iZombie Review: "Max Wager"

The main lesson to learn from "Max Wager" is to never lose faith in the writing of Rob Thomas and his staff. Major has been going down a dark path pretty much since he lost his job as a social worker, and it was nice to see just how quickly the writers could redeem so many of those dark aspects of his life in this episode. The major reveal (seriously, no pun intended) came at the end of the episode where it is revealed that Major has only been putting his zombie targets in frozen hibernation, and not killing them. Ever since his first "killing" I thought Major's methods left a lot of room for doubt, but the guilt that he was consumed by was so convincing that I went along with the idea that Major had turned into a killer despite any evidence to the contrary. Yet again, the writers should be praised for how believable they made it all seem.

Showing that Major wasn't a monster capable of killing innocent people was the only logical way to redeem his character, but the show still got some nice mileage off of the concept of how far Major would go to protect Liv. The best part of this episode, however, was being able to see Major resemble his old self a little more. The scene where Peyton and Ravi find out Liv and Major are back together was hilarious. Major's "suffer bitch" line was easily the funniest moment on television all week. Robert Buckley handles comedy well, and so do the show's writers. It was nice to see that utilized where it hasn't been in so long.

Things did happen outside of Major, though. The case of the week was dud, but the show has long since moved past that being the main focus. It did give Liv a mildly entertaining, if not narratively unnecessary personality to play with this week. Blaine had a very morbid, and sure to be emotionally disturbing in the future, plot line involving his serious daddy issues. Lastly Peyton ran into a threat that is sure to come back around in the future. Overall it was decent episode for most characters, but Major's redemption made this episode a bright spot in a slightly dark season.

iZombie Review: "Love and Basketball"

"Love and Basketball" was yet another solid episode from a show that doesn't produce bad episodes. While there were a lot of interesting plot developments here, the episode mostly explored the same themes it has been exploring for the last few episodes. For that reason I'm going to skip the traditional review format I've been using and jump straight to bullet point highlights.

• It's a little odd that Major goes from avoiding Liv at all costs, to wanting to "do sex" with her so bad that he would risk being turned into a zombie. Then again, Major isn't exactly his most rational self these days. 
• The case of the week was a dud, but the personality was another showcase in how great the writers are for this show. Having Liv take on the personality of a motivational speech prone basketball coach was perfectly timed with Major coming to her for help. It was also a lot of fun. 
• Clive's relationship (for now just a work relationship, but maybe someday more than that) with Dale has not only given his character some of the more fun moments in the episode, it also gave new life to his very mediocre side story of investigating the Meat Cute massacre. 
• Speaking of Clive and Meat Cute, figuring out that Suzuki had part of a brain in his freezer means Clive will probably been in on the zombie secret sooner than later. It's a move I think the writers can handle. 
• Ravi is often left out of the more action heavy parts of the show, so it was nice to see him in action during his slightly morbid game of keep away (in this case with a serum that instantly kills zombies) with Blaine. 
• Anyone notice that Hearst College reference thrown out there during the episode? Here's hoping it means Veronica Mars and Liv Moore occupy the same fictional universe, cause I want to see those two solve a crime together. 

iZombie Review: "Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues"

I'm doing a short review of "Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues," since it focused more on character development than plot development. As I mentioned in my review of last week's episode, the show often switches between episodes about the greater zombie issue, and episodes that focus on developing Liv's personal relationships. This episode was definitely the latter; with the reference to Max Rager being a quick acknowledgment of Major's affair with Gilda/Rita (Liv calls her Gilda, but in the scene Major called her Rita). 

Major continued his downward spiral in the episode, with each of his actions making him disconnect with himself more and more. All of the people close to Major have taken note of how strange he's acting. Peyton mentions it to Liv (more on that later), and the scene where Ravi yells at Major over his recent behavior was one of the episodes more powerful moments. Ravi has always been the show's most level headed character, so having him lose his temper with Major was the perfect way to show just how bad Major's situation has gotten. 

Speaking of people yelling at Major, Liv lays into him pretty hard in this episode. This felt like a more mature continuation of the slap that she gave him under the influence of "real housewife" brains last week. It was nice to finally hear Liv defend herself. She has spent the whole show punishing herself for hurting Major when in reality, she only ever did so to protect him. Maybe that was the tipping point that Major needed to be able to come back to Liv for help with all of his problems. 

