#don'tspoiltheendgame

Is that how the hashtag works? *whispers* I'm actually not very social media savvy...

This post is a review/reaction to Avengers: Endgame, which I saw a little over a week ago. Me, my brother, my fiance, and a group of our friends all went to see it together, which was a lot of fun...despite waiting in line for like two hours! Anyhoo, it was...pretty much what I expected. Not all of it was what I expected. But the basic gist was exactly what we knew was coming. 

Now, I'm going to TRY MY HARDEST not to give you any spoilers, so if this review seems somewhat vague, then that's why! Here we go: 

Plot: 

There isn't a whole lot about the plot itself I can say without ruining everything for those who have not seen the film. I guess I can say this much: it's an Avengers movie.  The team (the original six who were left after everybody got dusted in Infinity War) is setting out to save the world, as is their habit. Now, I'm not going to tell you if they succeed or not. But overall, this film's plot serves to end an era that has lasted about 11 years, and to "pass the torches" on to the next generation of superheroes, so to speak. It was a well-woven and well-executed plot that pulled everything together neatly. 

Characters: 

These are the characters that we know and love. Arcs are completed, time goes on, and really, these people are the reason that moviegoers (myself included) love the films so much and are so invested in the story. Robert Downey Jr. was (as always) stellar, and will always be my favorite as Iron Man/Tony Stark. Steve Rogers finally got rid of that beard he had in Infinity War, which I appreciated, and his character was an excellent, worthy leader of their "army" against Thanos and company. Thor...was great.  He was not what I expected (no spoilers!) but still great. And probably the most lighthearted of the three. 

As far as those outside "the big three" go, I really liked Natasha/Black Widow more than I have before in other movies. I think her character, as well as Clint/Hawkeye's, was developed a lot and made perhaps less shallow. Bruce/the Hulk was his scientific, soft-spoken self. All of our other friends in this film are great, but nothing different than they always are. 

Now, here's an unpopular opinion...I was irritated by Carol/Captain Marvel. SUPREMELY irritated. I mean, sure, she has cool skills, sure, she's powerful, sure, I'm FINE with her joining the team--it's her flippant, stuck-up attitude and utter self-centered-ness that I simply cannot stand! I believe that the basic gist of her attitude is this: "You all better be glad I came to help, cause you would have died without me. Yeah, Thanos would never have happened if I was here, but I'm going back to space because I have other responsibilities back there." *puts nose in air and screams about feminism*

Okay, okay, I could be overreacting. I haven't seen Captain Marvel so I could be completely wrong. But, as a woman myself, I can honestly say that the amount of pure radical feminist agenda that emanates from Brie Larson's acting of her character makes me want to throw up. Sure, go ahead and fight, be a strong woman, but don't be all trying to make a point! I don't care if you've got other responsibilities in space, but there is NO CALL to treat the old team, the team that has won their places in our hearts and has reached a bar of achievement that you never will, the way that you do??? How RUDE! To quote Mr. Knightley, "That woman is so full of herself I'm surprised she can stay up on that horse!" 

Okay, enough ranting. On to the next category. 

Film Quality/Aesthetic: 

Excellent as always. Produced wonderfully, good acting, good music...just a very enjoyable thing to see and listen to. There are lots of little visual and mentioned references to the past movies, and picking up on those was really fun to do! Well done. 

Content:

This is, content-wise, about on par with all of Marvel's other movies. I'd check the IMDb page (which I linked to up earlier in the post) for very specifics, but I'd just say that there is some language comparable to their other films, as well as the violence level. It is much more emotionally heavy than a lot of the MCU movies, as I learned from the girl violently sobbing behind me in the theater (which conveniently made me laugh, therefore preventing me from crying...because it WAS very sad!), and there are many moments of hopelessness or grim helplessness. 

There is one moment when Steve is sitting with a group of dudes, maybe talking about life after the snap, and one man mentions going on a date with another man, which makes Steve start a big spiel about "baby steps" and putting their lives back together. The gay dude was totally just thrown in there for the company to be lauded for showing it, but it is there nonetheless. A lot of people thought it was Bruce Banner, but have no fear, it is not.

All in all, I would recommend age 16+ to view this movie without any Clearplay or skipping or what-have-you. 

Overall: 

Personally, I enjoyed this movie. I thought it was a fitting end to a saga, and even though it marks that end, there is no other way that it should have ended, in my opinion. It's kind of the same feeling as the end of Lord of the Rings (not quite as fantastic, of course, but similar to that), when everything is over and done, Frodo is sailing away, and we know we can never come back. It's a terrible, heartbreaking feeling, but at the same time, one of content and perfect satisfaction with the ending that we have. 

