MCU: Phase 2 - Branching Out and Adding On

Here we are, just one week away from the opening of Avengers: Infinity War, and I'm losing my mind every day, you know, in that quiet way where all anyone notices of it is a small twitch or sudden giggle for no reason. Yeah. Like that.

So it's time to do my "short" analysis of Phase 2 MCU movies (if you missed my Phase 1 post, you can read it here). 

Sequels to movies have a sordid history, usually as failed copies of the original movie. Sometimes they are a bridge to something better, typically the third part of a trilogy. While I won't claim that Phase 2 fits into either one of these categories, I will note that it has a connection to one very famous sequel: Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back.

Phase 2 pays homage to one of Empire's most iconic moments: the severing of Luke Skywalker's hand. This moment (and its subsequent line "I am your father"), has been referenced and parodied in almost every way imaginable, but Marvel decided to do something special: 

In every movie of Phase 2, someone loses an arm. 

I'm certain I'm not the only one excited about the upcoming Incredibles 2. The original remains one of my favorites. Here's the official trailer just released. Enjoy!

MCU: Phase 1 - Getting to Know All About You

Avengers: Infinity War is upon us. It's been a decade since the MCU came into being, and it's all been leading up to this moment. That's right. Infinity Wars was always a kind of end game in getting the Marvel Cinematic Universe going. Getting to this point is why Iron Man started back in 2008; it's the reason for the entire series of movies. And, oh, what a ride.

I, for one, am ridiculously excited about this. In fact, to prepare for the upcoming movie, I've been subjecting my family to a re-watch of all movies preceding Infinity War since the beginning of April in preparation. I have seen each of these movies more than three times each (most of them way more than that), so I didn't expect anything out of it walking in. Still, I had my trusty "Movie Notes" Reporter Moleskine at the ready and, as usual, I couldn't help jotting down the many impressions that arise when I see these surprisingly high quality movies. Rather than do an intense study of each one (that's rainy day work, my friends), I decided to do a re-cap of each Phase leading up to A:IW with some of the thoughts that popped into my head this time around weaving with themes I'd already explored on previous viewings. Suffice it to say, if you've never heard of the movies...well, you've been living in the quantum realm...but you should by now. Even Kamar-Taj has internet. But really, you should see the movies before reading this. There's still time to get them all watched before Infinity War if you start now. Go ahead. I'll wait...

Back? Good.

First, I think it's worth noting that this hasn't ever been done before. I don't mean sequels to movies, nor do I mean a series of films planned ahead of time. It's the scale that's been accomplished that is impressive. With few breaks in production (and those only early on), the Marvel Cinematic Universe managed to pull off 18 movies in 10 years, and the upcoming Avengers 3rd installment seeks to contain most of over 75 characters introduced since Iron Man.

Furthermore, this cohesiveness inspired the DCEU to follow suit, a venture that has had quite a few bumps along the way, but may finally be settling into it's own with Wonder Woman and Justice League. But we're not here to talk about DC. So let's get on with the show...

Groundhog Day: A Movie About Second Chances...and Third...and 432nd...

In older times, tribes, villages, and towns, followed the seasons using nature's cues as to when to perform certain duties. Observing when certain plants appeared, or herds of animals migrated into or out of the area were a clock different than the hands that meter out every second of our modern day. It worked rather well; those kinds of deadlines actually meant something - because knowing when to plant crops meant the difference between eating and dying - whereas today...well, a lot of times we're just counting down the seconds until...what, exactly? Until the next presentation? Or sale? Or disturbingly short vacation time? Do you ever wonder if we're doing it wrong? If we lost something in our fervor to move on from the past? After all, the rest of nature had been getting by with those same clocks for millennia.

Now, sure, these observations get a little bit iffy, and at some point in the past, perfectly logical reasoning can often become insane ritual. Through the co-opting of tradition by conquering religions and cultures (not to mention the times when the past simply got it wrong), time can whittle away any sense of the past's logic and beauty till it appears ridiculous and comical, a grotesquerie of what it once was.

...And that's how you get to the point where you use rodents to tell you when winter will end. That's right. It's Groundhog Day. But Groundhog day may be more magical than we think.

Winter Movies: A Course in Survival

Well...it's over. The holidays and the mad rush that accompanies the last three months of the year, have given up the ghost for another nine months. The sparkly lights come down, the tree heads to the curb or the closet. And the elation and stress of the new year ebbs into a post-holiday malaise. 

Now, come this time, you fall into one of two categories:

• You love winter and will happily wallow in the icy darkness for its remaining months
• You've been wishing it was spring since October

I know of at least two people who may not have made it this far because they hate, nay, revile, winter so much. Perhaps next year, I will do a list of "warming" movies to get those folks through winter, but this year, I'm focusing on the wallowers. So, if winter makes you think of bleak cabins in the mountains, AT-ATs destroying shield generators, and gothic noir...and that doesn't depress you, read on....