Category: Personal Favorites

1943 – Greer Garson

Madame Curie

Greer Garson played herself once again.  You could easily transplant her into the exact same characters in some of her other films, and you’d never notice the difference.  She had the same look, the same accent, the same cadences, the same facial expressions, the same attitude.  She was just nice and wholesome, and not much else.  There wasn’t a mean bone in her body, which matched her costar, Walter Pidgeon perfectly.  There just wasn’t much to her character that stood out to me, and it made me wonder why she was nominated for best Actress.

But Greer’s part in this movie did have one saving grace for her, one deeply dramatic scene that had to have been the reason she was nominated for an Oscar.  It was near the end, after Madame Curie learns that her husband has been killed in an accident involving two horses pulling a carriage.  She went catatonic, refusing to eat or drink as she processed her new reality.  The makeup on Garson made her look drab and sickly.  The dead look in her eyes was something I have never seen from the actress.  And then once her old friend leaves, she gets up and goes through a few special objects that brought up memories, and they have an effect on her.  She turns away from the camera and begins sobbing and crying.  It totally fit the scene and Garson was good. 

I say good, but not great.  First, she hid her face, so you couldn’t see her full unbridled emotional journey in her eyes.  It was there, but it was hidden from the viewer, and I think I would have been more invested in Madame Curie’s pain if I could have seen her face.  There was one other scene in the film where she showed a bit of strong emotion.  She was angry when she thought that four years of difficult and tedious work had produced no results.  Again, she was good there, but not great.  And what’s more, I think that maybe she could’ve been better.

Like her costar, I am not convinced she should have been nominated for Best Actress, except that she appears to have given audiences what they wanted, good-natured wholesomeness that bordered on unrealistic.  But that’s what she was good at.  And I have to admit, she looked just as beautiful as ever, so that helped.

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Character Posters

22 – Avengers: Endgame

Well, here we are at the big one.  This is the climax of the Infinity Saga within the MCU franchise.  Here is where we resolve the Snap, which happened in Infinity War, and add in the final player in the action/Drama, Captain Marvel.  This was not only one of the biggest films in the whole Marvel tapestry, it was one of the biggest earning films of all time – ever.  To quote Wikipedia, “It grossed $2.799 billion worldwide, surpassing Infinity War’s entire theatrical run in eleven days and setting a number of box-office records; it was the highest-grossing film of all time from July 2019 to March 2021”

It was incredible and absolutely lived up to all the hype.  It brought in every hero from the MCU franchise.  Of course the big three were there, Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, but we also got back The Guardians of the Galaxy, The Winter Soldier, Falcon, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, The Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, War Machine, Ant-Man, and of cour4se, Captain Marvel.  But it also brought along all the surviving peripheral heroes from all the different franchises like Valkyrie, Okoye, Shuri, Wanda Maximoff, The Wasp, The Ancient One, and even Loki.  Plus a great little scene with Thor’s mother, played by Renee Ruso.

But the real highlight of the film was its awesome main villain, Thanos.  Josh Brolin took that role and made his one of the greatest bad-guys of all time.  He was powerful, smart, cruel, and best of all, supremely determined to achieve his goals, and willing to crush anyone or anything that stood in his way.  Brolin’s performance was spellbinding, even though it was all done with facial capture technology, motion capture software, and CGI.  The visual effects throughout the entire film were amazingly photo-realistic, and Thanos was no exception.

But it wasn’t just the spot-on visuals that was impressive.  The story was fantastic!  The action was thrilling!  And the Drama was enough to bring me to the edge of tears every time I see it.  Spoiler Alert.  The moment when Thor’s hammer flies back and caught by Captain America is enough to me raise my fists in the air in excitement.  And the death and funeral of Tony Stark is simply heartbreaking.  Yes, the self-sacrificial death of Black Widow was also pretty devastating, but it just didn’t have the same impact as the film’s climax.  The entire final battle scene was just mesmerizing.  It gave every character their moment to shine, reminding us of why we like each of them.  I can’t help but watch that final battle sequence on the edge of my seat, every time.

But I think the biggest shout-out has to go to the film’s directors, the Russo Brothers, Anthony and Joe.  They knocked this out of the park.  I can’t even imagine what is involved in making a movie of this magnitude, but they pulled it off beautifully, controlling and coordinating every aspect of the process from beginning to end.  They didn’t direct all the movies that came before Endgame, but they brought the varied actors all together and were respectful to where every one of them came from and what came before.  They made Endgame work as part of the fabric, the overall tapestry, that is the MCU.

