My Top 10: Films Based On Marvel Comics

Since 1998, Marvel Studios have become one of the most successful film studios in film history.

We are now in a golden era for superhero films, and the hardcore fans are in their element. Graphic novel superheroes have now become mainstream, various franchises have been created and the makers have made sure it is all within their Marvel Universe.
One great example of having a Marvel Universe, was the success of Avengers Assemble that combined the franchises of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Hulk.
With a brand new franchise Guardians Of The Galaxy also released and reaping the rewards, I have decided to do a list of my top 10 films from Marvel Studios.

Three honorable mentions that missed out on my top 10, are Logan, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Logan was a welcomed change in tone to not only to the X-Men franchise, but the superhero genre all together. We see a weary Logan look after an ill Professor X. But whilst in hiding, he encounters a young mutant with dark forces not far behind. It's brutal in its content and has strong performances and writing that elevates the character of Wolverine more than we could have imagined.

As for Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, just when you thought the superhero genre was becoming restricted, we get this breathe of fresh air. Produced by the brilliant Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, this is a visually spectacular film with a lot of charm, heart and fun factor. Definitely the best Spider-Man film.

If this was a top 11, Captain America: The Winter Soldier would have made it. This particuarly installment showed that Marvel can go outside the box. This surprisingly enjoyable feature managed to more like an espionage thriller.
With a great blend of superhero and spy action, this sequel is very gritty and gives us another side to the style of film-making for this studio.

As I have seen all of the Marvel films except for Howard The Duck and the few direct-to-video features before 1998, here is my full list with a small review for each of my top 10:

68) The Fantastic Four

67) Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance
66) Ghost Rider
65) Elektra
64) Punisher: War Zone
63) Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer
62) Fantastic Four (2015)
61) Fantastic Four (2005)
60) Blade: Trinity
59) Daredevil
58) Spider-Man 3
57) The Amazing Spider-Man 2
56) X-Men: Dark Phoenix
55) Venom
54) X-Men: The Last Stand
53) The Wolverine

52) Venom: Let There Be Carnage

51) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

50) Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania

49) The Marvels
48) Blade II
47) The Punisher

46) Black Widow
45) Blade
44) Hulk
43) Iron Man 2
42) Ant-Man
41) Thor: The Dark World
40) Captain Marvel

39) Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings

38) Thor: Love And Thunder

37) Iron Man 3

36) The Amazing Spider-Man
35) Thor
34) X-Men Origins: Wolverine

33) The Incredible Hulk

32) X-Men: Apocalypse

31) Avengers: Age Of Ultron

30) Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

29) Eternals

28) Spider-Man: Far From Home
27) Deadpool 2

26) Doctor Strange
25) Spider-Man
24) X-Men

23) Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
22) Ant-Man And The Wasp
21) Black Panther
20) Thor: Ragnarok
19) Spider-Man: Homecoming
18) X-Men: Days Of Future Past
17) Captain America: The First Avenger

16) Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
15) Spider-Man: No Way Home

14) Spider-Man 2
13) Logan
12) Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

11) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

10) Captain America: Civil War - The big all-star superhero battle royale we have been waiting for.

When politics interferes with The Avengers activities. It causes the group to split.

The action is great, the story goes into an in-depth character study for our favourite superheroes.

9) Iron Man - The first Avengers related film that became one of the biggest hits in the studios history.
When put in a life threatening situation, a millionaire industrialist makes an armoured suit to escape and begins a product that will revolutionise his industry.

No matter how many times you watch this, you still get high levels of enjoyment.

We also get the first of many post-credits scenes from Marvel films.

8) X-Men 2 - The X-Men are back in search of a mutant assassin who is working for a secret military force.

We also see Wolverine come face-to-face with someone from his unknown past.

With new characters, both good and evil, it is quite a ride full of action, great performances and is pure entertainment.

7) Big Hero 6 - One of the few animated entries that is loosely based on the comic of the same name.