An era has ended. There is no post-credits scene. And the torch has been passed. 

Part of the journey is the end. 

The Greatest Showman (2017)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1485796/

By all of my usual standards, I should have hated this movie. In fact, I have a list of reasons that I normally would hate it: 

• Predictable
• Somewhat cheesy at times
• Repetitive music style
• I don't usually like musicals
• There were some moments that felt kinda feminazi (with Lettie, the bearded lady) 
• Barnum left his wife and kids and went on a tour with the Jenny instead
• A little historically inaccurate
• Very unrealistic

So many reasons that I should have been disgusted and thrown the film in my pile of "well I'm never watching that again" movies.

AND YET....

There's something about it that is captivating. There is so much pure ENERGY and EXCITEMENT that just exudes from the screen to the audience. This movie is full of SOUL, and you can tell that it was made with lots of genuine effort and enthusiasm. It's exhilarating, in a way, to watch. As a musician, it makes me "feel" the spotlight, so to speak. That adrenaline, heart-racing, thrilling moment that leaves you breathless--you're terrified beforehand, shaky and relieved afterward, but in the moment? In the moment, all you feel is that pure and un-defiled ENERGY coursing through you. That's what this movie felt like. Now, on to the actual reviewing: 

Film Quality/Aesthetic:

Stunning. The group dance numbers and all the choreography was beautiful. The visual aspect of the movie was, overall, very lovely and well done. It was unique and lovely, in a really exciting way. (Also how can you Not Like the amazing song and dance skills?) 

Characters:

Not too complicated, not too simple. They were easy to like and sympathize with, and all well-portrayed. 

Content:

Not too much to warn against, actually. There is one song that uses a repeated expletive but you can pretend that they say "now" instead--it sounds basically the same. There is some drinking, but it is mainly used as a percussive effect in a couple of the songs. Naturally, there are leotard-wearing women in the circus, but nothing seems gratuitous or over-the-top. 


Plot:

It is very predictable at times, and not the deepest or most profound plot, but it's still decent. I mean, it's a musical, what do you expect, a Charles Dickens plot??? As far as musicals go, it was good. 

Overall Impressions: 

Like I said, I should have hated this movie. But there was just something very strong in the way that it was presented that made me not discard it as just another old musical. I really don't know how to summarize it.  It's almost as if I have logically weighed my opinion and decided that I don't WANT to like this movie, but I would still like to watch it again. I'm reluctantly captivated. 

Marvel Movies 2008-2018

I think I was always aware of the Marvel hype in the media as movie after movie came out and posters filled the grocery stores. But I never actually watched any of the movies until last summer, when I immediately realized "wow these are actually really good" and commenced to watch all but three of them since July 2018...

After watching all of those, I have finally now decided to give each of them a little mini-review, but keep all the reviews in this one post covering the movies from 2008-2018 (except for The Incredible Hulk and the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies; I have not seen those so naturally they are excluded). I'm rating each film based on QUALITY (my reaction to the film) and CONTENT. For content, I would suggest you check the IMDb parents' guide, since my memory is faulty and that way you know exactly what is in it, but I am just giving a general idea of how old I would recommend viewers to be in order to see these without Clearplay or another filtering service. The titles are all linked to the IMDb pages for each respective film.

And so...in what (I think) is chronological order, here we go!

Captain America: The First Avenger

Quality: 

I loved this one. The WWII context was really well portrayed, and, as we are first introduced to Steve, Bucky, Peggy, and the Stark family, I think they did a great job of helping us really get to know the characters and the historical context behind some of them. Also, Small Steve is quite amusing...or at least I thought so! I enjoyed the friendship between Steve, Bucky, and their other buddies...though soldier buddies always make me happy...

Content:

This is a war movie. It feels more like a World War II film than a superhero film at some times, but the two meld together pretty well. Since it is a war movie it gets a little intense at times, but I would probably rate it age 16+

Iron Man

Quality:

This...has to my my favorite Iron Man film. As much of a terrible playboy self-centered jerk Tony Stark is, I cannot help but love his character and constantly root for him. I think that part of why I like Tony/Iron Man so much is because his powers didn't come from a serum, or a radioactive accident, or were magically granted him--he needed that arc reactor to keep his heart going and stay alive, and used his brain and his imagination to save his life and then turned right back around to try and help the people that he had previously been hurting.  There is something of an underdog story in Tony, even though he's a famous, genius billionaire. Also, Robert Downey Jr...is SUPERB in this role. I know it's been said thousands of times already, but he was absolutely perfect as Iron Man. He portrayed a character who should never be likeable (based on his attitude and actions) as someone that everyone adores, which, I imagine, is hard to do. Anyway. It was a great film. 