Peyton was back in the action this episode, and the episode actually made her presence on the show feel more important than it has in the past. Her reconciliation with Liv was sweet. Her work has brought her into direct contact with Blaine, as I thought it might. The possibility of her seeking out a relationship with him might be a little too much for the show, but Thomas and company have handled things well so far. The episode even found time to have her barge in on Ravi's date, which only highlighted the fact that he still has feelings for her. Overall, she was more effective here than in any previous episode. 

Observations:
-This week's case/brain of the week did little for the development of the show, but giving Rose McIver a chance to show off her singing skills and getting to hear all of her odd folksy sayings was a fun enough use of the brain to make up for it. 

-I'm guessing Major doesn't know that Liv's roommate is one of his blackmailers, if he showed up at their apartment asking for help. Peyton saying she wanted to run a background check on Gilda further supported my believe that Peyton will be the one to take Gilda/Rita down.

-Clive is left out of most of the fun in any given episode, but his back and forth with agent Bozzio, and the scene in the morgue where he was reading the victim's letters to Liv and Ravi made for some of the more funny and charming moments in the episode. 

iZombie Review: "Real Dead Housewife of Seattle"

One of the things that iZombie has managed to do well is balance. It can spend one episode dealing with the zombie mythology, and the next focusing solely on the case of the week and Liv's personal relationships. "Real Dead Housewife of Seattle" put the case on the back burner, while finding a nice balance between exploring what's going on at Max Rager, and how Liv's zombie-ism has isolated her.

With the focus of the episode, and even the case of the week, being centered around Max Rager, a lot was revealed about what is still a fairly mysterious enemy to Liv. Not only did the show reveal that Liv's roommate (I had to look up that her name is Gilda because it has been used so little on the show) is Vaughn Du Clark's daughter, but that both of them are still very in the dark about how being a zombie works. With all of their spying and research it was somewhat surprising that neither of them could figure out Liv knew information about the murder victim from eating her brains, but I guess even evil corporations have their limitations.

Major's story in the episode was mostly tied to Max Rager and his blackmail driven quest to kill zombies. It's apparent that Major's story arch this season will just get darker and darker until he has reached his breaking point. His zombie kill in the episode was much more dark and disturbing than the first time, and under the influence of utopium, he slept with Gilda, who put him in this horrible position in the first place. I imagine times will only get rougher for Major in future episodes.

Liv's case was mostly a dud, but the personality she took on brought about some great character development. How better to highlight Liv's isolation than to have her consume the brain of someone whose relationships are all superficial. The brain also allowed Liv to vent some frustrations. Liv has made some bad decision over the course of the show, but the scene where she slapped Major was somewhat cathartic. Not only because somebody needs to smack some sense into him, but because Major has spent the whole season blaming Liv for being something that is completely out of her control.

Peyton's return was a small, but nice, diversion for the episode to take. I expected her return to be dramatic and for her to still push Ravi and Liv away, but the show handled it much better than that. The scene between Peyton and Ravi was a nice reminder of the chemistry between those characters. Peyton being the one person to remember or care about Liv's birthday was the perfect emotional touch that such a dark episode needed. With isolation being such a strong theme on the show for Liv, it was important for her to be reminded that there are people who will never give up on her.

Observations:
-I noted that the first two cases of the season were both murders based on mistaken information. This episode definitely ended that pattern with the murder being carried out by a hired hitman.
-If Peyton works for the D.A. who is essentially working for Blaine, then a Peyton and Blaine encounter seems like a likely occurrence in a future episode.

iZombie Review: "Zombie Bro"

After a solid season opener last week, "Zombie Bro" was driven by a well utilized brain, even if it was light on the zombie mythology that has been the more interesting part of the series as of late. The one thing that I didn't like about last week's episode was that the personality Liv took on was inconsequential (to the point that it seemed to disappear completely when Liv needed to have a serious conversation), and way too broad to be interesting (for me, the racist old man jokes all fell flat). Liv could have eaten anybody's brain and it wouldn't have mattered. Frat boy brains are no less broad than old man brains, but the episode was written in a way that allowed them to matter. Liv's frat mentality led to some very funny moments (both Liv's morgue pranks and the way her behavior was freaking out Babineaux, were hilarious), but also stuck around through important moments, like when Liv talked to Major in person for the first time since curing him of being a zombie.