When tragedy occurs, a young tech prodigy befriends a robot and teams up with a group of friends to investigate the cause of the tragedy.

Produced by Disney, this is a really fun watch that is consistently funny and is also never afraid to tug at the heart strings.

6) Deadpool - This is definitely one the Marvel's most different film they have released.

Ryan Reynolds returns as 'the merc with the mouth', but now in his own origins film. The marketing campaign really set the tone for this extremely funny and action packed extravaganza. It felt like the truest representation of the source material and you can tell everyone is having a great time. Reynolds was put on this Earth to play Deadpool.

5) Guardians Of The Galaxy - One franchise that some people were not expecting and probably Marvel's biggest gamble.
What we got was a bonkers story that was made into a fun swashbuckling action sci-fi.
It is clear to see that the makers embraced the bonkers of the story and made fun out of it. In the end we got a terrific romping success.

4) Avengers Assemble - The highest grossing film of 2012 and the climax to the first film involving a team of superheroes.
This film really gave the fans a chance to see the ultimate plans of Marvel Studios.
We see SHIELD assemble their team in order to save the planet from a dangerous villain from another world.
Got nothing to say but positives for this. It is nothing but fun.

3) X-Men: First Class - With the X-Men franchise having a troubled last few years, they come back with probably the biggest surprise hit of 2011.
We go back to the 1960's and see the origins of the X-Men and how Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr first met.
From the word go, the action never stops and it goes at a relentless pace. I love it.

2) Avengers: Endgame - Seen as the last big team-up of the original Avengers, and boy do they throw everything onto the screen for an epic blockbuster.

It may be 3hrs long, but it balanced everything beautifully that has the most satisfying ending for so many of our most beloved characters that have been here since the beginning of the MCU.

1) Avengers: Infinity War - Marvel's latest release and the culmination of 10 years of work.

It sees the Avengers back with many more allies trying to stop the villianous Thanos from killing half the universe.

The execution of the action, comedy and shock factor was nothing short of phenomenal. It's a tough order with so many characters involved. But the Russo brothers did a fantastic job.

Review: Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

I have been a big fan of the original Planet Of The Apes since seeing it for the first time when I was a kid. But it has only been in the last few years that I have only found out about the various sequels and generally found them to be interesting. But the poor budget made it look sub-standard and at times pretty shocking.

After the failure of Tim Burton's version in 2001, we had the great reboot in 2011 with Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.

We now have a sequel that takes place ten years after the events of Caesar and his band of jailed monkeys taking over the Golden Gate Bridge and making a living in the woods.

First at foremost, this is a very entertaining story with a great plot and these reboots are rightfully redeeming those forgettable sequels from the 1970's.
From the start, you can see what director Matt Reeves wants from this. The apes are given so much time in this film and you can see the performances in them. With Andy Serkis leading the way, his legacy has branched some memorable performances elsewhere.
As the film romps along, we get some interesting set pieces that really builds up to a big climax that kept the story serious rather then just losing its way.

There are lots of positives to talk about. I have to mention the characters first, and I'm not talking about the humans. The ape characters were incredible and unlike most CGI characters, you really care for them more than the humans. The motion-capture performances of Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell were the massive stand-outs and certainly deserve some sort of recognition. I really do hope this is when Serkis gets noticed in the major awards for all his contributions to the birth and progress of motion-capturing technology.
As for the humans, Jason Clarke was a good lead role. The only film I have seen him in was The Great Gatsby in a very minor role. After seeing him in this, I can see him being in a lot more projects. Keri Russell was perfectly fine and I will still never forget her in 'Honey! I Blew Up The Kid' as people around the same age as me would have had a crush on her after seeing that movie as a kid.
As for Gary Oldman's performance, I am a bit torn with this one. It looked like he was supposed to be a villain, but there were some humanizing moments that made you feel for this character. I also felt he was underused. For such a big name to be in this film, I was just surprised to not see enough of him. But at least it was replaced with a lot of top-notch ape action.
The CGI and action sequences were great. The detail in the apes were just unbelievable and there were at times where it genuinely looked like live action. So props to the entire visual effects team and Serkis once again for developing this technology. As for the fight scenes, it is easy to just roll your eyes at CGI characters fighting. But with these having interesting personalities, they make those scenes ever more important.

