'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Review

Making a great and successful film even though is a great achievement brings along some challenges moving ahead, with a bar being set incredibly high for the follow-up to contain the same or better quality and gain the same or better success. Joss Whedon met this situation when The Avengers blew our minds in 2012, fast-forward to 2015 and with the sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron I believe he was able to succeeded on more time.

To begin with, Avengers: Age of Ultron was a very different film than it's predecessor, and that's why it was so effective. This sequel has a darker tone, different character dynamic, but still feels familiar; injected with that Marvel wit, action, and fun that has become synonymous with these films. With a set path in front of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one can fear that some films -especially the Avenger films- might be a risk of becoming more of a set-up to what is to come more than its own film, but Marvel has been very intelligent in that sense, making films hint subtly at the future but still holding as a single film.

Like we have seen before with these characters, the performances this time around were fantastic, from the characters/actors we already knew and from the ones we got to meet; and a special mention has to be made for Ultron, this villain has been the most menacing and effective yet. You really felt that the heroes were in real danger, you felt the despair of facing a seemingly unbeatable threat, and I found myself actually fearing for the life of every hero at some point throughout the film. On that point -BIG SPOILER AHEAD-, they were really hinting at the death of Hawkeye, and then took me by surprise by taking out Quicksilver.

The action in Avengers: Age of Ultron speaks for itself, the action sequences were amazingly put together and were visually stunning, the fight between Iron Man and Hulk and that final fight really stand out there; and getting to see Wanda and Pietro's powers in action was great. You have to wonder moving forward how in the world the action is going to get any better and/or bigger, but I'm sure Marvel has a way and it will.

I felt the film came full circle and ended nicely, when we started off the Avengers were together and by the end we find the team in a very different position; the group is evolving  as it should to move forward and keep this universe fresh. In the end, Avengers: Age of Ultron is the action-packed fun that we love on another level, and I am very much looking forward for what is to come. I will definitely be watching this film many more times.

Babble Rating: 9/10

'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' Teaser Trailer

Like many others, I was patiently awaiting the reveal of the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice teaser trailer that was announced to take place on Monday, but unfortunately a low quality recorded version of trailer leaked early, forcing the hand of Warner Bros. to release the trailer online early. This teaser trailer provides us with the first look at Zack Snyder's next addition to the DC cinematic universe, pinning arguably the best superheroes ever against each other.

The look and visuals of the teaser has Zack Snyder written all over it, continuing the darkness that seems to be the tone that this universe will have moving forward. From the trailer we get a sense of the plot of the film, which appears to be that Superman has become a figure of controversy in the aftermath of Man of Steel, dividing opinions labeling him as a either a hero or a threat. As a teaser this one is successful, giving us just enough to get excited and vaguely know the plot of the film. Getting to see Batman not only in his regular new suit but also in the mechanic suit he will use to fight Superman was incredible, not to mention seeing the Batmobile and what appeared to be a Batplane in action. It might seem way too early to be teasing a film that is still a little less than a year away, but to me it was a good way to get the ball rolling and keep fans talking until we get to see something more. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Scoot McNairy, Jason Momoa, and Holly Hunter; opening in theaters on March 25, 2016. Check out the trailer below (via YouTube).

New 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Teaser Trailer

If you're a big Star Wars fan you're probably already on top of this, but if you're not as big of a follower you probably didn't know that Star Wars Celebration took place today. From this festival dedicated solely to Star Wars -as was expected or at least was hoped- came a new material from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but obviously by far the most exciting has to be the reveal of a new teaser trailer for the film.

I watched the new teaser a few times and I felt like I liked it a little more and got a little more excited every time I watched it, it was a great follow-up to the first teaser. This new teaser was amazing, not only visually but also from all the new things we got out of it. Like the first teaser, this one also just feels like Star Wars but a new Star Wars, you can tell that this is something new, but the nostalgia factor is present. The melody from the beginning just brought a smile to my face, the shot of the crashed X-Wing and Star Destroyer was beautiful, Luke's voice-over, and the Vader mask...too many things to love about it. I really enjoyed how they showed so much more this time around but were still able to keep the story concealed, we still don't really know the plot of the film, nor are we supposed to from a teaser. I'm not gonna go into too much detail about how much I loved this trailer, suffices to say that I was successfully teased. Directed by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Force wakens stars John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker, opening in theaters on December 18, 2015. Check out the teaser trailer below (via YouTube) and judge for yourself (if you haven't seen it yet), along with a poster of the film.

Random Babble: Top 10 Worst Practical Special Effects in Movies

As a movie fan, in more than one occasion you have probably watched a movie and saw a special effect and thought it looked incredibly fake or just plain bad. To commemorate those situations Watchmojo.com made a video of the  Top 10 Worst Practical Special Effects in Movies, you can check it out below and judge the special effects for yourself if you haven't already seen them.

Top 10 Worst Practical Special Effects in Movies

'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Final Trailer

Marvel has released the final trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron, giving us a third peek at this darker and chaotic sequel. Out of everything I have seen from this movie, this third trailer is by far what I have liked the most. Like a good trailer should do, It continues to show you everything you need to know before watching the movie and even adds new material, but without revealing too much. Until now we had only seen little of Ultron, but with this trailer he is looking more like the menacing villain we are all expecting him to be, "I was designed to save the world, people would look to the sky and see...hope. I'll take that from them first." I think that line speaks for itself. The trailer continues to make me feel like this movie will be much more dark and serious, but still gave us glimpses of the humor that Marvel movies have had so far. This trailer is great, I have gotten all that I need from it in anticipation for the film, and May 1st can't be here quick enough.

Directed by Joss Whedon, Avengers: Age of Ultron stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and James Spader, opening in theaters on May 1st. Check out the trailer below (via YouTube).

Random Babble: 2015 Oscars/87th Academy Awards Predictions

Today is a great day, because the Oscars are taking place tonight and if you're a big movie fan and are into watching the great films of the year being recognized then you will be watching. Being that the 87th Academy Awards are today I have decided to make a post attempting to predict the winners. The list of nominees and categories is lengthy and quite honestly I don't think I can make accurate predictions on all of them, so I will only make predictions on the major categories. The format I will follow is listing the categories with the respective nominees with my prediction being highlighted in red. I hope you enjoy it and compare my prediction to your own. Here are my predictions for the 2015 Oscars/87th Academy Awards:

BEST PICTURE
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Bennett Miller – Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

BEST ACTOR
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Laura Dern – Wild
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Sniper – Jason Hall

The Imitation Game – Graham Moore
Inherent Vice – Paul Thomas Anderson
The Theory of Everything – Anthony McCarten
Whiplash – Damien Chazelle

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman – Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo
Boyhood – Richard Linklater
Foxcatcher – E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Robert D. Yeoman
Ida – Ryszard Lenczweski, Lukasz Zal
Mr. Turner – Dick Pope
Unbroken – Roger Deakins

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past

Random Babble: How 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' Should Have Ended, Everything Wrong With 'Gladiator', and Top 10 Movie Fistfights

It has been a while since my last Random Babble so it was about time I posted a new one, and of course it had to be from the popular YouTube channels I usually share videos from, How It Should Have Ended, Cinema Sins, and WatchMojo.com. The videos I am sharing today are How 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' Should Have Ended, Everything Wrong With 'Gladiator', and Top 10 Movie Fistfights. I really enjoy the videos these channels post and I like sharing them with you guys, also being that they are related to movies I think it's relevant. Check out the videos below.

How 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' Should Have Ended


Everything Wrong With 'Gladiator'

Top 10 Movie Fistfights