In season one, the personalities that Liv took on altered her relationships with the people she was closest to. Underneath all of the zombie mythology and crime solving, this is a show about how one event changed all of Liv's personal relationships. These brains can be fun, but if they don't affect that one central theme, then they aren't' worth much to the show. The beauty of having Liv stay in character with each new personality is that when her true self breaks through all of that, it has a much greater impact than if the personalities just come and go when they are convenient. Liv's scene in the bathroom with Major was one of the show's most sincere scenes so far. Liv's joke about not shaving off Major's eyebrows was also her way of saying that no personality she takes on could prevent her from being there for him.

While Major's new unwanted quested to hunt Seattle's zombies wasn't featured in this episode, it was always looming in the background. The show has put itself in a try position with this plot line. A wrong step could make Major's motivations seem too flimsy, or could make his actions irredeemable. This episode did a good job of balancing all of those elements. Starting with Major's guilt stricken reaction to his first zombie killing, and ending with his fall into drug addiction highlighted just how much the situation is destroying Major inside. The show also sprinkled in little reminders of why he's so motivated to comply with being blackmailed too. Throwing Liv's phone into the street and the bathroom scene where he tells her that he won't let anything happen to her are good reminders of why a good character is doing such a bad thing. This doesn't necessarily redeem Major, but the constant reminders of his humanity are going to be pivotal in keeping him from being a character beyond saving.

The third story line mostly just involved Blaine doing all of his usual scheming. The episode just showed the beginnings of whatever it is Blaine has planned for the season, so it was by far the least interesting part of the episode.

Potentially insignificant observation: This is the second case in a row where the killer was motivated by false information when they killed the victim. Maybe it's coincidence, maybe it's on purpose. Time will tell, I guess.

iZombie Review: "Grumpy Old Liv"

"Grumpy Old Liv," the season opener of iZombie, answered some lingering questions from season one, brought about some unlikely alliances, and even had time to work in a new case for Liv to solve. That's a lot to tackle in one episode, but for the most part the show is able to handle all of the moving parts. 

Things start out a short period of time after the events of the season one finale. Instead of seeing the immediate reactions to all of those loose threads, we see how the characters are or are not beginning to move on. Evan won't talk to Liv, because she refused to donate blood to him after his injuries. Liv's family fell out of focus pretty early on in season one, so this is an interesting way to bring them back into the story. In season one, Liv made a lot of mistakes, but she seems to have learned from some of them. Not turning her brother into a zombie may make him mad at her, but she's mature enough to realize she can't make that decision for him like she did for Major. She's also mature enough not to lie to her mother about why she refused to give her brother a blood transfusion. In the greater zombie mythology, Liv and Ravi are mostly acting in the dark about a lot of things, but these small choices about how to treat the people she loves, make Liv a stronger character.

The episode also brought about a lot of unlikely pairs working together. Major being blackmailed into working with Max Rager to hunt zombies, is a dark path to have that character go down. I'm all for creating interesting situations on the show, and this is definitely that, but this is a plot twist that could have some very interesting implications for Major's ability to live with himself, or maintain relationships with Liv and Ravi. Major, unlike Liv, seems to be falling back into his old habit of acting first and thinking later. Realistically, his first reaction to being blackmailed should have been to tell Liv and Ravi about the entire situation, especially given the fact that Max Rager will eventually want to kill Liv, but having him keep it a secret creates more narrative drama.

I found the alliance-by-necessity of Liv and Blaine to be the much more interesting plot development in the episode. Blaine's acidic wit and Liv's no-nonsense attitude made for a great juxtaposition and some of the episode's funniest scenes. The Jimmy Stewart impression Blaine did was spot on, and one of the series' funniest moments. Show creator Rob Thomas is at his best when writing witty banter, and when Liv and Blaine share a scene together, the show feel a lot like Veronica Mars at its best.

