Avengers: Infinity War

10 years for the carnage to be unleashed.

A couple of posts ago (three actually) I said how tired I was of seeing great ideas being tossed into the garbage bin like a cheap forgotten McDonald's burger. Obviously, I was referring to the overnight success of Comic Book films these days. In addition, I was disappointed with what Rian "Dick" Johnson had done with The Last Jedi, and yet here you have me writing about another superhero film...

Avengers: Infinity War as a standalone film, would obviously fail in so many levels, that I'd put right next to the many other films I think are just fucking cash grabs. However, seeing this film marks the 10th anniversary of what humbly started in 2008 with Iron Man, and went on for another 9 years that will surely go on for another decade. 

Avengers forever!

I don't think so.

Plot wise we get a very simple story: Thanos, the powerful space overlord has built an "Infinity Gauntlet" (the actual name of the classic comic book, you posers) that allows him to wage the powerful weight of the six infinity stones. Predictably, friends and foes from all corners of the universe have decided it is time to do something before it's too late for the whole universal existence. 

The movie benefits a lot from its prequels, where most of the characters' personalities were introduced and developed vastly enough to make us care for each of them. Nevertheless, the film does take its time to tell us who Thanos really is, and what he is actually looking for once he gets all the six precious stones. For a CGI guy, I can say he's OK but not the best villain seen in years as many are calling him all over the internet. The fact that he wants to destroy everything because he's a bad guy, seems dated, childish and plane stupid. 

Infinity War does require you to have seen some or most of the MCU in order to fully enjoy its moments, which are many. I'd say you'd have to watch the Captain America trilogy, Thor 2 & 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.1, the first Avengers film and Doctor Strange and then, you'll be all set for an entertaining ride. 

Girl power!

Unusual team of heroes.

Directed by the Russo brothers, who also directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier & Captain America: Civil War, the film is a celebration of ten years of entertainment and overall fun. While the film does struggle with some tonal shifts during the first act, its brilliant action scenes and clever dialogue more than make up for these shortcomings. The film's ending will be overwhelming to some and most likely will divide fans over how it is executed. The directors do a superb job developing Thanos' personality outside of simply wanting universal domination. His motivations feel somewhat morally ambiguous and at times even make him seem sympathetic. Despite the film's darker tone, there are still some hilarious scenes of banter among the heroes, particularly between Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). 

I was so ready to tear this down - 19th MCU film, too many stars, bloated CGI, first of a two parter, and so on and so on...

Yet, this is so much fun. Pure popcorn...now in the dictionary under "popcorn film" is just the poster for this film. Somehow, the Russo Brothers have juggled all the parts to give everyone some time in the sun. They are helped immensely by two things: the premise is so pure Mcguffin that you just watch Thanos look for Infinity Stones which gives a primal momentum and that the film's stars/characters are looking to move on - that means, actual stakes for once as people could really die and not just comic book dying either.

Never upset an X-Men!

So, it's that bad again Cap,. right?

The DC people must be kicking themselves. The lightness and comedic touches are brilliant. You are laughing out loud, comedy level, but at totally organic character humor. It means you are so entertained throughout its rather long running time.

The other big surprise is Thanos himself. Normally, I hate CGI characters but somehow they have made Thanos and Josh Brolin work enough to give the character an actual arc. This is one of the better MCU villains and I never thought I would write that. In addition, and considering the massive amount of characters this film has, I was surprised to see the Russo brothers were careful enough to give key characters, enough on screen time, to show them doing their thing. Moreover, some characters were even upgraded to the legendary status they have in their respective comic books. For example, and this is not a spoiler, so rest easy, Doctor Strange shows us why he is the real master of mystic arts, and not someone to mess off with. Also, the Mighty Thor (yeah, one of my favorite superheroes of all time) recovers is God-like status, so he's not fucking around when you see him take the lead. I guess, this comes directly as a result of the wonderful Thor Ragnarok movie. In addition, Captain America and his bad-ass team have one of the coolest introduction scenes in the film. 

