Rewatching My 100 Favorite Movies - Update 16

 

I decided to rewatch my 100 favorite movies of all-time. What those are, you can check HERE. I watch them in random order, there is no rhyme or reason there, just watching those movies I love so much.
 

55/ 100: The Green Mile (1999)
One day, prison guard Paul Edgecomb, working in the death row cell block in a Louisiana prison in the 1930s, takes the immense John Coffey under his wing. This illiterate black man, convicted of infanticide, turns out to be the good guy himself and is also afraid of the dark. Perhaps his presence has a spiritual meaning? Frank Darabont takes his time with three hours, but it’s never a drag. It’s a fantastic film that always brings me to tears. Check out my full review HERE.
 

56/ 100: Lost in Translation (2003)
Director Sofia Coppola received high praise for this gem of a film about two lost souls in Tokyo. Charlotte has come along with her husband and busy photographer. Actor Bob has been hired for a Japanese whiskey commercial. The two Americans, confused by their foreign language and culture, seek each other out to discover that they have even more in common. Calm introspection is beautifully interwoven with irresistible humor in a film that made Scarlett Johansson a star, and showcases the best of Bill Murray. HERE is my full review.
 

57/ 100: The Avengers (2012)
As the irresponsible brother of the Nordic god Thor causes trouble in contemporary New York, not hesitating to enlist help from other dimensions, the leader of a mysterious ultra-secret government agency asks a number of superheroes for help. Spectacular and amusing superhero film. I know the follow-ups were even more epic, but this remains my favorite Avengers-film. Click HERE to read my full review.
 

Still to watch: 43

10s Movie Review - The Avengers

Director: Joss Whedon
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 141 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Coby Smulders, Tom Hiddleston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stellen Skarsgård, Paul Bettany, Clark Gregg

Description: Earth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.

Review: In “The Avengers” a group of superheroes take on demigod Loki. Lead by S.H.I.E.L.D., Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye try to overcome their differences and work together to save mankind.
It’s hard, without a doubt, to balance a movie with so many iconic characters. Director and scriptwriter Joss Whedon succeeded. All characters get enough background. Result: a movie that will be loved by insiders ánd outsiders. People who know the material will love, but newcomers will also enjoy this movie.
The cast has already proven to be capable of portraying their characters. Robert Downey Jr. as smooth talker Tony Stark aka Iron Man. Chris Hemsworth as Thor, with a somewhat dry sense of humor. Chris Evans as Steve Rogers aka Captain America, perfect choice for the role and a good leader. Scarlett Johansson is wonderful as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow. New are Mark Ruffalo, as Bruce Banner/ The Hulk, and Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/ Hawkeye. Both great additions to the movie.
Although “The Avengers” is over 140 minutes long, time flies. The movie is visually stunning, has lots of action and a good dose of humor. “The Avengers” is worth your time, every minute of it.

Rating: 5/ 5

Ranking the Franchise - The Avengers

I’ve already rewatched and ranked the “Iron Man” and “Thor” series, so now it’s time for the assembly: The Avengers. And however I did rewatch them, again, it’s not a punishment because all the movies have so much to love. If I had to rank all the MCU movies, they would probably all make it to my top 10. But just between the four of them, here is my official ranking (and like with “The Lord of the Rings”, there really isn’t a bad one).

4. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
An entertaining sequel to “The Avengers”, in which heroes Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye, supplemented with a bunch of sidekicks, have to save the world from evil again. This time it’s Ultron, voiced excellently by James Spader. He is a runaway supercomputer that manifests itself as a robot army. The formula hasn’t changed much, especially the relativizing humor remains fun. Maybe the more calm an personal moments feel a bit out of place and take the tempo out of it, which make it my least favorite of the bunch. But I still love this film.

3. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The creators of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which started in 2008 with “Iron Man”, promised us to end the first decade with a resounding, emotional climax. And they kept their promise. The Marvel recipe of action, drama and humor is very well-balanced. After the grim cliffhanger of “Avengers: Infinity War”, the remaining heroes do everything they can do to undo the victory of super villain Thanos. Ingenious time leaps and references to previous films give the story a ‘greatest hits’ of characters. It’s long, but for the fans an extremely satisfying farewell to an era.

2. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
“Avengers: infinity War” was an epic film, with a lot of ambition. It did the almost impossible. Dozens of Marvel characters come together in an epic battle that has been going on a long time. In this film the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy compete against their greatest opponent to date: Thanos. He wants to use the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life in the universe. A mission in which he spares nothing and nobody and is willing to do anything. The build-up is great and I love seeing all these different heroes from all the franchises come together.