The only negative for me was the final few scenes. I will not spoil it, but I just felt a bit underwhelmed. But I think I will defend it by having to remind myself that it is only building-up to something else.

Overall, this was a very entertaining summer blockbuster. It is easily as enjoyable as its predecessor, and I think a lot of others will probably go the extra step and say this was better.
The character development was the best part, the choice of story was well created. The pacing and tone was perfect for this environment. But the main discussion topic everyone will be talking about is the hope of Serkis' achievements being recognised due to the fact that the ape characters stole the show.
This is further confirmation that the summer of 2014 could be one of the best for films in a long long time.

Rating: 8/10

Nostalgic Review: Planet Of The Apes Franchise

Everyone knows Planet Of The Apes. But, for the general film fans you would not know how many films there actually is in this franchise.
It was only about two or three years ago before it came to my knowledge about the many sequels from the 1968 classic.
Since seeing them it has made see this franchise in a whole new way. For the last 45 years or so, this franchise has gone on quite a journey, and here are my reviews for each Planet Of The Apes film:

Planet Of The Apes (1968) - One of the biggest surprise hits of the 1960's and has stood the test of time.
Featuring Charlton Heston where he and his crew crash land after a long spaceship mission.
They land on a planet they never thought would exist. But what Heston's character finds out, becomes one of the most famous ending scenes in film history.

Rating: 9/10

Beneath The Planet Of The Apes - After Charlton Heston's character is stranded on the planet of the apes. A rescue mission suffered the same time. The sole survivor discovers that there is more to this planet just being ruled by apes.

I found the ideas really interesting and found a lot of parts towards the end incredibly creepy. But it was just a same that the production was weak and cheap. If this got more backing, I felt this could have been a cult classic.

Rating: 7/10

Escape From The Planet Of The Apes - An interesting and brave story choice. But I think it was a lot better then I expected.
From the opening scene that will make you put your head in your hands, to the rest of the film that develops into an interesting story.

Lots of interesting ideas and we are starting to complete the circle of this epic saga.

Rating: 7/10

Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes - Twenty years after the events from Escape, the world is at a stage where humans has apes for pets.
However, one ape starts a revolution that will change the future of the planet.

A bit like Beneath, the production was not that great and that made the whole viewing experience a bit tacky sadly.

Rating: 7/10

Battle For The Planet Of The Apes - Easily the worst of the original series.
It happens a decade after the apes have taken control of Earth, but are currently at peace with the humans.

I felt like this was a poor man's Alien: Resurrection. Did not see the point of making this film and you can tell the budget of the film must have been at an all-time low.

Rating: 6/10

Planet Of The Apes (2001) - A remake that did not need to be made.

Tim Burton manages to fall into the Hollywood trap of copying something, and then crashing and burning.
The only redeeming features for me was the set and costume designs which was pleasing enough.

Watch out for the ending that puts the stamp of confirmation on to the film that is probably the biggest film disappointment of the 21st century.

Rating: 6/10

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes - After the failure of Burton, director Rupert Wyatt and his team came back with the right type of re-make that has rebooted the franchise.

With the motion-capture help of Andy Serkis, this terrific homage to the original series is now the foundations to the next film series of this famous franchise.

Rating: 8/10

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes - Under the leadership of director Matt Reeves, we get another smash-hit.
It takes place ten years after the events of Rise and Caesar and his tribe get caught up with a group of humans.
It is brutal, moving and Andy Serkis and his team steal the show with their memorable performances as the apes.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Boyhood

If anyone has heard stories about this film, then it is clear to see that this is a film that has a created an extraordinary achievement.

Filming taking 39 days over a 12 year period has to be a film worth watching to see the reason for such a long project.

With it being directed by Richard Linklater, you are guaranteed interesting characters and a wonderful script. After the success of the romance trilogy Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight, Linklater has become quite a hit and this project has certainly tested the patience of Universal Studios. But I think respect should be given to this major studio for giving Linklater a chance to achieve this unprecedented style of story-telling.

With it being approximately 2hrs 45mins long, you would naturally expect a drag somewhere in the film. Thankfully, I felt engaged throughout as I was intrigued by the characters who felt quite genuine and believable. As the film went on, I seemed to forget about the story of how this film was made. Instead, I was purely interested in the development of these characters and how they transformed.

For fans of Linklater or the Before trilogy, it is all the usual content. Interesting characters, a nice moderate pacing and tone and a script that grips you from the start. There are also hints of other previous works such as Dazed and Confused.
The performances from youngsters Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater were pretty good overall. There was one part halfway through where I felt their acting to have been a bit poor. But thankfully they came through in the end and I was amazed of their development throughout the film.
Patricia Arquette gave us a character with a heart-breaking story and you get to experience her time with Coltrane and Linklater, and you instantly feel like you want to help her.
For me, the star was Ethan Hawke. After being in Linklater's previous work in the Before trilogy, you know what to expect from him and you can expect Hawke will give more than enough time for being in another Linklater film. Every time his character was on the screen, he manages to steal every scene and is given some great dialogue that you just hang on to every word he says.

In terms of passage of time, Boyhood takes it to a whole new level. Linklater and his main characters have given possibly the greatest character transformation ever shown on the big screen.
As the film ends, you just feel amazed about the journey these characters have gone through and how it could reflect yours and someone else's childhood/adulthood and how they went from a kid to being an adult.
I felt that the risk has been paid off and it must be experienced. I think many will give this one a go due to the buzz this film has created. Can see this doing well in the awards season.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Jersey Boys

Before seeing this, I had never seen the musical show. But I have heard a few of the singles from Franki Valli and The Four Seasons.
I do not know the story of their legacy to American music, but it seems there were a big deal and seen as one of the greatest bands of the 20th century.

With it having a musical tone to it and Clint Eastwood being the director, that won me over enough to go and see this.

Right from the start, it is obvious to see that there is a dark tale to tell. Despite all their success, the journey getting there was not the prettiest.
It had a light tone of Goodfellas to it that I felt was an interesting move for Eastwood. As the film goes on, you get some of the struggles these group of guys had to get to being the stars they are now.
However, it became slow at points and felt like it was losing steam and gave up on its story in-between the singing.

Thankfully, the singing was terrific throughout. Apparently all the actors has had experience on the stage performing Jersey Boys, so you knew they could cope with the songs. Props go to John Lloyd Young for playing Franki Valli. He really has an amazing voice that I hope gets used more often in future film projects. Another performance that I am expecting to break through to a very respectable film career is Vincent Piazza's as Tommy DeVito. After his efforts in Boardwalk Empire, this will surely give him the push he needs to make on the big screen.

One other big positive was the setting. From the opening scene, you instantly knew it was the 1960's. You could see the trends that happened at that time and the costume design was spot on.
The most important part of the film was obviously going to be the singing. I thought everyone sung brilliantly and I gave a lot of brownie points for the actors actually doing the singing.

Jersey Boys does have that magic that only a musical can bring. But I'm afraid the dramatic parts were either perfectly line or slowed the pace of the film down a few notches. At times, it feels more like a TV movie.
I enjoyed the performances of the main characters, the music is terrifically enjoyable and really makes me want to see the stage show.
For me, I think Eastwood could have done better with this. But I think there is enough to applaud him for.