Content: 

This one I watched with someone who knew where the *one ubiquitous scene that must be skipped to preserve decency* was, so we skipped that. Check out the IMDb page to get the details on content, but personally I would prefer not to watch that 10-second scene that they HAD to put in there to depict what a womanizer Tony is (was), and I don't think it is necessary to include. However, this was the start of the franchise, and, unfortunately, adding that scene sells the movie to some people. Aside from that scene, I would say probably 16+ for this film. 

Iron Man 2

Quality: 

I did not enjoy this one as much as IM1, but it was still decent. It addresses the question (for Tony) "what would you do if you had only a week to live?" Naturally, he lives it up, being a billionaire with a special flying suit that he can play with whenever he wants. Also, he eats lots of doughnuts, apparently. (Because, honestly, how else do you cope with a bad chemical spreading throughout your body and slowly killing you?) Naturally, this movie deals with the aftermath from the first one, now that Tony is Iron Man and has to keep up appearances while he is actually dying. He doesn't tell anyone (not even Pepper) that he is dying, and it takes a visit from the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (Nick Fury and Natasha Romanoff) to get him to stop flying around and sitting in giant donuts. Although Tony is a little bit (again) of a jerk in this one, he does turn things around once again at the end. And he saves the world again, as well as finding a way to save his own life, so that's good. 

Content: 

My biggest complaint is the way that Tony "lives it up," so to speak. He knows he's dying, so he throws a huge party in which he 1. abuses his use of the Iron Man suit and makes it into entertainment. 2. doesn't listen to Pepper or to Rhodey, who know that he needs help and try to stop him from shaming himself so publicly. 3. is rather drunk. 4. has a lot of women around in this party. I felt that there were a bit too many women in this film, and they all seemed to be very flirty and seductive. I don't think that's right. In one way, it does serve to characterize Tony and is (thankfully) not portrayed as a good thing, but really? The audience doesn't need to see all this. Also, Natasha's character is MUCH more flirty in this than in any of the Avengers films, which was disappointing to me. I liked her alright in the rest of the films, but in this one she didn't have as fleshed out of a character. I would say maybe 17+ for this one.

Thor

Quality: 

Now, while the Iron Man and Captain America franchises are good because of the story and the plots, the characters and stuff, the Thor films are just plain FUN. They have a much more fantasy/sci-fi feel to them, much less realistic and maybe easier to just sit back and relax, enjoy the ride, if you know what I mean. I absolutely love the sibling (well...adopted sibling) dynamic between Thor and Loki, in all 3 films. I think that's my favorite part. They hate each other (well, Loki hates Thor), they fight and yell and scream at each other, but at the end of the day? You know they'll end up helping each other out. 

Content: 

I felt like the only thing that kind of annoyed me was that they HAD to get a shirtless scene in where Thor's amazing muscles are somewhat objectified. 

*grumbles*

*stands on soap box*

THIS IS UNNECESSARY

*jumps down*

Age? I would say maybe 14+

The Avengers

Quality: 

This is one of my favorites. The solo movies of different heroes are good, but when they're all together??? That's the best. They save the world through the power of friendship. (Well, not really...) But I just like this one a lot; it establishes characters and themes, introduces us to people, and really sets up way more of the universe than we have seen in the previous films. The interaction of a team of such different people is amusing, I think, and the villain is convincing (well, most of Marvel's villains are convincing, but that struck me the first time I watched it). 

Content: 

Personally, I don't feel like there's too much that anyone 14+ could not handle. Again, check the IMDb parents' guide for details. 

Iron Man 3

Quality: 

So...this is mainly a movie about Tony dealing with the PTSD from what happened in The Avengers, and, in my opinion, they did a great job of showing that on film. I really appreciated his friendship with Rhodey and how everyone is TRYING to help him--even the little boy Harley, who he befriends while stranded in the middle of Tennessee. This movie kind of took Tony back to the beginning--stranded alone with hardly anything to get himself out of a jam, until Harley says "why don't you just build something?" and Tony finally gets himself together and goes to face the Mandarin (a terrorist-like villain), reclaim Pepper, and stop the bombs that are detonating across the country. 