1. The Avengers (2012)
Can you even remember being excited about the fact that the Avengers assembled for the first time, when it was still just the six of them? We’ve been spoiled with all these epic assembly battles, but when it was just Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye these battle were epic on a smaller scale. And that this is still satisfying after seeing all those bombastic battles in the later films, make it an unforgettable film and modern day classic. I simply cannot fault this movie. Where the other three are all close to perfect, “The Avengers” that started this superhero team-up is perfection. From them meeting, trying to figure out how to work, struggling to work together, colliding and eventually saving New York City. Still my favorite of the four.

MCU Movies Ranked

I saw the Schmoes do it on YouTube, rank all 13 MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movies that have been released from 2008 untill 2016. With “Iron Man” being the first, and “Captain America: Civil War” being the (so far) last and starter of Phase Three of the MCU. And there are still so may movies to look forward to. Before I start, there isn’t any MCU film that I hate or even dislike. It was really hard to make this list, but here it is:

13. Iron Man 2 (2010)
It was mostly a set up for “The Avengers” and the villain wasn’t really interesting either. To be honest, I don’t really remember much of “Iron Man 2”. That’s what it is, it’s forgettable.

12. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
“Thor: The Dark World” had a lot of the same things as “Thor”, but I always felt it could have been a lot better. And then there was Malekith. We don’t really learn much about him. I don’t even remember how he looked. Overall I still think it’s very entertaining and I enjoy watching Chris Hemsworth as Thor, who really made it his own. But Loki still steals the show.

11. Iron Man 3 (2013)
Another one in the Iron Man series. I have to say, for a third film in a franchise it did really good. Different director, but still the same formula. I didn’t like the Manderine twist though.

10. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Although Edward Norton didn’t continue playing Bruce Banner/ The Hulk, I think he did a great job. It’s an underrated film, I really enjoyed this one. It sure as hell is a lot better than the Ang Lee movie, which sucked.

9. Iron Man (2008)
I think the “Iron Man” movies are so low on my list, because I have never been a fan of this superhero. Although Tony Stark is a hilarious and charismatic character, I just never could give him the love. With that being said, “Iron Man” is an excellent MCU film and it’s the only one in the Iron Man franchise that I tend to rewatch.

8. Thor (2011)
Chris Hemsworth did a fantastic job as Thor. It was a pretty though role to pull off, but he did it. And Loki, off course, is the scene stealer.

7. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
A lot of people didn’t like it, they were disappointed. Well, I knew it wasn’t going to be as good as “The Avengers”, but it was entertaining as hell. And I loved the fact that all the Avengers teamed up again.

6. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Pretty high upon my list is the first Captain America film. I loved it more than most people did. Captain America is my favorite Avenger, even my favorite superhero! “Captain America: The First Avenger” was an old school action film, fast paced and I think I appreciate this movie more than most people do.

5. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
The newest MCU film and with this film, the Russo brothers (who also directed “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) really understand this franchise. They did such a great job. And with a movie where there a two teams, you would think the directors want us to root for Captain America. But you find good and bad points in both teams. I am off course team Cap!

4. Ant-Man (2015)
Everyone thought “Ant-Man” was going to flop, because of the struggles they had with the director. Edgar Wright was actually going to direct, but eventually Peyton Reed did. “Ant-Man” became a heist superhero film with a lot of humor. “Ant-Man” is an underappreciated Marvel film.

3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
The Captain America stand-alone movies are the most, even though he is considered as the most ‘boring’ Avenger. I love this character and I’m so glad his franchise is doing so well. I wasn’t excited about this film at first, but it totally took me by surprise. It was that good.

2. The Avengers (2012)
The first time we saw all of the heroes together, in one movie, on one screen, as a team. I LOVED “The Avengers”. And with so many important characters, played by big names, it could have easily gone wrong. But it didn’t . It did the exact opposite and it amazed us all.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Off all of these films and characters, “Guardians of the Galaxy” is the one I knew the least about before watching it. And it blew me away! It has action, humor, sci-fi, great special effects, cool characters and a perfect cast. I LOVE “Guardians of the Galaxy” to death!

Movie Battle: The Avengers Vs. Guardians of the Galaxy

I already know this is going to be one tough battle. Both movies are incredibly kick ass. They are both based on Marvel comics and it’s about superheroes. I’m a huge fan of both movies, so it’s going to be hard to pick a favourite in the end. To battle it out, here is “The Avengers” Vs. “Guardians of the Galaxy”.