Not on our watch!

Space Ego V/S Tech Ego.

On the other hand, the female characters feel like they're on a "side quest" rather than part of the big fight. A disappointment considering how many fans these characters have. There's not a single scene (save for one but, nope, not spoiling it here) where they feel truly relevant. Also, I couldn't believe the scene where Black Widow returns to the screen is actually by walking towards a background showing her perfect rounded ass (I mean, isn't that sexist for today's standards?). Same thing happens with Scarlet Witch's breasts here and there.  In addition, the excessive amount of "fan service" feels a bit too much at times. Another minor issue I had, was the fact that some characters personalities were changed in order to fit into the bigger picture when there was no need in doing so. Moreover, the exhausting use of CGI goes entirely against the "painful and dramatic" motif the film has been drawing us into from start to finish. Do computers cry?.

Also, the climax feels a bit too much on the side of the old exploitation tricks 70's films relied on to keep their fans entertained. If you're a comic book reader, you know that nothing is sacred, and that nothing is impossible so, the cliffhanger was a big meh, because you know what will inevitably happen in the sequel. Cheap trick Marvel!, cheap trick.

I could use a hand.

The new Guardians of the Galaxy?

And last but not least, a couple of big downers the film had:
 

How powerful are Thanos abilites? because in one scene he fucking beats the crap out of one of the most powerful MCU characters and later he's punching and kicking far weaker characters that don't seem to be that hurt and disabled after the fight.

And one example of stupidity: When the antagonist is almost beaten, the most stupid thing takes place in order to serve an onion thick plot, and well, now I fucking hate that character.

If I was to rate the film I'd say an 8/10 if watched as it should be: a part of a bigger film collection, and a 5/10 as a standalone film due to the lack of a great many things and a gigantic CGI overuse and video-game like sequences. If I had to rate purely for fun, I'd say the film is a bold 10/10 and probably the film of 2018.  

The film in a single sentence? "Genocide is a good thing".

Here's the movie trailer collection:

Trailer #2:

Trailer #1:

And the red carpet show:

Street Fighter II V

The OVA returns in the shape of a series.

Continuing with our tribute to the Street Fighter video-game franchise, we start where we left off in our previous entry: Street Fighter II V AKA Street Fighter II Victory, the remake/folllow-up animated series that came right after the successful OVA from 1994.
 

Directed by Gisaburo Sugii, who also directed Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, the series first aired in Japan in 1995, from April 10 to November 27, on YTV. An English adaptation of the series was produced by Manga Entertainment in 1996 and was originally released on home video in North America and shown on television on SBS in Australia before being released on VHS (and later DVD) by Madman Entertainment. 

The Animé is a loose adaptation of the Super Street Fighter II Turbo videogame, taking several liberties with the established storyline and characters from the games. The show takes place during the present time of 1995 and follows the adventures of the seventeen-year-old martial arts masters Ryu and Ken, as they go through a journey to improve their fighting potential after they both experienced a brutal defeat at the hands of Guile. During the course of the series, Ryu and Ken become acquainted with other Street Fighter characters such as Chun-Li, Fei Long, Sagat, and Dhalsim. Eventually the duo find themselves involved with the criminal syndicate Shadowlaw, led by M. Bison, after defeating one of their subordinate organizations.

Ken & Ryu, united by friendship and martial arts.

...And 90's clothing?.

I was practically raised by Arcade Centers and the Nintendo NES & Super Nintendo in the late 80's & early 90's, like most of you reading this. And like you and me, the world fell in love with Street Fighter II. I love Street Fighter!. I have been a fan for a long time. When this show came out, I was pretty young at the time. Now, thanks to the modern technology of the DVD, I can enjoy them all over again.