Content: 

The whole "terrorist" and bombing stuff is a little dark and disturbing. Trying not to give much away, it turns out that the true mastermind is someone experimenting with turning human beings into explosives--human bombs with bodies that rebuild themselves eventually. These human bombs are a little gruesome to watch, and there's a lot of death and exploding stuff in this one. There are still girls running around suggestively in this, although THANK GOODNESS Tony has FINALLY got himself together and doesn't seem distracted by them, with eyes only for Pepper, though they still aren't married, which is a little frustrating. Check the IMDb page--I would say 17+ for this one. 

Thor: The Dark World

(So what's the deal, there are countless memes about this, but this scene isn't even in the movie is it?)

Quality: 

I did not enjoy this as much as the first Thor movie. It was decent, and entertaining, but it just seemed very predictable in plot. Also, I am not a fan of Natalie Portman (there, I said it...an unpopular opinion but I DO NOT like her acting! I've seen her in several films and didn't like her in any of them), and she's a HUGE part of this film, which annoys me. SHE annoys me. *grumbles* However, this was still worth watching. There are some hilarious bits, mostly when Thor and Loki are bantering--honestly, they could do away with all the evil threats and Jane's sciency stuff, just give me a movie which is entirely the brothers bantering and bickering, and I'd watch it gladly! 

Content: 

YES we get it...Thor is one muscular dude! NO we do not need another shirtless scene to verify that! 

Actually it's not as objectifying as the first movie, I'm just fed up with it. Ahem. Anyway, aside from that,  a news report plays on the TVs throughout the movie of a crazy man who runs around without clothes--it's censored/pixelated like you would see on TV but kind of an "eye-roll they didn't really need that" moment. I would say 15+ on this one--Jane's (intern? friend? distant cousin?) Darcy is a bit of a potty-mouth, but in her defense there are portals appearing between different worlds, which I'm sure is shocking. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Quality: 

This...this was sad. I LOVED IT.  I thought it was VERY good, probably better than the first Captain America movie. I thought that the return of Bucky was pretty amazing, and giving insight to his captivity and the way that he was tortured/brainwashed into submission...VERY poignant, or at least I think so. (But then again I have a soft spot for characters like Bucky Barnes. Always have...)

Content: 

This one is a bit more violent than most of the other Marvel movies. It's not gory, but the sheer amount of hand-to-hand, close range combat (as well as the ruthless, silent violence that The Winter Soldier and his men inflict) is pretty intense. Natasha (who is MUCH better in this than she was in IM2) and Steve don't seem to try to spare anyone pain, they just bash their way through in whatever way possible. There is a very emotional death scene that takes place during an emergency surgery, which was very stressful--not graphic, just stressful. Natasha kisses Steve (which was WEIRD for everyone but okay) in order to provide a disguise, and teases him about finding him a girlfriend, but I think that the thing to take into consideration the most is the sheer violence. I would say probably 17+ on this one. 

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Quite possibly my favorite lines....

Quality:

I don't remember this one as well as I would like, actually. I remember liking it but being VERY frustrated with both Tony Stark and Bruce Banner for creating Ultron. "Oh there's no way this could go wrong."  COME ON GUYS. Aside from that, I liked it. I liked Hawkeye's family/home a lot and it made me happy to see that he actually has a wife and kids, cause when are there actual superheroes who have a wife and kids? Anyway, I liked that. Also, the new characters of Pietro and Wanda are really cool, and Vision...well...he's basically just Google as a person. He's okay. But I think this was a great follow-up to the first Avengers film. 

Content:

I saw this one with Clearplay, so check IMDb for content.

Ant-Man

Quality:

Meh. This was my least favorite. It was "okay" but not that great, I could take it or leave it. Very predictable. I did like Scott's relationship with his daughter Cassie, that was very sweet. But Hope's HAIRCUT! Ugh...I'm sooo glad they changed that in the second one. 

Content:

There was a bit too much casual language in this for my taste. I get that the main characters were mostly in jail for a time and lived a rough life, but still...anyway, I don't really know what age I'd recommend this for...maybe 16+? 