 

 

 

CAST

The Avengers: It’s filled with big stars, and most of them already had their own movie as this superhero. We have Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as Hawke Eye. And not to mention Samuel L. Jackson and Tom Hiddleston.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista aren’t as known as the guys from “The Avengers”, but stand their ground. The biggest names, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, only provided voices. I really loved all five of these characters.

STORY

The Avengers: Nick Shield wants to assemble a team, to take a fierce demigod. He wants to take over New York and the world.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser. He gets help from assassin Gamora, bounty hunters Rocket and Groot and muscular Drax.

EFFECTS

The Avengers: This movie look stunning, great visuals and special effects. The biggest part of the movie is set in a big city, so for that they didn't need any CGI.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Same here, “Guardians of the Galaxy” looks amazing. Everything looks great, so detailed. The set is amazing! And how they made Rocket and Groot so live like. They easily could have been the Jar Jar Binks of this film.

WINNER

After thinking it over and over and over I’ve come to the conclusion that I prefer “Guardians of the Galaxy”. But only a little bit. I love both movies, but I fell in love with “Guardians of the Galaxy”.

Quotables: "The Avengers"

This is the ultimate superhero movie! Filled with fantastic and good looking actors and actresses, loveable characters and great quotes. Here are some of my favorite quotes from "The Avengers".






Tony Stark: [to Thor] No hard feelings Point Break, you've got a mean swing.

Steve Rogers: Is everything a joke to you?
Tony Stark: Funny things are.

Steve Rogers: Stark, we need a plan of attack!
Tony Stark: I have a plan: attack!

Steve Rogers: Doctor Banner, I think now might be a good time for you to get angry.
Bruce Banner: That's my secret, Cap: I'm always angry.
[Banner hulks out and punches the Leviathan]

Steve Rogers: Thor, what's his play?
Thor: He has an army, called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.
Steve Rogers: An army. From outer space.
Bruce Banner: So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for.
Thor: Selvig?
Bruce Banner: He's an astrophysicist.
Thor: He's a friend.
Natasha Romanoff: Loki has them under some kind of spell. Along with one of ours.
Steve Rogers: I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here.
Bruce Banner: I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him.
Thor: Have a care how you speak! Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard and he is my brother!
Natasha Romanoff: He killed eighty people in two days.
Thor: He's adopted.

Tony Stark: I thought we were having a moment.
Pepper Potts: I was having 12% of a moment.

Tony Stark: [to Bruce Banner] You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?

Nick Fury: Having trouble sleeping?
Steve Rogers: I've been asleep for 70 years. I think I've had enough rest.

Natasha Romanoff: [watching the aliens come toward them] This is just like Budapest all over again.
Clint Barton: You and I remember Budapest very differently.

Tony Stark: [Discussing S.H.I.E.L.D] An intelligence agency that FEARS intelligence? Historically, not awesome.

Agent Phil Coulson: You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F-22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby.

Steve Rogers: How can you not trust Fury?
Tony Stark: He's a spy, he's THE spy. His secrets have secrets.

Agent Phil Coulson: [on the phone] I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy.
Natasha Romanoff: Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me.
Agent Phil Coulson: Oh, I've got Stark. You get the big guy.
[Natasha looks nervous, realizing he means the Hulk]

Natasha Romanoff: Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute. It's going to get a little hard to breathe.
[as the Helicarrier starts to power up, Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner walk to the edge]
Steve Rogers: Is this a submarine?
Bruce Banner: Really? They want me submerged in a pressurized metal container?
[Rogers and Banner stand at the edge and they look over as the Helicarrier starts to slowly rise out of the ocean to fly]
Bruce Banner: [smiles] Oh, no, this is MUCH worse!

Top 5 Thursday: Scarlett Johansson Movies

Scarlett Johansson is one of my favorites, she is unique. I can’t wait to see her in “Don Jon”, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. But for now, I made a list of my five favorite Scarlett Johansson movies.

5. The Island
I never tought a Michael Bay movie would make any top 5, but it did. I really like “The Island”. Clever concept, very well executed.

4. The Other Boleyn Girl
I know the book is better, but I saw the film before reading the novel. I loved it, great performances by Scarlett and Natalie. I’m always fascinated by this time period, with all the beautiful costumes.

3. The Avengers
I didn’t think I would love this movie so much. It’s fantastic! Off course great visuals, but the whole thing is just put together very well. And Scarlett is kick-ass!