It's funny that when you look at something from your childhood, it has a profound difference now than it did then. This comes into play with Street Fighter II V. First, this show is pretty violent. I mean, really violent for a kids television show. it is also very mature, and that may put off some viewers. Some examples would be when Ryu is falsely convicted for drug smuggling. he is beaten by the prison warden who repeatedly screams for Ryu to scream. Viewers 14 and up will realize that he gets some kind of sex thrill out of this, but younger viewers will not. 

Guile & Chun-Li are here too.

And so is Dhalsim.

The story is a major diversion from the actual video game. Ryu gets a letter from Ken to come to America, and he does. During his first night, they both get thrashed by Guile, and so they decide to travel the world in search of new fighting techniques. They first stop in Hong Kong, where they meet Chun Li, who will be their tour guide. After some fights and some escaping and more fighting, Ryu, Ken, and Chun Li discover the evil Shadaloo organization and it's leader, M. Bison.

Okay. Not exactly the video game, but a pretty straight-forward concept.

All the characters you know and love, with a few alterations to their character profiles, and with the exception of a small few, are present. Ryu and Ken battle and defeat them all.

It should be pointed out that while the concept is incredibly simple, the story lines are uniformly well done. Each episode packs enough interest and action to keep you entertained well into the 29th episode. I found myself so enthralled with the Vega vs. Ken episode that I was unable to believe a whole half hour had passed by. But that's where we come to a major complaint.

Fight or be defeated!

Never trust a Spanish guy in a mask.

The opening credits. While the opening cinematic is nice, and you get a great feel of the show and the kick-ass soundtrack in place, it is overly long. As well as the closing credits. Together, I would estimate that they take up around 5 to 6 minutes. Not to gripe, but that is pretty long. Plus, you also have to count in the lengthy "in our last show" and "in our next show" segments.

Another small complaint are the characters. Not to poke fun at Japanese anime, but some of these characters are of different nationalities than just Japanese, so they shouldn't look Japanese. Also, some may have a small complaint about the way each character was handled. this is a small complaint (Such as the lack of an eye patch on a certain fighter. You all know who I'm talking about), and shouldn't detract from the overall quality of the show.

Plotwise, SF II V is pretty much the OVA's plot: M. Bison is looking for a way to either steal the abilities from the best world fighters or to take control over them. In the OVA, Ken is captured and re-programmed to serve under M. Bison's evil organization, while here well, he does the same thing twice: First by turning Chun-Li "evil" and then by doing the same to Ryu (some say the evil Ryu concept seen in Street Fighter Alpha 2 and later games was actually taken from here). Of course, all of these events taken place once the series is halfway through, so you get to see a lot of fighting around the world until our heroes meet the Shadaloo first hand.

Cammy's back but, on whose side is she this time?

Bison is a bad motherfucker.

Being a made for TV Animé the violence, fan service and nudity have been cut down to an extreme minimum compared to the previous year OVA. 

The only Street Fighter II characters missing from this entire series are Dee Jay, E. Honda, T. Hawk and Blanka. The show also had original characters such as Damdo, Detective Dorai, Eden, Kikun, Kokuja, Lo Yang, Ortega, Rinko, Sodom & Gomorrah, Yo Senkai and Zoltar. However, T. Hawk briefly appears in the Japanese intro, hinting that he was considered to appear in the series at some point. In addition, Akuma can be seen in many cameos throughout the entire series.

For those that are not familiar with the Japanese language. Ryu's name is pronounced (Ree-you), not (Rye-you). Also Ryu is a direct translation meaning Dragon in Japanese, thus making Ken's and Ryu's signature move Sho-ryu-ken literally translating Rising Dragon Punch. 

Promo art from the series and the 90's attire the characters would wear.

All in all. Yes, the show is for children, and naturally filled with clichéd antics and cheesy dialogue. But most can take pride in the fact that the franchise is handled so well in this anime show, and not torn through the ground like so many other tie-ins (I'm looking at you Super Mario Bros: the Movie). 

Here's the international opening:

Here's the Japanese opening:

Here's the international ending:

Here's the Japanese ending:

The Manga Video SF II V promo video: