Phil’s Best To Worst: Marvel Cinematic Universe (inc. Ant-Man And The Wasp )

by Phil's Quick Review Best... Other Cr*p

Our ongoing look at the Best To Worst of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films! Updated as and when a new Marvel (Studios) film is released… Note scores reflect my original IMDB ratings.

[divider]

Best: Captain America Winter Solider

A cold war thriller with Robert Redford and a mini Avengers team up. Add in the always awesome Frank Grillo and a genuinely interesting script and you have Marvel’s strongest cinematic outing.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy

Massively far out of Marvel’s usual comfort zone, Guardian’s introduced spaceships, talking racoons and a giant tree person. Cracking script, expert action and a heap of fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Iron Man 3

The Iron Man film that broke a lot of Marvel fans, Shane Black took the playbook and ripped it up. Twists, turns and a cute central relationships made this a different take on the norm and was all the better for it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Thor: Ragnarok

Well this was a bundle of fun. The previous Thor films have been okay but Ragnarok delivered a brilliant romp which dragged in The Hulk, a handful of memorable new characters (Korg!) and some great set pieces to end up being one of Marvel’s best films yet.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

5. Marvel’s The Avengers

All the groundwork paid off as Marvel delivered it’s first ever super hero team up. The Hulk was back (and done right this time), Hawkeye and Black Widow joined the team and director Joss Whedon delivered the goods.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Spider-Man Homecoming

Funny, charming, with Marvels best villain and best Spiderman (yup sorry Andrew Garfield) Homecoming is a joy of a film that is by far the closest to what the comic book Peter Parker is.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Avengers: Infinity War

Shocking, well paced and with one of Marvel’s greatest screen villains Avengers Infinity War ALMOST delivered on it’s considerable promise. Almost.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

8. Iron Man

The Film that started it all… Iron Man was a rock n roll action movie with an unlikely lead, an even more unlikely director and enough balls out moments to wow.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

9. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

Loud, silly and funny as heck, Vol. 2 isn’t quite the tight film that it’s 2014 original is but it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Add in an amazing cast (including Stallone, Hasselhoff and Russell) and you have another winner from Marvel…

★★★★★★★★★★

——

10. Ant-Man

Ant-Man is a heist movie. With Ants. And fights on toy trains. It’s crazy but it’s also full of charm, humour and fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

11. Black Panther

Black Panther takes a different approach to the usual Marvel film, yet falls into a lot of the same traps of relying a bit too much on visual effects at times. That said it’s one of Marvel’s most intimate stories and whilst not perfect is a really strong entry into the increasingly bigger MCU.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

12. Ant-Man & The Wasp

Ant-Man & The Wasp is GREAT fun. It’s also totally forgettable and delivers what is possibly Marvel’s weakest villain to date. Not bad by any stretch just off pace of the original.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

13. Doctor Strange

Off the big screen Doctor Strange looses a little but this visually stunning film shows that marvel are still interested in pushing the envelope as far as you can in mainstream blockbusters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

14. Captain America: The First Avenger

Solid, fun and well done, whilst it has little rewatch appeal Captain America again took a different approach and gave us a couple of Marvel’s most enduring characters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

15. Captain America: Civil War

It’s not bad. It just didn’t gel with me as much as it did others. Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot to like and again it plays with the expected formula, but ultimately i’m just not that keen to go back to it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

16. Thor: The Dark World

I liked The Dark world MUCH more than others. Okay so it’s flawed for sure but it’s crazy fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

17. Thor

Thor was a sold film, tasked with the near impossible job of making a god fit in a world of men. It does it well but not one you’ll rewatch much.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

18. Avengers Age Of Ultron

Marvel’s first disappointment, Age Of Ultron was all show and little else. Too big, too dumb and too long.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

19. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

It has charm and the casting works well but ultimately The Incredible Hulk (whilst FAR better than the Ang Lee version) just doesn’t have enough to recommend it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

Worst : Iron Man 2

The idea was fine but sadly most of the film misses. Even Mickey Rourke (yes one of the oddest Marvel villains ever) can’t save this.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

Click here for related content

Phil’s Best To Worst: Marvel Films! (Updated – with Avengers Infinity War )

by Phil's Quick Review Best... Other Cr*p

In our latest regular feature, coming out the first Friday of each month, Phil (of Phil’s Quick Capsule Review) breaks down a film related subject in order of his own personal enjoyment from Best To Worst. This time out: Marvel Cinematic Universe films!

Note scores reflect my original IMDB ratings.

[divider]

Best: Captain America Winter Solider

A cold war thriller with Robert Redford and a mini Avengers team up. Add in the always awesome Frank Grillo and a genuinely interesting script and you have Marvel’s strongest cinematic outing.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy

Massively far out of Marvel’s usual comfort zone, Guardian’s introduced spaceships, talking racoons and a giant tree person. Cracking script, expert action and a heap of fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Iron Man 3

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Thor: Ragnarok

★★★★★★★★★★

——

5. Marvel’s The Avengers

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Spider-Man Homecoming

Funny, charming, with Marvels best villain and best Spiderman (yup sorry Andrew Garfield) Homecoming is a joy of a film that is by far the closest to what the comic book Peter Parker is.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Avengers: Infinity War

Shocking, well paced and with one of Marvel’s greatest screen villains Avengers Infinity War ALMOST delivered on it’s considerable promise. Almost.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

8. Iron Man

The Film that started it all… Iron Man was a rock n roll action movie with an unlikely lead, an even more unlikely director and enough balls out moments to wow.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

9. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

★★★★★★★★★★

——

10. Ant-Man

Ant-Man is a heist movie. With Ants. And fights on toy trains. It’s crazy but it’s also full of charm, humour and fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

11. Black Panther

★★★★★★★★★★

——

12. Doctor Strange

Off the big screen Doctor Strange looses a little but this visually stunning film shows that marvel are still interested in pushing the envelope as far as you can in mainstream blockbusters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

13. Captain America: The First Avenger

Solid, fun and well done, whilst it has little rewatch appeal Captain America again took a different approach and gave us a couple of Marvel’s most enduring characters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

14. Captain America: Civil War

★★★★★★★★★★

——

15. Thor: The Dark World

I liked The Dark world MUCH more than others. Okay so it’s flawed for sure but it’s crazy fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

16. Thor

Thor was a sold film, tasked with the near impossible job of making a god fit in a world of men. It does it well but not one you’ll rewatch much.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

17. Avengers Age Of Ultron

Marvel’s first disappointment, Age Of Ultron was all show and little else. Too big, too dumb and too long.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

18. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

It has charm and the casting works well but ultimately The Incredible Hulk (whilst FAR better than the Ang Lee version) just doesn’t have enough to recommend it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

Worst : Iron Man 2

The idea was fine but sadly most of the film misses. Even Mickey Rourke (yes one of the oddest Marvel villains ever) can’t save this.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

Avengers: Infinity War – Review Round Up

by Phil Hobden All Things Film Blog The Blogs

Want to know what the critics think of the latest hot releases but don’t want to have to search for them? Well look no further as we round up the reviews from 5 of the most influential sources for the latest BIG RELEASE movie.

This time out: Avengers: Infinity War

Overall Critics Say:

“Making good on Nick Fury’s promise from 10 years ago, Infinity War is fun, thrilling, and emotional.”- 9.0

” The Avengers latest stand feels well worth the wait. It’s not perfect, but it goes to a place most tentpole movies wouldn’t dream of, while retaining the scale, excitement, and humour you’ve come to demand from an MCU movie.” – 5/5

” Marvel has solved their third-act problem and villain problem and then some. However prepared you feel, you are not ready for Thanos. But then, neither are our heroes.” – 5/5

“A knowingly overstuffed Marvel mashup turns out to be bedazzling fun, despite the fact that this many superheroes means they’re all less special”

“Like an event comic, Avengers: Infinity War is epic and operatic, with scope and ambition. It’ll leave you simultaneously breathless and emotionally devastated – and when you’ve pulled yourself together, you’ll want to do it all over again. ” -5/5

Full credit to original sources. Links to websites provided.

Avengers Week: Thor Ragnarok – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

With Avengers: Infinity War opening this week, Phil’s Quick Capsule Review will be rerunning the reviews of some of our favourite Marvel Films!

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Thor: Ragnarok does almost EVERYTHING right as Marvel finishes off 2017 with 3 out of 3 for it’s output this year (commercially and critically). Taika Waititi may have been an odd choice on paper to helm a multi million dollar Thor film, even after some smallish but well received independent movies but Marvel again proves it has an eye for talent as he delivers what is what of the most bat shit mental Marvel films yet. Add in some great action, a laugh out loud script and Korg… you have what is one of the top draw Marvel films. Oh and the cast – Hiddleston, Blanchett, Urban, Elba, Hopkins. Goldblum and many more. It’s such fun. Thor: Ragnarok demands to be seen on the big screen.

Best Bit: Korg. Hands down one of THE best Marvel film characters. And THOSE cameos.

Cinema, Stream, Avoid: Cinema

If You Liked this Try: Guardians of The Galaxy, Doctor Strange, The Avengers

Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★

Author: Phil Hobden

Avengers Week: Doctor Strange – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

With Avengers: Infinity War opening this week, Phil’s Quick Capsule Review will be rerunning the reviews of some of our favourite Marvel Films!

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Doctor Strange is a Marvel film that, for the most part, you forget is a Marvel film. Which is a VERY good thing as (for me at least) Marvel as a brand to get a little stale with the sub par Avengers sequel and Civil War not being a stand out as you would have expected. Strange first and foremost is as visually stunning as a blockbuster movie could be and it’s twist on the much seen Superhero fights in destroyed city very welcome. With spot on casting, top level effects and a fun story that keeps moving it’s probably in the Top 5 Marvel produced films

Best Bit: Reversed

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Buy

If You Liked this Try: Captain America Winter Solider, Ant Man, Iron Man 3

Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★

Author: Phil Hobden

Thor: Ragnarok – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Best Bit: Korg. Hands down one of THE best Marvel film characters. And THOSE cameos.

Cinema, Stream, Avoid: Cinema

If You Liked this Try: Guardians of The Galaxy, Doctor Strange, The Avengers

IMDB Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★

Author: Phil Hobden

Phil’s Best To Worst: Marvel Films! (Updated)

by Phil's Quick Review Best... Other Cr*p

Note scores reflect my original IMDB ratings.

[divider]

Best: Captain America Winter Solider

A cold war thriller with Robert Redford and a mini Avengers team up. Add in the always awesome Frank Grillo and a genuinely interesting script and you have Marvel’s strongest cinematic outing.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy

Massively far out of Marvel’s usual comfort zone, Guardian’s introduced spaceships, talking racoons and a giant tree person. Cracking script, expert action and a heap of fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Iron Man 3

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Marvel’s The Avengers

★★★★★★★★★★

——

5. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

★★★★★★★★★★

——

5. Spider-Man Homecoming

Funny, charming, with Marvels best villain and best Spiderman (yup sorry Andrew Garfield) Homecoming is a joy of a film that is by far the closest to what the comic book Peter Parker is.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

★★★★★★★★★★

——

7. Iron Man

The Film that started it all… Iron Man was a rock n roll action movie with an unlikely lead, an even more unlikely director and enough balls out moments to wow.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

8. Ant-Man

Ant-Man is a heist movie. With Ants. And fights on toy trains. It’s crazy but it’s also full of charm, humour and fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

9. Doctor Strange

Off the big screen Doctor Strange looses a little but this visually stunning film shows that marvel are still interested in pushing the envelope as far as you can in mainstream blockbusters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

10. Captain America: The First Avenger

Solid, fun and well done, whilst it has little rewatch appeal Captain America again took a different approach and gave us a couple of Marvel’s most enduring characters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

11. Captain America: Civil War

★★★★★★★★★★

——

12. Thor: The Dark World

I liked The Dark world MUCH more than others. Okay so it’s flawed for sure but it’s crazy fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

13. Thor

Thor was a sold film, tasked with the near impossible job of making a god fit in a world of men. It does it well but not one you’ll rewatch much.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

*14.Avengers Age Of Ultron***

Marvel’s first disappointment, Age Of Ultron was all show and little else. Too big, too dumb and too long.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

15. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

It has charm and the casting works well but ultimately The Incredible Hulk (whilst FAR better than the Ang Lee version) just doesn’t have enough to recommend it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

Worst : Iron Man 2

The idea was fine but sadly most of the film misses. Even Mickey Rourke (yes one of the oddest Marvel villains ever) can’t save this.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

Phil’s Best To Worst: Marvel Films! (Updated)

by Phil's Quick Review Best... Other Cr*p

Note scores reflect my original IMDB ratings.

[divider]

Best: Captain America Winter Solider

A cold war thriller with Robert Redford and a mini Avengers team up. Add in the always awesome Frank Grillo and a genuinely interesting script and you have Marvel’s strongest cinematic outing.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy

Massively far out of Marvel’s usual comfort zone, Guardian’s introduced spaceships, talking racoons and a giant tree person. Cracking script, expert action and a heap of fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Iron Man 3

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Marvel’s The Avengers

★★★★★★★★★★

——

5. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Iron Man

The Film that started it all… Iron Man was a rock n roll action movie with an unlikely lead, an even more unlikely director and enough balls out moments to wow.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

7. Ant-Man

Ant-Man is a heist movie. With Ants. And fights on toy trains. It’s crazy but it’s also full of charm, humour and fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

8. Doctor Strange

Off the big screen Doctor Strange looses a little but this visually stunning film shows that marvel are still interested in pushing the envelope as far as you can in mainstream blockbusters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

9. Captain America: The First Avenger

Solid, fun and well done, whilst it has little rewatch appeal Captain America again took a different approach and gave us a couple of Marvel’s most enduring characters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

10. Captain America: Civil War

★★★★★★★★★★

——

11. Thor: The Dark World

I liked The Dark world MUCH more than others. Okay so it’s flawed for sure but it’s crazy fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

12. Thor

Thor was a sold film, tasked with the near impossible job of making a god fit in a world of men. It does it well but not one you’ll rewatch much.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

*13.Avengers Age Of Ultron***

Marvel’s first disappointment, Age Of Ultron was all show and little else. Too big, too dumb and too long.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

14. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

It has charm and the casting works well but ultimately The Incredible Hulk (whilst FAR better than the Ang Lee version) just doesn’t have enough to recommend it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

Worst : Iron Man 2

The idea was fine but sadly most of the film misses. Even Mickey Rourke (yes one of the oddest Marvel villains ever) can’t save this.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

Phil’s 5 Best Films of 2016 (Updated)

by Phil Hobden Quick Review Year In Review

So 2016 may be in the rear mirror but having now seen a few of 2016’s last few must see movies I’m having a do-over and republishing my list of the best films of 2016.

So here it is: my FINAL pick of the BEST films of 2016.

Film of The Year: The Nice Guys
In Brief: It was pretty much Room or The Little Prince all the way this year until The Nice Guys came along. But then any film directed and written by one of my favourite filmmakers in Shane Black was always going to have a fighting chance. Smart, funny and sharp as a tack… The Nice Guys is the best film you probably didn’t see this year!

2. Kubo And The Two Strings
In Brief: : Paranorman, Coraline, The Boxtrolls and now Kubo. That was high bar for sure but amazingly Kubo sets it higher still. Near perfect.

3. The Little Prince
In Brief: Who saw this coming? Adaptation of a popular kids book, released almost exclusively on Netflix. But man it knocked it out the park. Brilliantly animated and heart wrenchingly performed, Little Prince is up there with the best of the genre.

4. Sing Street
In Brief: Much like Sunshine Of Leith a few years back, Sing Street brings the songs, the charms and the heart and brings them all in spades. One of the best films of the year for sure.

5. Hunt for The Wilder People
In Brief: A coming of age family drama that will spawn a million “Shit Got real” T-shirts. Worth all the amazing reviews…

6. Room

7. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

8. Moana

9. Green Room

10. The Girl With All The Gifts

Bubbling Under: Deadpool, The Big Short, Arrival, Doctor Strange, Train To Busan, Eddie The Eagle, Midnight Special , Creed, Bad Moms, Spotlight

The Best and the Worst of 2016 – Motion Picture Maniac

by Motion Picture Maniac Motion Picture Maniac

2016 absolutely sucked, not just because we had, what felt like, twice as many bad films as usual, but more celebrity deaths than one can count and the UK and US trying to out-do each other in the “see who can make the worst political decision ever” competition. But alas, we are here just to talk about the films we had this past year, and usually I would stick to top 10 lists but it seems 2016 was so prolific I had to go for dreaded top 20’s instead of 10’s; not sure if that means the year was extra good, or extra bad.

