Pop Culture Guy episode 45: Top 10 Film Moments of 2017

Avengers: Infinity War

The culmination of ten years with over a dozen and a half films, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been rocked by the events shown in Avengers: Infinity War. Thanos travels all over the universe in search of the Infinity Stones to fit them in and use the Infinity Gauntlet so as to wipe out half of existence in order to balance out the universe. He attacks Thor and his people right after Thor: Ragnarok, sacrifices his greatest love, fights several of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy in his own planet, and invades Wakanda. The cast for this film is huge as it has most of the cast members from most of the past films, with some exceptions that are explained right away, and they all do a good job at not outshining each other and providing equally good performances. With the Russo brothers replacing Joss Whedon as the directors of an Avengers film, they provide the same feel and tone as the films they previously did. Even though the film is over two and a half hours it actually feels longer due to so many events happening and how seamless one scene goes from another and that hopefully the next one will be even longer to capture just how epic it will be due to how such an incredible but heartbreaking ending the film had. Infinity War has the perfect mix and use of comedy, drama, tragedy, and excitement and lays the ground for various changes to the future of the MCU. Even though not all of the characters get to meat each other, the ones that do all form really fun team ups. Thanos, as played by Josh Brolin, is so compelling as a villain and despite knowing what he plans to do you almost agree with his methods as he doesn't do it to rule all over existence or wants revenge, but does it to prevent what he sees as a greater catastrophe. Both the ending and post credit scenes are just as important since they foreshadow a greater scope for the next films. Over all: 100%

2018 top list so far:
1. Avengers: Infinity War

2. A Quiet Place
3. Black Panther
4. Ready Player One
5. Isle of Dogs

6. Game Night
7. Thoroughbreds

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #6

In the last issue of the sequel crossover, Batman and the Turtles fight against Bane and his forces with the help of Batman's and the Turtle's allies as well as Shredder and the Foot soldiers still loyal to him. The fight scenes are well animated and the plan the team come up with to weaken Bane's forces is well done. Seeing Batman, Splinter, and Shredder fighting against, weakening and taking down Bane is awesome to look at. One note I didn't like is that in order to get Shredder to fight with them, Batman agreed to a quick fight between the two and that his armor was tampered with so that he would lose. I get that it had to be quick so as to fight Bane, I just feel that it's something that either Batman or Splinter would be against. But even with that one flaw, this and the rest of Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II is a great sequel and crossover that matches the original. Over all: 100%
Top list so far for 2nd set of comics:
1. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5
2. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #6
3. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #4
4. Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 #1
5. Wonder Woman Free Comic Book Day 2017 Special Edition (2017-) issue #1
6. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #2
7. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1
8. Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #92: Planet Hulk Part One
9. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #3
10. Tate's Not At Comic Con Local Indy Anthology #8

Isle of Dogs

Directed and written by Wes Anderson, Isle of Dogs is a stop-motion animated comedy film set in a near-future Japan where the majority have decided to send all dogs to an island due to a recent virus outbreak that originated from them and one child landing on the island to look for his dog. Isle of Dogs contains voice work from numerous actors including Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Bryan Cranston, Tilda Swinton, Liev Schreiber, Greta Gerwig, Yoko Ono, and several others including various Japanese actors. The animation and visuals are all vibrant and beautiful, especially the use of Japanese art style and architecture. As usual for a Wes Anderson film, the story is told in such a unique and at times quirky way that it's hard to not love it. The voice acting by everyone involved, especially the Japanese, makes you forget you're watching fake dogs and that they could be real. As for the dialogue itself, it's classic Anderson that could fit into any of his other movies, even non animated ones. It does have one huge problem in that even though it has a lot of Japanese influence, some of the Japanese culture and people are at times played in an over the top manner as well as how one of the main human characters is a white foreign exchange student from America who helps in taking down a corrupt government official. Even with that, the film is a delight especially as it's an animated film that isn't afraid to use its PG-13 rating and prove that animation isn't just for little kids. Over all: 95%

2018 top list so far:
1. A Quiet Place
2. Black Panther
3. Ready Player One
4. Isle of Dogs