This was the perfect ending to the Infinity Saga.  It is the twenty-second film in the franchise and it is the culmination of all the movies that came before it.  It summed them all up and gave them a satisfying ending.  But as we all know this wasn’t the end of the franchise.  It was just the end of the Infinity Saga.  And in true comic book fashion, the story continued.  This was not the end, but it was a phenomenal cap the Infinity Saga.  This will always be one of my favorites!  The surviving heroes continue to show up in future MCU movies.  And the great action films just keep coming and coming.  And even the films which are not as well-received, still enthrall me.  I am a true fan and I hope they keep going.   I love them three thousand.

Top 10 Favorite Parts

1. The surviving heroes go to kill Thanos.  “I went for the head.”
2. Hulk tries to make time travel work with Ant-Man. 
3. Thor, who has suffered more loss than anyone in the MCU, is reintroduced as “fat Thor.”  I love Thor’s reaction to hearing the name of Thanos.
4. Planning the time-heist.
5. Hulk’s conversation with The Ancient One where he gets the Time Stone
6. Thor’s conversation with his mother.  “I am totally from the future.”
7. Hulk’s snap and the destruction of the Avengers’ complex.
8. The beginning of the battle.  Thor suits up with a braided beard and lightning in his eyes!  Then Thor, Cap, and Iron Man fight Thanos!  Also the short conversation with Thanos before the fight starts.
9. Special moments in the battle: (A) Captain America catches and uses Thor’s hammer! (B) Thanos breaks Cap’s shield. (C) Hawkeye escapes the tunnels with the stones. (D) Cap faces down Thanos’ entire army alone.  Then, “On your left,” and the arrival of the lost heroes. (E) Black Panther, then Spider-Man, then Captain Marvel  takes the stones, trying to get them to the Brown van. (F) Captain Marvel arrives and destroys Thanos’s ship. (G) Wanda Maximoff breaks Thanos sword in half and nearly defeats him by herself. (H) Thanos tries to head-butt Captain Marvel and she doesn’t even react to it. (I) “And I… am… Iron Man.”  SNAP! (J) Thanos turns to dust.
10. Tony Stark’s funeral and his final message to his family.  “Part of the journey is the end.”

1942 – Gladys Cooper

Now, Voyager

Gladys Cooper did a really great job in this movie.  She played the film’s main antagonist.  She was a mean, sour old lady who treated her children, especially her youngest daughter, played by Bette Davis, like possessions, holding the inheritance of her wealth over her head like a threat.  She had very few kind words to say to her, but she had plenty of negative comments and opinions about her behavior.  I didn’t like Mrs. Vale, but that’s ok.  I wasn’t supposed to, which just means that Cooper did a great job, and she deserved her Oscar nomination.

From the first moment she is on the screen, she establishes herself as a bitter old woman who doesn’t ever realize how cruelly she is emotionally torturing her daughter.  She controls every aspect of the girl’s life, telling her what to wear, what to say, what to do.  And after her daughter’s stay at a sanitarium, after the girl has learned to be more independent and self-assured, she basically tells her to do as she is told or she won’t get any inheritance.  And even though Charlotte is kind to her, I could see disgust in Cooper’s eyes every time she looked at her daughter.

Cooper’s final scene was particularly well-acted.  Charlotte tells her that she has broken her engagement with a wealthy man from a high-born family.  The look of anger and disgust on her face was horrible to see from a mother to a daughter.  I was horrified to see that look.  Cooper really sold the moment showing the audience in no uncertain terms just how the character regarded her independent child.  My first thought when her heart gave out and she expired, was that it was the best thing that could happen to Charlotte.  Cooper created a powerful villain.  Even though she was not actively evil, she was most certainly a horrible manipulative person.  I wasn’t sorry she died, and I wasn’t supposed to be.

I think Cooper deserved her nomination, and if it was not for Teresa Wright’s amazing performance in Mrs. Miniver, I thinks she would have taken home the Oscar.  She was that good.  She was bitter, crotchety, and mean in just the right amounts.  And she was able to throw in self-righteousness and a “poor-me” attitude that was unmistakable.  Cooper really turned in a fantastic performance.