TOP 20 BEST FILMS OF 2016

I’ve heard wonderful things about Moonlight, Patriot’s Day, Manchester By The Sea and Silence but they are yet to come out in UK just yet, so don’t go thinking they’re not on the list because I didn’t like them or any such nonsense, I just haven’t seen them so I can’t comment. Either way, here are my personal favourite films of 2016, if you don’t like them – tough!

Everybody Wants Some!!

The Girl With All The Gifts

Moana

Café Society

Anthropoid

Hush

The Neon Demon

Brotherhood

Deadpool

Zootopia

13^th

Finding Dory

Hell Or High Water

Arrival

Deepwater Horizon

Captain America: Civil War

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice – Ultimate Edition (I’m not sorry)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

American Honey

I, Olga Hepnarova

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

The Conjuring 2

Midnight Special

Sully

Hail Caesar

Doctor Strange

DISQUALIFICATIONS

These titles were released in 2016, but IMDB, for whatever reason, decided to count them as 2015 releases, I choose to put them in their own list not to put them down but rather as an excuse to include as many good films as possible, if I included them in the main list I would have to remove some other titles already on there, and even if the disqualifications are better than those films I would have to take off the list to make room, I would still rather do it this way so none are left out, honourable mentions are difficult enough to pick out.

Knight Of Cups

Eye In The Sky

Son Of Saul

Green Room

The Witch

BOTTOM 20 WORST FILMS OF 2016

Now for the other list, the 20 movies this year that made me question my existence and hate myself for sitting in front of as they played out, like I said before, this was a bad year for films, I tried to keep it to 10 slots but it couldn’t be done, better luck next year.

Dirty Grandpa

The Boss

Fifty Shades Of Black

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

God’s Of Egypt

Allegiant

Pete’s Dragon

The Choice

Alice Through The Looking Glass

Ice Age: Collision Course

Mother’s Day

The Other Side Of The Door

Swallows And Amazons

Equity

Me Before You

Ballerina

Dad’s Army

Nine Lives

Norm Of The North

Miracles From Heaven

NOTE – Miracles From Heaven is the worst film of the year for me because, despite not having production values as horrid as some of the other films on the list, religious propaganda just rubs me the wrong way, especially when it’s as arrogant and pompous as this and not just badly made (which it is).

DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS

The Boy

Risen

Now You See Me 2

Keeping Up With The Joneses

The Forest

BEST LINES IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

*Everything he says* – Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool

“I need to get her out of me” – Bella Heathcote in The Neon Demon

“Be careful not to choke on your aspirations, director” – James Earl Jones in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

“To commit suicide you need a strong will, my child. Something you certainly don’t have” – Klara Meliskova in I, Olga Hepnarova

“If God is all powerful, he cannot be all good, and if he is all good, he cannot be all powerful” – Jesse Eisenberg in Batman V Superman (again, I’m not sorry)

“I hope he comes all over your car!” – Sasha Lane in American Honey

“You’d think there were ten of me” – Ben Foster in Hell Or High Water

“I am just a dumb bunny but we are good at multiplying” – Ginnifer Goodwin in Zootopia

“Never tell a soldier he does not know the cost of war” – Alan Rickman in Eye In The Sky

“Suck it, bipeds” – Ed O’Neil in Finding Dory

TOP SURPRISINGLY GOOD PERFORMANCES

Shia LaBeouf in American Honey

Gal Gadot in Batman V Superman

The Rock in Moana

Jamie Dornan in Anthropoid

Jai Courtney in Suicide Squad

Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nocturnal Animals

MEMORABLE SCENES

Darth Vader rebel massacre – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Church shootout – Anthropoid

Granny’s peach tea – Batman V Superman

Airport royal rumble – Captain America: Civil War

Alone at the morgue – The Neon Demon

Truck murder – I, Olga Hepnarova

Bye-bye baby – The Witch

They arrive – Arrival

Alan Rickman’s final scene – Eye In The Sky

The pit – Son Of Saul

FAVOURITE SOUNDTRACKS

Hans Zimmer & Junkie XL – Batman V Superman (notably “Is she with you” & “This is my world”)

Cliff Martinez – The Neon Demon

Johann Johannsson – Arrival

Robin Foster – Anthropoid

Opetaia Foa’i, Mark Mancina & Lin-Manuel Miranda – Moana

Michael Giacchino – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (I know some people aren’t too fussed, but I most certainly was, especially the track “Your Father would be proud”)