The weakest part of the episode was the "case of the week." At this point, the only reason the show continues to use this format is so that Liv has context for the new brains she consumes. Giving Liv a new personality each week tends to add a fun element to the show, and it's always fun to see what Rose McIver try out a new personality, but the cases have consistently become the least interesting part of a show that has plenty of strong plot lines in motion. The grumpy old man personality Liv adopted this week was too broad to do the episode any favors. It was one of the least believable personalities so far, and unlike past episodes where the personality drives the direction of the plot, this personality seemed to go away whenever Liv needed to have a serious conversation with another character. I'm still a big fan of the concept, but if the show is going to stick with a case of the week, the accompanying brain needs to be more interesting than this week's brain. Other than that, this episode was a great start to a new season of one of the year's best new shows. 

The Road to Ultron: My Thoughts on the Marvel Films Leading Up to Avengers 2

When a sequel film comes out, I try to make it a habit to rewatch any previous films in the series. For me, it makes the experience of watching the sequel more fluid. I always notice the small details of a sequel better when I've re-familiarized myself with what led up to it. In the case of Avengers: Age of Ultron, I had to decide exactly how extensive I wanted my definition of "previous films" to be. I could have just watched the first Avengers film. There's also a good argument to be made for just watching the "Phase 2" films (anything after the first Avengers film). In the end I settled on rewatching all ten MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) films. Marvel is clearly building to something big with the future films they have announced, so I saw this as a good time to re-familiarize myself with everything that had been established in the MCU so far. Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters May 1st. Here are the brief thoughts that I had while watching each film leading up to it. I'm also going to try to keep a tally of when an infinity stone shows up in a film and where it ends up since those seem to be the overall end game with these films.

Iron Man (2008):

• This is the film that set off the entire MCU, and it's a worthy entry.
• Some people still stand by this one as the best Marvel film, but I like how much things have evolved from this point. 
• Having seen what the later Marvel movies are capable of, it's hard for me not to see this one as a little dated. Still an amazing movie, but it's only the tip of the iceberg. 
• Origin stories aren't my favorite, just cause I hate wading through all of the exposition. That being said, this film makes the most out of what is actually a pretty minimal plot.
• If there was just a movie where Tony Stark and Pepper Potts spent a day together as civilians, I'd watch it. The interactions between these two never get old. 
• Infinity Stone Watch: This film predates Marvel's interest in infinity stones in the MCU, but it does heavily focus on Tony Stark's "arc reactor," which has played a large role in the MCU. 

The Incredible Hulk (2008):

• In my opinion, this is Marvel's weakest film.
• It's a shame that behind the scenes circumstances basically prevented a Hulk series from ever taking off. I think it would have been interesting to see the this character faced with challenges that are worthy of his ability.
• That being said, I'm not sad that Edward Norton was replaced after this film. He's not bad here, but I think things worked out for the best. 
• It's also a shame that Liv Tyler's Betty Ross character didn't get a chance to grow in future films. She's such a strong motivation for the Hulk, that her absence from future films seems like the biggest hole in the overall Hulk story. 
• This may be the weakest film in the bunch, but if it did nothing more that set up the Hulk as a character in the Avengers films, then it was worth it. 
• Infinity Stone Watch: None here. This film is the least vital to the MCU as a whole. 

Iron Man 2 (2010): 

• A lot of people think this is the worst Marvel film. It has its fair share of flaws, but I like parts of it better than the first film. 
• This was the first Marvel film to have a truly great fight scene. 
• I could do without the Justin Hammer villain, but Ivan Vanko is one of the more impressive villains in the MCU. 
• I like Don Cheadle much better as Rhodey than I did Terrence Howard. As an actor he seems to have a charisma that better matches the energy of Robert Downey Jr. 
• Based on Black Widow's somewhat unimpressive introduction here, I wouldn't have predicted just how big of a character she would become in the MCU. She does have a particularly badass fight scene, though. 
• I'm glad that Marvel took the time in this film to promote Pepper from assistant to CEO. Films like this run the risk of turning the supporting women into nothing more than a love interest, but this franchise wisely does more than that with Pepper. 
• This is the closest Marvel comes to an "in between" movie that only sets up other films (could they talk about New Mexico more?), but I still think it is a better stand alone film than it is given credit for being. 
• Infinity Stone Watch: Again, none yet, but Tony does invent a new element. 

