I don't expect the situation to alleviate anytime soon.  I'm hopeful that I can put out at least one to two posts per month.  To pick up the slack a bit, I'm creating a new catagory called Quotesque that will come out this Wednesday.  Each post will consist of a short, funny, film related quote that I've heard from various sources.  I hope you enjoy them.  Lastly, I'm taking a page from Nostalgia Critic, and owning up to all the errors I've made over the past two years.  I apologize for my negligent research and hope to avoid these in the future.  

Captain America vs. The First Avenger
I said Cap was frozen cryogenically, he was actually frozen in an operation, similar to that in the film.  

Prequel and Proud
I implied that the Stryker in X-Men: First Class was the same Stryker in Wolverine and X2.  The movie actually states that he is the father of the original Stryker.  

Primer for The Avengers
I said The Incredible Hulk is after Iron Man 2 "with no crossover."  In Iron Man 2, during the scene when Fury brings in Stark as a consultant, you can see footage from a wrecked college campus behind him.  I'm revising my placement to say Hulk runs parallel to both Iron Man 2 and Thor, so it can be watched 3rd, 4th, or 5th in the viewing order. 

Conspiracy Syndrome
I said the shadowy organization in Eureka was "unnamed".  It was actually called 'The Consortium'.

Lost TV of the 21st Century
I said Heroes had a dedicated flashback episode every season.  I should have said every volume as the third season was composed of two volumes, each with a flashback episode.  

Holiday Flicks

The holidays are a wonderful time.  Retailers unroll their best deals, the postal system works overtime, and Hollywood distributors release their strongest titles to clog up the theater seats.  Here's a little blurb on a few of those titles.  

Firefly: Still Shiny

Christmas is almost upon us, but there's one anniversary just past that most people missed: the tenth anniversary of Firefly's cancellation.  Personally, I was in a bit of a pickle on how to honor this series, and then I realized there was one thing that I would never be able to do for it: watch it while it was on.  So I decided to recreate the conditions as closely as possible.  Starting Friday Sept. 21st, I proceeded to watch the show on Fox's original schedule.  I even looked up some old promos for the show.  Now, I've seen this series backwards and forwards a dozen times, but I tried to distance myself from that to give myself the experience of watching it for the first time.  It would have been nice to have a new viewer with me, but that would've just confused a prospecitve new fan, and I couldn't do that.  Here's what I thought.  

A Look Back at James Bond 007, 1962-2012

The latest Bond film is coming soon and as the new installment is bringing back some of the older staples, I thought it was time for a look back at the previous incarnations of the silver screen.  

Waiting for the technology

I've been thinking a lot about the phrase "waiting for the technology to catch up."  It's been used by a lot of filmmakers who want their projects to be heavy on special effects.  They usually announce the project and push the release back a bit so the hype can build up a bit and then finally release it.  Here's my question, has it really been worth the wait?  Are the final products better now than they would have been 10-15 years earlier when the idea first germinated?  The answer would be purely speculative of course, but I'm going to examine the issue using a few films as case studies.  Here we go.  

Masters of the Timelords

The new season (or if you speak British, the new series) has begun of the long lasting Doctor Who.  The first half of this season marks what I hope will be the beginning of the end of the second phase of the contemporary series.  The first phase was the Russell T. Davies era and the second was the Steven Moffat era.  There are thematic and stylistic differences between the two that extend beyond just a different Doctor and companions.  Which of the two is better is as much a battle as Kirk vs. Picard, so I'll try to stay objective.  Each one has different things to offer.  

Last Day in EUReKA

SyFy's EUReKA has dropped its curtain.  For the series, I would use one word to describe it: fun; fast and loose sci-fi fun, with all the tropes common to the genre.  There was rarely a moment where it took itself too seriously.  Entertainment came first, science second which it maintained over its whole run.  

Total Unremarkable Recall

A recent arrival off the remake assembly line, Total Recall proved to be an exercise in unimaginative sci-fi and lackluster action.  While there were no crippling flaws or gaping plot holes, most the film's elements seemed uninspired and trite.  The cast mostly gave wooden performances, and the production design, no longer buoyed by campy creatures and spacey locales, felt too streamlined.  Overall, it was averagely mediocre at best.

(That's right, Colin Farrell is looking directly at the camera.)

Sequel to Masterpiece: 2010

Buried in the shadows of the numerous sci-fi hits of the 80s is the lackluster sequel to one of the most acclaimed sci-fi films of all time; 2010: The Year We Make Contact, sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey.  The film is a moodier followup to Stanley Kubrick's cerebral masterpiece.  While its story addresses the mysteries in 2001, the execution is a far fallen apple that leaves a lot to be desired.  