5. Game Night
6. Thoroughbreds

A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place is a science-fiction horror film directed by John Krasinski who stars alongside his wife, Emily Blunt, and is produced by Michael Bay and his production company, Platinum Dunes. The film centers on a family surviving in an Earth that has been invaded by aliens who rely on sound due to having no eyes and have to go day by day in trying to make as little noise as possible in order to avoid them. Krasinski and Blunt play a married couple with children who have managed to stay alive due to the fact that they already knew sign language as one of their children is deaf and have been able to communicate with each other since the invasion. Due to how sensitive the alien's hearing is most of the film has no dialogue and a lot of the sound is natural and what you expect in an abandoned town, the forest, waterfall, and other such natural noises that the family must be careful not to make louder. The performances of both the leads and the children is really good, especially since the actress who plays the deaf daughter is actually deaf. Well paced and with really good scares, every time there's a noise that you don't expect or causes a much louder noise than usual is one of the best ways to get your blood pumping due to not knowing whether the aliens will be drawn by the noise and where they will come from as they are fast and mainly silent until they get close. The aliens themselves have a very spider like design and a part of their heads can be removed to reveal a large ear like thing that they use to pick up the faintest of sounds. This is a horror film that proves that even with a PG-13 rating, you can still be terrified and surprised by what they have without relying on a ton amount of gore and violence. One complain I do have is that the deaf daughter is kept from going downstairs to the basement of their home and it's never explained why. The ending where they figure out how to defeat the aliens and ends on the family about to attack back in a cliffhanger was awesome. Over all: 100%
2018 top list so far:
1. A Quiet Place
2. Black Panther
3. Ready Player One
4. Game Night
5. Thoroughbreds

Ready Player One

Steven Spielberg directs Ready Player One, which is based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Cline, and stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, and Ben Mendelsohn. The film is set in a dystopian future of Earth in 2045, wherein the majority of the population escape from the problems of the real world by playing a virtual reality world, OASIS, wherein they could interact with other players and play as well known and playing levels based on numerous pop culture elements based on what the creator loves, like driving the Adam West Batmobile or playing as the Iron Giant. Ready Player One's main story deals with the death of the creator and how he left a game in his digital world wherein if anyone wins it will win full ownership of the world and the company that runs it. The whole point of this film is a love letter to both our love of pop culture as well as our obsession with the concept of easter eggs and trying to find references to other things as they are cleverly hidden. Much like last year's Lego Batman, this film's greatest aspect is its clever use of references to various forms of pop culture such as movies, video games, shows, comic books, and other forms of media. While it's fun to see people making themselves look like well beloved characters like Joker and Hello Kitty and use well known gadgets and weapons such as Mechagodzilla and the bike from Akira, sometimes it can be a little bit too much of pop culture references and at times distracting. The performances are all really good, especially from Mark Rylance who plays his character as very nervous and somewhat socially awkward, and the effects are really beautiful. Steven Spielberg's direction is, as always, a delight and the best choice to direct due to his long and incredible contribution to pop culture even if he chose not to put references to his own films. While it's fun to see so many references and that many of the characters have a deep love for pop culture and that's what helps them win, the way the film depicts them at time can be a bit overdone and kind of mocking. A very silly thing throughout the movie is that Cooke's character has a birthmark on one side of her face and she fears people mocking her for it, and my problem is that you barely ever notice it and with certain lighting it's barely there. While flawed, this film is just fun all around and makes you wish that we all could access the OASIS. Over all: 95%
2018 top list so far:
1. Black Panther
2. Ready Player One
3. Game Night
4. Thoroughbreds

Pop Culture Guy episode 44: Black Panther and Game Night reviews

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5 begins some time after the fourth issue with the juiced up Don taking down several of Bane's forces by himself, even when they've also been enhanced by the Venom. Batman and Leo have to convince him to not use the stuff by reminding him how his genius and intellect is his best quality, while an injured Splinter is taken to Batman's universe to be healed by a Lazarus Pit, all while Bane takes over most of Manhattan. As with the previous issues, the artwork is fantastic and well detailed, the drama is well written and executed, the characters are all true to past works, and the comedy is done at the right places. Much like the previous issue and its surprising and powerful cliffhanger ending, this issue manages to top it by having Batman break into Shredder's prison cell with his suit to get his help to defeat Bane. Despite not showing Batman's face beneath his mask, one can tell that he's thinking this as a last resort and the desperation of trusting such a dangerous character. Over all: 100%
Top list so far for 2nd set of comics:
1. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5
2. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #4
3. Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 #1
4. Wonder Woman Free Comic Book Day 2017 Special Edition (2017-) issue #1
5. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #2
6. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1
7. Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #92: Planet Hulk Part One
8. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #3
9. Tate's Not At Comic Con Local Indy Anthology #8