Thor (2011):

• This series gets the least amount of credit in the MCU, and I've never fully understood why. It's a solid origin story film that proved Marvel could have success outside of the Iron Man franchise. 
• Natalie Portman's Jane Foster has been criticized for only being a flat love interest. I disagree. Portman is great in the role, and she brings a necessary element to the film.
• With so much of Thor's world being made up of unexplained "magic," I like how Jane and her team ground part of that in their scientific pursuit. I'm glad that the film doesn't try to explain too much of Thor's world. The mystery heightens the idea that Asgard is beyond human understanding. 
• I like that this film brings a sort of "fantasy" element to the MCU. 
• Loki is the best villain to date in the MCU. There's no disputing that. 
• Darcy is great. More Darcy please. I don't care that she's only here for the jokes. It works. Darcy is probably the most universally loved part of this franchise. 
• Infinity Stone Watch: In the post-credits, Nick Fury (the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.) is shown to be in possession of the Tesseract (a glowing blue cube). This is the first sighting of an infinity stone, even though it has yet to be identified as one.  

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011):

• It was a bold move using an entire movie as an origin story set decades before any of the other MCU films, but it clearly paid off. 
• I'm not as big a fan of this one as most people seem to be. It's a great film, but as I mentioned before, I only have so much patience for origin story films. 
• I said Loki was a the best MCU villain, but Hydra is right behind him. I say Hydra and not Red Skull, cause clearly Hydra is an idea that exists beyond one single villain. 
• Peggy Carter is one of the MCU's greatest heroines. Given her presence in this film, it's no wonder Marvel decided to base a whole show around her. In Phase 1 of the MCU, she's the next best thing to Black Widow.  
• Casting Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark was genius. His performance leaves no doubt that the Stark personality is a family trait. 
• Infinity Stone Watch: The Tesseract is the central point of this film. It is shown to possess lethal power that humans cannot fully understand. We last see it being retrieved from the bottom of the ocean by Howard Stark. 

The Avengers (2012):

• I think that this is overall greatest film in the superhero genre. It has flaws like any movie, but it is an amazing accomplishment. I know some Dark Knight fans would fight me on this one, but in my opinion one great villain (and I'll admit, that portrayal of the Joker is more impressive than any MCU villain) does not outmatch a collaboration like this. 
• Bringing in Joss Whedon to write and direct was a smart move. He's clearly a fan of the material, and he proved with 2005's Serenity, that he can handle large ensembles without losing the individual characters in the overall collaboration. 
• Whedon knows exactly how to insert jokes into a film like this, and it makes this such a fun film to watch. It also gives much more personality to characters like Black Widow, who before had been pretty flat. 
• Speaking of Black Widow: she becomes one of the most compelling characters in the MCU here. She steals most scenes that she is in, and the scene where she deceives Loki by playing into his misogynistic tendencies, is brilliant. I think it's no mistake that Whedon portrayed the lone female Avenger as the most clever Avenger.
• I'm glad Whedon cut out a little time for Pepper Potts and Tony Stark to have a little banter before Tony has to suit up for action. 
• Mark Ruffalo's performance coupled with Joss Whedon's writing took the Hulk from being my least favorite MCU hero, to being in my top three. The character is used excellently here. 
• Loki was a smart choice as a villain. He didn't get to show off much in Thor, so bringing him back to cause even more chaos, was smart. 
• I've heard the complaint that Loki's actions make no sense in this film, because his actions essentially unite the Avengers against him. During WWII, Japan and German provoked the USA and the USSR into joining the war against them, which ultimately lost them the war. Hubris causes people to act out of ego instead of reason. Loki's main motivation in this film is his ego driven need to rule over people he thinks are beneath him. I think it makes perfect sense. He thinks by striking first he can stop the Avengers before they start. 
• The battle of New York is the single greatest fight scene in any superhero film. Whedon basically just lets the Avengers loose to show off all of their skills. It's fun, but also has serious stakes. 
• Infinity Stone Watch: The Tesseract once again is at the center of this film. Loki uses it to open a portal to unleash and alien army on Earth. Loki also has a scepter with a powerful blue stone in it. I don't know if it has ever explicitly been labeled as an infinity stone, but at the least its powers are clearly somehow linked to the Tesseract. At the end of the film Thor takes Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard for safekeeping. I don't think it is ever clearly explained where Loki's scepter ended up, but Black Widow was the last character seen with it, so it's probably in the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D. 

