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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 18, 2016 8:49:25 GMT -5
Like our friend coke & comics, I am a huge fan of what’s come to be known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kevin Fiege and the rest of the Marvel Studios crew have done a stunning job of adapting the classic characters of the Silver Age to film, retaining their conceptual strengths while modernizing the surface details and making their world accessible to audiences not intimately acquainted with 50+ years of complex, often contradictory continuity. It would’ve been easy to fill my list with these movies. Instead, I narrowed my choices down to four. Two will appear later. The other two required a mental coin toss between Captain America: The First Avenger and #7. Thor I have loved the Asgardian Avenger since first reading Journey into Mystery #86, “Prisoner of the Reds,” as a wee’n. Lee and Kirby’s Thor comics were my first taste of epic heroic fantasy and they hooked me for life. The 2011 movie does a great job of bringing virtually everything I love about the series to life. The special effects are fantastic, the visualization of Asgard a stunning amalgam of Kirby and Walt Simonson (though I wish they’d left Bifrost as a real rainbow), the characters looked and felt right (The Destroyer was perfect!), and they didn’t shy away from such potentially silly elements as Volstagg’s appetite or Thor flying behind the hurled Mjolnir. But the true secret of the film’s success are the performances. From Sir Anthony Hopkins to Kat Dennings, every part was played with complete sincerity, not surprising given director Kenneth Branaugh’s history. But it is Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Tom Hiddleston’s complicated, tragic Loki that make it all work, and it is on the strength of their acting that this movie made the cut. Cei-U! I summoneth the lightning, forsooth! |
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 18, 2016 9:48:02 GMT -5
# 7 The Losers 2010
  I think this film might be the only one on my list that classifies as a “ Guilty Pleasure”. This Losers incarnation is an adaptation of the Vertigo series by Andy Diggle and Jock which has a CIA team set up and seemingly killed by their superiors. They survive of course, and with the help of Aisha ( Zoe Saldana) they go back to the states to get their lives back. It’s a slam bang action film with spectacular action scenes and a really likeable cast. Many veteran Superhero alumni share the screen Edris Alba ( Thor), Chris Evans ( Captain America), Jeffrey Dean Morgan ( Watchmen ), Zoe Saldana ( Guardians of the Galaxy) and the chemistry is amazing. I’ve watched this film multiple times and understand that there probably won’t be a sequel because of it’s poor showing in the box office ( 29 million combined ) but it’s entertaining cast puts it on the day 7 list for 2016. Chris Evans is a gifted comedic actor and steals many a scene 
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2016 9:49:18 GMT -5
Day 6 Ghost Rider Campy, but still a fun watch, and I thought the special effects were great. I'm not too keen on making deals with the devil...but reneging on him and kicking his ass is good. The comic is in my Marvel Top 5. |
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Roquefort Raider
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 18, 2016 9:49:40 GMT -5
I have loved the Asgardian Avenger since first reading Journey into Mystery #86, “Prisoner of the Reds,” as a wee’n. Lee and Kirby’s Thor comics were my first taste of epic heroic fantasy and they hooked me for life. The 2011 movie does a great job of bringing virtually everything I love about the series to life. The special effects are fantastic, the visualization of Asgard a stunning amalgam of Kirby and Walt Simonson (though I wish they’d left Bifrost as a real rainbow), the characters looked and felt right (The Destroyer was perfect!), and they didn’t shy away from such potentially silly elements as Volstagg’s appetite or Thor flying behind the hurled Mjolnir. But the true secret of the film’s success are the performances. From Sir Anthony Hopkins to Kat Dennings, every part was played with complete sincerity, not surprising given director Kenneth Branaugh’s history. But it is Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Tom Hiddleston’s complicated, tragic Loki that make it all work, and it is on the strength of their acting that this movie made the cut. Cei-U! I summoneth the lightning, forsooth! I came to Thor a bit later (around issue #195) but he quickly became my favourite Marvel character and remained so for many years. I had really wondered how Kenneth Branagh would make the movie version work. Turning the Asgardians into celestial beings who aren't just otherworldly extra-terrestrials but not supernatural beings either was a good move, and suggesting that the Nine Worlds was another representation of reality had the double advantage of reconciling our "real universe" with the Norse version and of giving us a sense of wonder. I re-watched Thor last week and a few details I hadn't noticed the first time struck me as pretty darn cool. My favourite new discovery is how Thor explains that the nine worlds are united by the branches of Yggrdrasil; neat the end of the movie, when the Bifrost's lightning storm effect is momentarily stopped mid-course, we see than the lightning is in the shape of a many-limbed tree. Beautiful concept!!! I loved the characters, and the actors were very well cast. Dramatically, my only gripe is that Thor goes from a self-centered lout to a self-sacrificing hero a little too fast. Ah, the power of love!!! Alas, Thor didn't make it on my final list... but he was a strong contender. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 18, 2016 9:52:51 GMT -5
On the sixth day of Christmas, Old Merlin gave to me...
#7 Prince Valiant
The film was already chosen by a few other posters of discerning tastes, so there's little I can add except that I love old-style chivalry films. Even more than I dislike the hairdo that Rober Wagner has to wear in this one.
I don't even mind that Aleta's origin is changed; the earnestness of the movie balances all of its flaws and more.
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 18, 2016 10:22:39 GMT -5
Wow, the entire movie.