2. The Prestige
A great, intriguing story with a nice twist at the end. I always like that. Great cast.

1. Lost in Translation
This is actually also one of my all-time favorite movies. It’s beautiful because of its simplicity, great acting by both Scarlett and Bill Murray.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Ghostworld, Match Point, Scoop, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Couples of 2012

I did a top 5 like this last year, so I'm doing it now. My favorite on screen couples of 2012.

5. Scarlett Johannson and Jeremy Renner (“The Avengers”)
Although technicaly they aren't a couple, but they had amazing chemistry and there is something more going on.

4. Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg (“Ted”)
A funny and very sexy couple. Liked them together on screen and they looked believable as well.

3. Emily Blunt and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Looper”)
A troubled couple, they both have a lot of issues. Maybe that drawes... But Emily Blunt and Joseph Gordon-Levitt look amazing together.

2. Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum (“The Vow”)
The cutest and most heartwarming couple on this list. They are on fire!

1. Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth (“Snow White and the Huntsman”)
Before I saw the movie I didn't see it, just because I wasn't a Kristen Stewart fan. But after I saw the movie I was super happy about this duo. And who can not fall for Chris Hemsworth? Exactly...

They almost made the top 5: Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth (“The Hunger Games”)Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling (“The Lucky One”) and Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen (“Take This Waltz”).

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Archers

I recently saw "Brave" for the first time and that made me think of this top 5. The best movie archers.

5. Clint Barton/ Hawke Eye (“The Avengers”)
He is part of the ensemble, but doesn't have any superpowers. His bow and arrow do the trick.

4. Neytiri (“Avatar”)
She is the Na'vi princess of the Omaticaya clan. She is good with her bow and she can quite do some damage because of the size of the arrows.

3. Princess Merida (“Brave”)
Merida is a character with a strong will and a young woman who just wants to make her own decisions. Her mother doesn't like it that Merida is so good at archery.

2. Katniss Everdeen (“The Hunger Games”)
Katniss taught herself to shoot a bow and arrow, just for the simple reason of survival. As you can see, it can come in handy. Katniss really rocks this weapon.

1. Robin Hood (“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”)
Robin Hood is the most well known archer in the history of the world and also in the movie history. My favorite indeed!

They almost made the top 5: Kili ("The Hobbit")

Check This Out # 2

The second edition of this item. Again I have some great stuff I want to share with you. First this: this weekend I received the special edition of "The Hunger Games". It's a 2-disc special and it also contains five photocards. Really awesome!

You know that show "Inside the Actors Studio"? In the end James Lipton always asks his guest the same questions. This video shows a remix of those questions and the answers the guest gave him. Very funny.

Inside the Actors Studio

"Snow White and the Huntsman" is a great film. The song that "Florence + the Machine" made for this movie is fantastic. Here is the video, with clips of the movie, for the song "Breath of Life".

Breath of Life by Florence + the Machine

I found this picture of gorgeous Jessica Chastain, who is starring in the upcoming movie "Lawless".

The DVD for the superhero movie "The Avengers" will come out soon, but a gag reel has already hit the internet.

"The Avengers" Gag Reel

And a CSI season 12 recap. A good preparation for season 13, starting soon....

CSI Season 12 Recap

A show that starts soon too is "Sons of Anarchy". I saw a lot of promo video's, but this one really spoke to me. It's Tara centric and it looks like she and Gemma aren't getting along next season. Tara rocks this promo.

Tara Promo

If you have anything you think I need to check out, feel free to share it with me.

CSI, Robert, Avengers, 50/50, Anna, Emma, Chris, James and Channing

I've been creative, because I made some nice wallpapers again. I realized I haven't posted any in a while so I have a lot to share with you. The first is from CSI. With Catherine being gone, Morgan Brody is my favorite female character. And Nick is still my male favorite. I decided to make a wallpaper with the two of them.

Then Robert Downey Jr. Needs no explanation.

Some wallpapers for the movie "The Avengers".

And for the film "50/50". Plus one of the actresses Anna Kendrick.

This photoshoot of Emma Stone is so nice, I just needed to make a wallpaper with those pictures.

I loved "Snow White and the Huntsman". And Chris Hemsworth is one of the reasons why I liked it so much. This man is perfect.

And James Franco is beyond perfection.

This wallpaper of Channing Tatum is currently on my desktop. I saw "21 Jump Street" on the plane when I was flying to Uganda. It wasn't a fantastic movie, but I always enjoy watching Channing Tatum. And I really, really, really want to see "Magic Mike" but nobody wants to go with me....