Iron Man 3 (2013):

• This film sets off Phase 2 of the MCU, which will conclude with this year's release of Ant-Man.
• This is my favorite Iron Man film, cause it doesn't have to deal with the exposition of the first film, or the clear future Avengers agenda of the second film. I think it stands alone the best of any film in this series. 
• It's unfortunate that Tony and Pepper spend most of the film apart, but having Pepper be the character that ultimately saves the day was a nice twist and another spotlight on a consistently strong female character in the MCU. 
• Tony's team up with Harley (a boy he befriends after Jarvis accidentally sends Tony to Tennessee) makes up for his lack of screen time with Pepper. The relationship between the two is fun, but also makes Tony face some hard realities.
• Speaking of hard realities, I'm glad that the film chose to show that Tony had emotional trauma after the events of The Avengers. An attack from an alien army and a near death experience would do that to anyone; even Tony Stark. 
• Aldrich Killian is a passable villain. He's not the most impressive, but he's definitely not the least impressive. His powers prove to be a good match for Iron Man, to the point where a similarly powered Pepper has to defeat him in the end. 
• I've read complaints about Tony spending so much time out of the suit in this film, but I think it just reinforces the idea that it is Tony, and not his suit, that is the real Iron Man. 
• Tony's army of Iron Man suits is an interesting idea that pays off in one of the MCU's better fight scenes, at the end of the film. 
• Infinity Stone Watch: None here, which is probably smart given the heavy reliance on the Tesseract in the previous two films. 

Thor: The Dark World (2013):

• Most of the criticisms people had of the first film in this series are the same criticisms they had of this film. 
• While Thor is arguably the least complex Avenger, I think this film works on digging a little deeper into his character here, and even gives him a darker edge at times. I like that Thor is less naive to Loki's tricks in this film. 
• The Dark Elves are arguably the least compelling villains in any of the MCU films. It's not that they aren't powerful (they clearly possess the power to wipe out Asgard if they wanted to), they just don't have much personality or motivation. 
• That being said, Loki makes a nice anti-hero/villain, and gives the film a few nice twists. His impersonation of Captain America is pretty clever too. 
• The scope of the first film felt pretty limited. This film does an excellent job of expanding Thor's universe beyond just Asgard and Earth. It was an important idea to establish not just for this film, but for future films such as Guardians of the Galaxy. 
• I think this film makes better use of Jane than the first one did, but I still would like the series to find a more natural way to bring her into the action of the story. 
• Darcy is back! Her role is once again limited, but it seems like this film gives here even more room to crack wise, and such. I love that she has her own intern to boss around in this film. Besides a small plot line where she saves Erik Selvig from a mental institution, there isn't any real reason for her to be here. I'm glad they brought her back anyway. She's a scene stealer. 
• It's too bad that Rene Russo's Frigga was killed off so early. She grounded the film, even if she had very limited screen time. 
• I'm also a fan of Idris Elba's Heimdall portrayal in this series. He doesn't have a very large role, but he plays the part well. 
• Infinity Stone Watch: At the beginning of the film, Oden explains what the infinity stones are, and that there are six of them. This is the first detailed explanation of the infinity stones in any MCU film. After the events of The Avengers, Asgard is in possession of the Tesseract (and since Loki is impersonating Oden at the end of the film, that essentially means he once again has control of it). Jane is possessed with the Aether, a second infinity stone, which Oden explains is the only infinity stone to take a liquid form. The Dark Elves eventually take control of the Aether, but when they are defeated, Asgard gains possession of it. In a mid-credits scene, Lady Sif is shown giving it to The Collector, since the Asgardians believe it is unsafe to keep both it and the Tesseract in Asgard. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014):