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Post by MDG on Dec 18, 2016 10:24:49 GMT -5
Even more than I dislike the hairdo that Rober Wagner has to wear in this one..... He looks a little like Betty Rubble in that screen grab |
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Post by shaxper on Dec 18, 2016 11:25:27 GMT -5
#7. Spiderman / Spiderman II (2002 and 2004)
Spiderman and Spiderman II mark a magical time in Hollywood comicdom where comics were being taken seriously enough to actually do respect to the source material and yet hadn't become such a frequent occurrence that the studios had figured out how to turn them into mindless blockbusters that produced maximum popcorn devouring and minimum thinking. This was a labor of love directed by a true fan and (relatively) free of producer interference. It was exciting and fun like most Marvel films that followed, but it was also a serious character study (ONE continuous character study, thus the inclusion of both films), full of depth and reflection, and that's something I haven't seen in many comic films since.
Sure it has its flaws. I really really didn't like Alfred Molina as Dr. Octopus or Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane, I didn't care for the Spidey suit nor the web powers, and some of those CG effects have not aged well. But Toby McGuire's exploration of what it means to become empowered and adult, expressed through the metaphor of being Spiderman, thoroughly captured the spirit of the original Lee/Ditko comic and maybe did it better.
Plus this is still the funniest opening scene in any comic movie ever:
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Dec 18, 2016 11:45:06 GMT -5
7. 2 Guns cos its badass...or is that 2 badass... My "buddy" movie, the Beetle and Booster of the messed up crime world. Denzel...Wahlberg...tight dialogue...lotsa guns...mayhem...BLISS |
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Post by shaxper on Dec 18, 2016 11:50:14 GMT -5
every part was played with complete sincerity, not surprising given director Kenneth Branaugh’s history. I still find it utterly weird to see Branagh working in the mainstream, but man does he pull it off. Even his Cinderella was solid. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 18, 2016 13:38:13 GMT -5
Day 6 brings The Adventures of Captain Marvel!
Captain marvel, for a time, was beating the pants off Superman, on the newsstand, and the serial beat Superman to the theater (in live action). it also blew the doors off the Columbia serial, where Superman had to fly via cartoon. Here, the Lydecker Brothers (Republics effects wizards) create a life-size mannequin and sent it down wire, then edited take off and landing shots of stuntman Dave Sharp. The effects works pretty well.
Tom Tyler looks the part and has a rather menacing presence, when he is taking on crooks and killers...
This guy throws people off buildings, cliffs, dams; you name it. He also machine guns a few arabs.
It's all lively fun and is considered the greatest of the Republic action serials, which is pretty lofty company. On the story side, it has a compelling mystery and a real threat to the hero and his friends. Frank Coughlin, who plays Billy Batson, does a tremendous job in his role, getting a few licks in, before transforming. The serial tweaked the story a bit; but, made it work as serious adventure, something DC has struggled with for 40 years. The only person who really managed it was Jerry Ordway and he took his cues from here.
This is one serial you can watch in one whole sitting and not get bored!
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Post by MDG on Dec 18, 2016 13:50:36 GMT -5
The Marvel Superheroes
If Marvel’s books looked a little “low-rent” next to DC’s slick, established heroes, these cartoons weren’t going to change that impression much. Just barely animated, with theme songs that seemed like they were written and recorded in an afternoon, The Marvel Superheroes, like the FF cartoons, benefited from being very close to the books—to the point where they were based on not just the stories but the actual art in the comics.
Cap fights Baron Zemo:
More here:
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Post by shaxper on Dec 18, 2016 14:56:59 GMT -5
On the sixth day of Christmas, Old Merlin gave to me... #7 Prince ValiantThe film was already chosen by a few other posters of discerning tastes, so there's little I can add except that I love old-style chivalry films. Even more than I dislike the hairdo that Rober Wagner has to wear in this one. I don't even mind that Aleta's origin is changed; the earnestness of the movie balances all of its flaws and more. This is the coolest thing I've yet seen for this Classic Comics Christmas. Thanks so much for bringing it to our attention, Ben! |
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Post by hondobrode on Dec 18, 2016 14:57:11 GMT -5
 Akira was released theatrically in the US after both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas passed on backing it as they both thought it was unmarketable. They were wrong. It's the story of Tetsuo, whose part of a teenage anti-government biker gang. He's involved in the Akira project as a study participant in a program hoping to avoid another destruction like the one caused by Akira, three decades earlier that wiped out Tokyo with his manifesting psychic powers out of control. The gang gets into a battle with another gang, the Clowns. Tetsuo is injured and hospitalized where he is drugged and restrained. The gang break him out but the government wants him back, to control him and prevent another Akira-level event from possibly happening, even using lethal force. Too little too late.  As you can guess that's most of what the movie is about. There are other ESPers who help Tetsuo as well as pro-government ESPers trying to get him back into custody. The movie is a landmark is anime and unforgetable to any who see it IMO. There's very little anime or manga I really like but this is one of them. |
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Post by DubipR on Dec 18, 2016 15:21:43 GMT -5
#7- WONDER WOMANAs a kid watching cartoons, Wonder Woman to me was always just a meh character. She had a lasso and an invisible jet. She was cool but alright in my book. Never got into the character until George Perez took over and then I went back to read the Sekowsky run. But it wasn't until syndication in the early 80s after its 3 season run (was too young to remember watching it), that I loved watching the Wonder Woman TV show. Taking it from WWII to the modern era was a brilliant idea. And Lynda Carter... what hasn't been said about her that comic fans haven't said before? Along with Lyndsey Wagner and Charo, they were my first childhood crushes.  Sure it's camp now, but the producers and crew made each episode an entertaining watch. Even if Lynda was wearing skateboard equipment and chasing down stolen purse thugs, it was good entertainment. Also a huge positive role model for young ladies to look up in a vastly dominated male genre. The bracelets, those satin tights, and the lasso.... a true pop culture icon was created. 
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