Spoiler Steve’s First Official Newsletter

Hello everyone and welcome to my first ever newsletter, something I wanted to try out. Who knows how this will go (or if it will even reach anyone) but I wanted to start to write more. Now I know what you’re asking yourself, “How did Steve get here?”

Fighting With My Family (2019)

Now that we have the awkward introduction out of the way,

Mulan (1998)

This article is focusing on a list of my summer favorites, my first Marvel Mondays review and a quick discussion regarding a Spielberg classic. 

Sci-Fi Summer Favorites

Ex Machina (2014)
  1. Star Wars (1978)
  2. Back to the Future (1985)
  3. The Fifth Element (1997)
  4. Men in Black (1997)
  5. The Matrix (1999)
  6. Inception (2010)
  7. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
  8. Ex Machina (2014)
  9. The Martian (2015)
  10. The Adam Project (2022)

Marvel Mondays

With Thor: Love and Thunder arriving in theaters next month, it’s the perfect time to revisit the God of Thunder’s previous films. 

Thor (2011)

Thor (2011)

“It’s not a bad thing finding out that you don’t have all the answers. You start asking the right questions.” –Erik Selvig

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay by Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne

Story by J. Michael Straczynski and Mark Protosevich

Produced by Kevin Feige

Cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos

Music by Patrick Doyle

Throughout the years, I always preferred skipping over the Thor films when doing rewatches. I remembered not caring for the original, but it might’ve been the sequel that really did put the bad taste in my mouth for the franchise. Maybe it’s due to the history and world-building that surrounds the MCU or perhaps it has to do with my own journey through life, but whatever the reason, I find myself growing more fond of the 2011 film the more I do revisit it. 

Aside from Kenneth Branagh’s eye for visual storytelling, there are some great themes he’s able to carry out throughout the film, including self worth. While I never agree with a film starting with an inciting incident only to jump back to explain how we got here, the first act of Thor does a perfect job showing us not only the immaturity of Thor’s views but also how he is viewed by his parents and is easily manipulated through trickery from his step-brother Loki. While these are some of the film’s strengths, I also feel one of the biggest weaknesses of this film is viewing Laufey’s side. We get the gist of the rivalry between the two worlds, but once Thor is brought to Earth, we barely see the Frost Giants again before the final act. 

Some may say there’s no reason to get more screen time with the Frost Giants, but I highly disagree. Loki is not just a Frost Giant, but he’s Frost Royalty. A boy thrown out and left for dead, only to be used as a symbol of failed unity between the realms. I’m not asking for twenty extra minutes or anything, but there’s got to be more than just seeing the giants sit on ice mountains waiting to be attacked. It’s a great performance to see Odin and Laufey exchange dialogue but it’d be nice to have just a bit more from Laufey’s point of view. Instead, Laufey is written as a one-dimensional character that is only there to move the plot forward. 

Another issue I have with this film was the age range and mortality of these Asgardians. They claim to be gods while humans on Earth are just mere mortals, yet it seems these immortal beings can pass on. It’s not until Infinity War do we learn Thor is 1,500 years old. He’s essentially an overgrown 15 year old kid while his 70 year old father is nearing (what I can assume) is his first Odin’s Sleep? I know that Thor is continuously called and referred to as a boy throughout the film but numbers always help when putting a value to something.

Either way, viewing the film for now a second time this year, it’s nice to see the special effects age well in this story. Yes, there are a few moments and scenes I’m sure everyone can pick out as not up-to-par, but for the time being the movie still looks great.

Another great experience this film brings is the connective tissue we will soon grow to learn as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We don’t only get a third appearance from Agent Coulson, but we also get first appearances from Agent Sitwell, Darcy Lewis and Clint Barton (Hawkeye)! We get a nod to (the now MCU variant film) The Incredible Hulk film and this takes place during Iron Man 2

Back to the theme of self worth, Thor’s journey doesn’t just cover his distance travelled through the nine realms but also through his self discovery of self-importance and a new understanding of what friendship means. The beginning of this film shows Thor asking favors from his friends to help him out in his goal but he does it through friendship manipulation. If it wasn’t for him they wouldn’t be where they are today. That’s the type of thinking more akin to failed kings. One could even argue he didn’t have a full understanding of who his friends were until they came after him. Sir and the Warriors Three believe Thor would do it for them and they may be right but for the wrong reasons. Thor’s true reason for saving them would be for blood and glory. Help saving his friends’ lives would only be a bonus as he basks in the fields of victory. 

At the end, it all comes down to what is ‘The Power of Thor’? To put it in simplistic terms, it’s knowing your place. Knowing your self-worth. Knowing where you need to be. The moment he was ready to jump on the grenade for the good of the people was when he became Worthy. Sure, Odin’s teardrop might’ve helped, but all along it turns out the worthiness was inside Thor all along. 

My Pros:

  • When on Asgard, the visuals and cinematography is top notch. 
  • Stellar performances from the entire cast

My Cons:

  • The final battle with Thor versus the Destroyer starts out perfect but then ends in horrible edits inside a cloud of smoke. It would’ve been a better view to see the final moments of the battle from Jane’s point-of-view.
  • Laufey is barely a one-dimensional character, only used when needed to move the story plot forward from the moment we see him until his death. 
  • It would have been nice to see more of Friga interact with her sons, possibly even a flashback with her and young Loki. We get the hints Loki was her favorite and Thor was Odin’s but there’s never any real time to give the audience a moment to breathe and see how these characters got here. We’re covering 1500 years for crying out loud!

Summer Blockbusters

Jaws (1975)

Jaws (1975)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb

Story based on Jaws by Peter Benchley

Produced by Richard Zanuck and David Brown

Cinematography by Bill Butler

Music by John Williams

Before the movie:

It’s been years since I’ve seen this film, possibly over 20 years. It’s time to see if this is a summer blockbuster or a relic of the past.

Final Verdict

This is not a hit-piece trying to convince you whether this is a masterpiece or a hunk of junk. I won’t argue with anyone that says this movie could be trimmed down by 10-15 minutes, but from one Millennial to another, this film deserves the recognition. This isn’t boring and slow. It’s a thrilling story filled with action, comedy and suspense. It’s also a film that needs your attention, so put the phones and tablets down. You won’t regret it.

Jaws (1975) is the poster child of the term lightning-in-a-bottle. There’s multiple articles you can search and find detailing the pain and agony the cast and crew had to go through to complete filming. From failed animatronics to an unfinished script, Spielberg had multiple hills to climb in order to complete the film.

That’s right. The shark didn’t work. It turns out the mystery and tension used to divert our attention away from the giant beast made the final act more powerful than I ever expected it to be. It might look funny from gifs and stills but the anxiety and tension that’s created and used throughout the first two acts delivers a third act that leaves you in shock and awe. There’s a reason this film not only made the most money in the box office that year but also won three out of four academy award nominations! The film overtook the Godfather as the highest-grossing film for the North American Box office and became the first film to earn $100 million in theatrical rentals.

Anyone can argue until they’re blue in the face over the quality of the film, but I don’t believe anyone can successfully state this film did not have some of of the biggest impacts on the movie industry. The numbers don’t lie and it seems we get another Jaws imitation every two to three years. The themes of this film echo in today’s echelon of genre tropes. Everyone says history repeats itself, and the first act of this film is eerily familiar to our reaction of the latest pandemic. If that’s not all, the cast and crew also had or still have lucrative careers to this day. Who hasn’t heard of Richard Dreyfuss, Steven Spielberg or John Williams?

In my opinion, this is a must watch for all cinephiles.

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