• This film had a lot riding on it, being the first solo film in the series set in the present day. It surpassed any expectations I had. 
• With this film, I believe the Russo Brothers have established themselves as the best directors in the MCU. I love what Whedon did with The Avengers, but this is clearly the superior film when it comes to direction. It's no wonder Marvel has asked them to direct the third Captain America and the final two part Avengers film. 
• The action scenes in this film are amazingly well shot, and have an acrobatic nature to them. I've read many comments about how impressive Black Widow's fighting style is in this film, because you can see how she realistically uses momentum to overcome her size while fighting larger enemies. Everyone gets a chance to shine here, as well. We finally get to see Nick Fury in action, during a very fun and unique car chase scene. 
• The writing is smart here too. Characters are given snappy dialogue that rivals Joss Whedon in wit. It says a lot that so many previously established characters are explored much deeper than they have ever been before. 
• Emily VanCamp's Agent 13 is an unnecessary character here, but at least she works as a representation of the agents who remain loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. when Hydra is exposed.
• I love the pairing of Black Widow and Captain America. They represent opposite sides of the hero spectrum in almost every way, and yet their chemistry on screen together is perfect (and I chemistry in a very platonic way.) 
• The Winter Soldier title is a bit of a misdirect. He's a very dangerous tool being used by the true villain, Hydra (which has managed to survive hidden inside S.H.I.E.L.D.). 
• The Hydra twist is bold. Marvel unraveled a lot of previously established ideas in the MCU with the dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D. It pays off tremendously here (and also gave a jump start to the show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). 
• I love the inclusion of Falcon as a character here. Not only does he provide the film with a character that is completely removed from S.H.I.E.L.D/Hydra, he also gives the MCU a much needed African American hero. Yes there are Rhodey (a.k.a. War Machine/Iron Patriot) and Nick Fury, but Falcon sees more action in this one movie than they have seen in the entire MCU. Anthony Mackie is perfect for the role, and I hope Marvel continues to take advantage of the asset they have in him. 
• This is the most culturally relevant Marvel film to date. The film asks a lot of questions about the nature of privacy in a world where governments want to take more and more control in the face of unknown threats. It's significant that a character as morally upstanding as Captain America takes a stand against the actions that both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra are trying to take to control the world. 
• Infinity Stone Watch: In a mid-credits scene, we see that Hydra's Baron von Strucker is in possession of what appears to be Loki's scepter. If S.H.I.E.L.D. indeed maintained possession of it after The Avengers, this could explain how Hydra obtained it. It appears Strucker has been using the scepter to do tests on people, the result being the creation of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, whom we briefly meet during this scene. Both are characters in the upcoming Avengers sequel. Again, I don't know of any official confirmation that the scepter itself is an infinity stone. 

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014):

• By the tenth film, Marvel has perfected the origin story film. This is hands down the best origin story in the MCU (no, I did not stutter, die hard Iron Man fans). 
• A lot of people said casting Chris Pratt was a risk. By Hollywood's standards, I guess it was. Personally, I always saw it as the most spot on casting choice Marvel had made since Robert Downey Jr. was cast as Tony Stark (and this is coming from someone who is a big fan of Marvel's casting choices). 
• Pratt is the heart and soul of the film, but there's no doubt that this film is an ensemble piece. If one of the main five actors hadn't sold their part, the film would have fallen flat. It's great work by a diverse cast of actors. 
• I love how this film is set in space, yet there's nary a reference to Thor or Asgard. This film definitely has a retro sci-fi atmosphere, compared to Thor's more fantasy infused setting. It also creates a more expansive universe in one film, than the Thor franchise did in two films. 
• For a film with four villains, none of them are all that impressive. I'll cut Thanos a little slack here, though, since he clearly isn't meant to be much more than a cameo here. 
• This is a film that shouldn't work, but it does because from the very start they committed to the idea of being surreal and silly in their approach to the material. Consistency goes a long way in a movie like this. 
• I always think it is interesting when a film's tone is driven by its soundtrack. That's definitely the case here, and it helps set this film apart from the rest of the MCU. 
• Of all of the films in the MCU, I think this one feels the least like a "Marvel" film, which is a refreshing change of pace. 
• Infinity Stone Watch: Like much of phase two, this one is centered around an infinity stone. In this case it's a small purple looking jewel that isn't really called much else except "the orb," which is actually more a description of the container for the stone, than the stone itself. The Guardians take it to The Collector (whom if you'll recall, Asgard entrusted with the Dark Aether because they didn't want two stones in one place) to sell him the orb. Once they learn how powerful it is, they decide to take it to Xandar where it will be safer. Of course it's not that easy, but eventually it gets to Xandar. So the orb is in Xandar, The Collector presumably still has the Dark Aether (and since he was looking to collect more stones, he is probably a future Marvel villain), and the Tesseract is in Asgard (where Loki seems to have access to it).