The Dark Knight Journey

The newly completed Dark Knight trilogy forms a tightly knit story about a lone hero in pursuit of justice.  Each film explores the issue from a different angle and creates a comprehensive psyche of both Batman and Gotham City.  Both pass through the different stages of life and face the various trials therein.  Batman follows a very simple progression: birth, life, death.  The story of a boy who became a man who became a legend.  A true hero for the books, through and through.  

Not Quite Amazing, But Still Good

Sony's reboot of Marvel's Spider-Man franchise was both burdened and elevated by the more serious approach to the material.  Since the last Spider-Man series was so recent, the origin story held few surprises, but there was an effort to infuse more depth into it.  New stars, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone were aptly cast and took the characters beyond the bland portrayals of Macguire and Dunst.  The film tried to be a full journey to heroism for its entirety, but lost a bit in the climax and follow-through.  Much like Parker, it was just a bit average.  

Young Indy in the 1920s

After World War I finished, the series slowed down heavily, for better and mostly worse.  Without a war to provide an excuse for action, there were fewer opportunities for Indy to get into trouble, and his activities shifted to working in entertainment.  Unfortunately, this also resulted in fewer developments for his character.  As far as the TV series is concerned, World War I did the most to shape Henry Jones Jr. into Indiana Jones.  

3D in Adolescence

Over the past few months, I've come to the realization that 3D is going to be around for a long while yet.  Unlike 3D fads in previous decades, it's not going out of style anytime soon.  As a viewer, the decision and progress is out of my hands.  The question is, where does the industry stand? 

Losing The Finder

Fox's freshman show The Finder was officially cancelled in April.  The backdoor spinoff of Bones was the latest in the quirky crime genre that includes Monk, Psych, and White Collar.  While The Finder played the quirkiness card very well, most of the show's other attributes were rather shallow or misdirected.  For starters, the recurring storyline had the greatest focus on the supporting characters, leaving little for the protagonist, Walter Sherman (played by Geoff Stults).  What little story Walter was given seemed to be deliberately downplayed and neglected.  This coupled with an already risky concept gave Fox an excuse for "The Firefly treatment." 

The X-303 Prequel-theous

Hailed as Ridley Scott's return to sci-fi and anticipated as a new masterwork of horror, Prometheus falls a little shy of expectations.  The intense film satisfies the Alien fan's need for suspense, deadly creatures, and human maiming, but not in exposition.  The characters are archetypes built from the original cast but aren't overly derivative and the story expands the mythology.  Like most prequels, the failings are in the details.  There are the unfortunate continuity errors and some of the plot points are poorly connected or unexplained.  Bottom line, the film gets the blood pumping and the stomach churning, but it doesn't fully gap the missing information of Alien or even itself.  

Aliens, Predators, and Gods, oh my!

The upcoming Prometheus is a prequel to Alien, the first of four films and two crossovers. With a new story and direction in the series, let's take a look at what this universe contains so far.

SPOILERS OF THE ALIEN AND PREDATOR MOVIES AHEAD.

House: The Final Season

Fox's long running medical drama, House, suffered a common ailment of popular shows in their final run.  It ran just a bit too long.  The eighth and final season limped to its finale as the signature wit and charm fizzled out.  The primary problem was the depleted material.  House's cases had become less interesting, the original team had dispersed, and the recurring conflicts of the previous seasons had either been resolved or dropped.  There was very little left of the character discourse and Sherlock-ian methodology that had carried the series to success.  

Avengers Assemble, But Only For A While

After a four year drumroll, The Avengers has arrived and it's a hit.  Marvel now has the commercial leverage it needs to pursue further films within the Cinematic Universe, and in stand alone series like the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man.  That clout puts Marvel producers in a rather unique and unprecedented position.  They can produce multiple films in the same universe at the same time and release up to several per year.  While it may sound cool for fans, Marvel faces a danger of going too far too fast with their films.  Multiple films means a longer investment in the characters and a risk of formulaic stagnation.  Then there's the difficulty in adaptation that the writers are already facing, and which will only get worse.  If Marvel isn't careful, their franchise could run away into multiplicity, and then, oblivion.  

Young Indy in World War I

(This is a continuation of a post from several months ago.  Click here to read.)  

Indiana Jones' erratic military career during The Great War spanned a volume and a half of the series.  During his service in the Belgian Army, Indy served as an infantryman, courier, officer, translator, aerial photographer, and finally, intelligence operative.  The constant vocation change made the tone of the second volume very uneven.  Some episodes had a very serious and/or dramatic feel, while others were comedic or downright cartoonish.  In either case, the series did manage to introduce some nice war action comparable to the films, along with some romantic subplots and character growth.