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Character Posters

20 – And-Man and the Wasp

I’ll be honest, this isn’t one of my favorite films in the MCU franchise.  It wasn’t a bad movie at all, but I just liked others more.  But again, that’s like saying it was only an 8 instead of a 10.  It was still an 8.  It just didn’t have the same umph as some of the other movies.  Don’t get me wrong though, I still really like the movie.  It had some really great moments, some incredible action sequences, and some pretty funny comedy.  It was a fun film, and a worthy entry in the franchise.  Its blend of humor and action was spot-on.

Paul Rudd is always good, as is Evangeline Lilly, and you can never go wrong with Michael Douglas, and a new addition to the cast, Michelle Pfeiffer.  And we can’t forget returning actors, Michael Pena, Tip “TI” Harris, and David Dastmalchian, Scott Lang’s crew.  We also got Lawrence Fishburn, Hannah John-Kamen, and Walton Goggins.  I think it’s important to mention them all because they all did a fantastic job.  I especially liked Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne, but then again, I’ve never seen her do a bad job in anything.  Sadly, Fishburn’s part as Bill Foster was a little lackluster because of the script, though as always, his acting was very good.

One of the complaints many people have with the MCU is its excessive use of CGI, but I say, if it is as good as it is here, then why not use it.  The visual effects were incredible.  Everything that took place in the Quantum Realm were visually stunning!  It was bright and colorful and had a unique beauty that was all its own.  I especially loved the tardigrades. That’s one thing at which all the MCU movies have been amazing.  They create fantasy worlds that are unlike anything ever seen on the big screen.  But if we’re talking about that, then why not go one step further and talk about the production design, in general.  The rest of the story takes place on Earth, and so the settings are pretty familiar.  But the way they portrayed Ghost on the screen, the way she phased in and out of existence, was so cool!  And the actress did a great job selling the character.

The movie was an action/comedy and none of it fell flat.  The bits with Scott’s posse were really funny.  Michael Pena is a treasure as Luis.  He was a fan favorite in the first Ant-Man movie, and he didn’t disappoint here.  I loved the truth serum scene.  “You put a dime in him, you got to let the whole song play out.”  “He like human juke-box.”  And the fast, stream-of-consciousness way he has of talking is just fun.  And the Baba Yaga running joke with Kurt makes me laugh every time.  And who can forget the funny scene where Scott is trying to get something from his daughter’s classroom at her school, and he has several size mishaps?  That was comedy gold.

But on the flip-side, the action was what we have all come to expect from an MCU movie.  It was fast-paced and thrilling to watch.  The first big action sequence where Hope fights Ghost was amazing.  And I think this movie succeeded where many of the other MCH movies did not.  Often-times the heroes are pitted against villains with similar, if not identical, powers.  But Ghost was a wildly unique villain.  Try to punch her, and your fist will hit nothing but air.

And finally, I’d like to give a special shout out to a small character who was memorable enough to bring him back later on when Disney made the first MCU TV show, Wanda Vision.  Randall Park played Jimmy Woo, the FBI agent who was constantly trying to catch Scott breaking his house arrest, but failing every time.  I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record at this point, but the movie got so many things right, and so few things wrong.  It was exciting and fun, and even tied into the devastation at the end of Infinity War.  The OMG moment in the post credit scene where Scott is stuck in the Quantum realm was just mind-blowing, because when we see the three clumps of dust floating away, we all know what it means!  It was ominous and haunting, and the perfect way to end the movie.  Now that’s some incredible story-telling! 

Top 10 Favorite Parts

1. Scott and Cassie’s cardboard ant-maze was fun and shows how great a dad Scott really is.
2. The first big fight with Burch’s men in the kitchen and the fight with Ghost
3. Scott and Hope infiltrate Cassie’s school.
4. Eva (Ghost) tells her backstory and Cassie’s interrupting phone call.
5. The truth serum scene.  Michael Pena is genius.
6. Janet inhabits Scott’s body and talks to her husband and daughter. “Nothing. I’m getting nothing.”
7. Hank goes into the Quantum Realm to rescue Janet
8. The car chase through the streets of San Francisco, and Scott knee-boarding on the flatbed truck.
9. Janet is reunited with first her husband, then her daughter, and then meets Scott for the first time.  Also, she heals Ghost a little.
10. The post-credits scene where Hope, Hank, and Janet are dusted by the snap.  Holy Smokes!!!