Rating: 7/10

My Top 10: Films Directed by Clint Eastwood

From his breakthrough performance in A Fistful Of Dollars in 1964, Clint Eastwood is one of the most famous actors and is becoming a huge name in the world of directing.

For the last 40 years, Eastwood has directed quite a lot of the films he has also starred in. Known for his well structured style of story-telling and interesting choice of subject matters, Eastwood has been nominated and won several of the major movie awards including Best Picture at the Oscars.

Out of his 38 films, I have seen 30 of them, and I am pretty confident I have seen all of his most critically acclaimed features. One film that just missed out that deserves a mention is Unforgiven. The Oscar best picture winner may have been in my top 10 over-rated films, but I still found to be a good film that gave the Western genre a nice rejuvenation. But sadly, there were ten other films that I felt were better.

I will rank all of the ones I have seen and give a short review for each of my top 10:

30) Firefox
29) The 15:17 To Paris
28) True Crime
27) Space Cowboys
26) The Mule
25) Sudden Impact
24) Blood Work
23) The Gauntlet
22) Bronco Billy
21) Heartbreak Ridge
20) J. Edgar
19) Jersey Boys
18) Absolute Power
17) Sully: Miracle On The Hudson
16) Invictus
15) American Sniper
14) Pale Rider
13) Richard Jewell
12) Play Misty For Me
11) Unforgiven

10) High Plains Drifter - Remember this being quite a disturbing psychological western film.

A mysterious man comes to a small town to unite against three outlaws that plan to ruin the town.

9) The Bridges Of Madison County - Quite an underrated romance story of a photographer and a housewife.

The on-screen chemistry of Eastwood and Meryl Streep gives this Oscar nominated romance drama a lot of class and is a highly emotional tale.

8) A Perfect World - A dramatic crime thriller that tells about a boy striking friendship with a stranger who initially kidnaps him.
Eastwood plays a U.S marshal who pursues the kidnapper.

With terrific performances by Eastwood and Kevin Costner, this undervalued road movie has gotten a lot of love over time.

7) Changeling - Only recently seen this and found it to be a terrific mystery drama that brings out the best out of Angelina Jolie.

Nominated for 3 Oscars, this astonishing story really transports you to Los Angeles in the 1930's.
From the acting, to the set design and costumes, it is an amazing drama that is perfect viewing for a Sunday afternoon.

6) The Outlaw Josey Wales - Quoted by Orson Welles as "the greatest Western ever made", this is Eastwood's best directed Western.

The perfect mix of high-level action, enjoyable performances and a tense pacing to the story. It is everything you want for a Western.

5) Letters From Iwo Jima - Part two of the World War II battle between America and Japan.
This time, it is told from the side of the Japanese.

After the high praise of 'Flags Of Our Fathers', this calmly paced story shows us a really touching side to this brutal battle.

4) Flags Of Our Fathers - Part one of the battle between American and Japan during WWII sees Eastwood give us the story of the six men who raised the flag at the Battle Of Iwo Jima.

I felt gripped throughout as it is a story not many non-Americans know and found it a great watch.

3) Mystic River - Took me a while finally see this, but it was worth the wait.

It sees three childhood friends reunite following a death. But the case takes a disturbing turn of events that could ruin their entire friendship.

Winner of two Academy Awards, it is a wonderfully told crime drama with an awesome ensemble cast.

2) Million Dollar Baby - Best Picture winner of 2005, this is seen by a lot of people as Eastwood's masterpiece.

Eastwood delivers in everything. From the performances, to the writing, the cinematography and the tone, this is a touching story of a woman looking to become a professional boxer.

1) Gran Torino - This for me, is where Eastwood fledged his wings and became known as one of the great directors of the last decade.

Eastwood plays a Korean War veteran looking to set an example to a neighbor and several gang members.

Amazingly, this only got one Golden Globe nomination.