Cast Photos

Character Posters

17 – Thor: Ragnarok

This is, I believe, largely regarded as the best of the Thor movies in the MCU, and I have to agree.  Not only was it a great superhero movie, it was just a great movie.  Chris Hemsworth really is the perfect actor to play the God of Thunder.  He is incredibly handsome, amazingly fit, and is a pretty darn good actor to boot.  By this time, he owned the character, and I can’t imagine anyone else playing the part.  He is amazing!  He can do the drama, the action, the humor, and everything in between.  It was great to see the continuation of Thor’s journey.  He endures more personal loss than any other MCU Character.  In this movie alone, he loses his father, his hammer, his freedom, his home, and his eye.  But he still refuses to give up.

Next, you add in veteran MCU actors like Tom Hiddleston playing Loki, Anthony Hopkins playing Odin, and Mark Ruffalo playing Bruce Banner, aka, the Incredible Hulk.  After that, we get a few other familiar characters in Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange, and Idris Elba as Heimdall.  But then we get a few really big names to play new characters like Karl Urban, Jeff Goldblum, and we get a powerful performance from Cate Blanchett, playing the film’s big villain, Hela, the Goddess of Death.  Another new character with a new face is Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, a really kick-ass woman.

The MCU has often been criticized for its underdeveloped villains, and to a certain extent, I agree.  But despite that, Blanchett did a fantastic job.  She was so powerful and evil that she was basically undefeatable.  She had the ability to manifest an infinite number of weapons to fight with, and was as durable as any Asgardian.  She killed off the Warriors Three pretty early in the movie, and most of the Asgardian palace guards, without even breaking a sweat.  She looked fantastic, and the giant Hela headdress that seemed to grow right out of her head was so cool!  In the end, the only way the heroes could defeat her was to summon the ancient demon Surtur, and allow him to utterly destroy Asgard, the source of Hela’s power.  And that’s where we get the movie’s title, Ragnarok, the event in Norse mythology, the Fall of the Gods.

The visual effects on the Hulk were incredible.  The plot heavily featured the Hulk, and the realism achieved in the computer generated image of the big green guy was stunning.  It just seems that his every movie appearance gets an upgrade.  Not only does the impossibly large monster look as real as the live actors, it is easy to see Mark Ruffalo’s face in the image.  And though green isn’t a natural skin tone, it looked just as good as a live actor wearing green makeup.  And Ruffalo was just as good as Banner as he was as the Hulk.  The fight in the Grandmaster’s arena was one of the best parts of the whole movie.

Jeff Goldblum also did a fantastic job.  The character of the Grandmaster seemed to allow the actor to play himself, like I’ve seen him in interviews and such, but it fit the film.  I did a little reading, and found that he and the Collector are members of an ancient race called the Elders of the Universe, and are apparently some of the oldest living beings in the universe, coming from one of the first intelligent races to evolve after the Big Bang.  Interesting.

This movie also featured two scenes in which Thor goes into full God mode.  In the gladiatorial arena and during the climactic battle with Hela and her forces of resurrected ancient Asgardian warriors, Thor’s eyes start glowing white, and he unleashes his most powerful lightning.  Despite losing Mjolnir to Hela in her introductory scene, which showed just how much of a total bad-ass she was, Thor is able to prove that he is nearly as powerful.  And he just looks so cool when his eyes start to glow!  Oh, and they gave him an awesome new haircut, too!  Thor has always been one of my favorite MCU characters, and Ragnarok only serves to strengthen that opinion.

Top 10 Favorite Parts

1. The fake play with Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, and Sam Niell, and Thor revealing Odin to be Loki in disguise.
2. Hela’s release from her prison and the destruction of the hammer. “You have no idea what’s possible.”
3. Thor is captured by a drunk Valkyrie and given to the Grandmaster.  “Please sir, do not cut my hair!”
4. The introduction of the Grandmaster
5. The Thor vs the Hulk battle in the arena.  “He’s a friend from work!”
6. The reconciliation and understanding between Thor and Loki in the Elevator.  Also “Get Help.”
7. Valkyrie joins Thor and Banner, and they escape from Sakaar in the Grandmaster’s pleasure ship.
8. Hela and Thor fight in the palace throne-room, and Thor loses an eye.
9. Thor goes God mode and fights back. “Are you Thor, the God of hammers?”
10. Surtur is summoned and Asgard is destroyed in an explosion that rivaled the destruction of Alderan.