Captain America: Civil War

Quality: 

This is a very frustrating and irritating movie, but I still loved watching it. I know there are LOTS of people who hate it, and yeah, the whole "two superheroes fighting each other" isn't my favorite thing, but you know, I still liked the movie. We got to meet T'Challa (aka Black Panther), who was super-cool, we brought Bucky back, and we met Spiderman as well! I am still torn between Team Cap and Team Iron Man...I have always liked Iron Man better than Captain America, but the thing is that with this particular argument I fall somewhere between the two. I don't want them to sign the Sokovia Accords (and thereby side with the UN, which lots of people hate, though I'm not going to start any political discussions here), and I don't want them to run around like vigilantes, but I want them to be able to go on a quest to bring Bucky back and stay superheroes...so yeah, I'm in the middle. Spiderman was HILARIOUS and very well portrayed, and I thought that even though it was kinda sad to have all the friends teaming up against each other, the movie itself was really well done and worth watching.

Content:

This one I also saw with Clearplay...so I leave it to your discretion. 

Spiderman: Homecoming

Quality: 

Okay, so my family and I were on a kick of watching the animated Spectacular Spiderman series, which was really cheesy but really fun...watching this as a follow-up to that was interesting, just to compare the different incarnations of Spiderman. We had also just seen Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and that is honestly one of my favorites, but I will say that Tom Holland's Spiderman is a really good version. He did a great job portraying a superhero who is also a believable teenager, who does stupid things and doesn't really know what he's doing. It was very fun. And of course, since I'm a sucker for father/son relationships (or father figure taking a son figure under his wing), I loved the interaction that Spidey had with Tony Stark. Very nice.

Content: 

Well, all I can say is that they portrayed high-schoolers decently well. They talk trash about each other, tease Peter Parker and the most rude (and somewhat inappropriate) way they can think of, without being particularly clever, and talk amongst themselves about which girl they should ask to homecoming..which one, which one...I would give this a 16+ I think. 

Doctor Strange

Quality: 

The thing that made me sad while watching this movie is that Dr. Strange is a surgeon who loses the ability to use his hands. This does result in a learning curve (since he was really quite a jerk beforehand) and he kinda figures out how to not be a terrible person. It was fun, and the visual effects are really quite amazing, when you think about how much work went into them! I was impressed. I was NOT impressed with Benedict Cumberbatch's American accent though...he should be British. I don't care what role he's in, his voice just sounds like it wants to be British. No offense. But it's true. (Also, the cape/cloak thing? That reminded me of the blanket in Brave Little Toaster...for some odd reason.) 

Content: 

Dr. Steven Strange is a neurosurgeon. If you're like me, a bit squeamish during any surgery/hospital events, then let me reassure you that this does not get graphic at all. The camera is present while he is operating on people and nurses/doctors rush around, handling nasty-looking tools, scalpels, etc., showing each other the X-rays of awful wounds, but there is no actual "surgery" shown. There is an intense car crash, but you totally see it coming beforehand. And if you're sensitive to "voo-doo" stuff, I would say that there are parts of this movie that seem very New Age-y and kinda weird, but it doesn't get too sketchy. There's a bit of language as well, not a lot but a couple strong words. I would say 17+

Thor: Ragnarok

Quality: 

Okay, so remember when I said that I would totally watch a movie based off the sibling snark between Thor and Loki? Well, Marvel basically made that movie. Ragnarok is...well...it's in a class of its own, I think. It was absolutely hilarious, but at the same time I came away feeling like I wasn't sure exactly WHAT I had just watched. Was it a comedy? A drama? An action movie? I'm still not quite sure, but I enjoyed this one a lot. I loved the sibling dynamic, as I always do, and the fact that Bruce Banner was there (he's great), and of course Korg was phenomenally hilarious. Very funny, entertaining, interesting--plus they use the "Pure Imagination" song from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in the soundtrack so that earned some bonus points for me. This was definitely one of my favorites. I saw Infinity War BEFORE this one, which was a mistake...definitely watch this one first; it leads perfectly into Infinity War. 

Content: 

There was a little more "casual" language in this one, but nothing worse than the other films, I don't think. A couple suggestive moments but nothing explicit. Lots of the violence is almost comedic, and again, is more of a fantasy-type violence than the "ninja" stuff in lots of the other Marvel films. Thor does lose an eye, which is a little gruesome but happens very quickly and is not graphic. ONCE AGAIN he has no shirt for a few scenes, but doesn't seem as objectified as in the other two movies, I didn't think--it didn't annoy me as much. Also, The Hulk has no trousers on in one scene but is shown only from behind and very briefly. Hela (who Cate Blanchett did a fantastic job of portraying) is an extremely evil woman/demoness/goddess of death and some folks might find her disturbing. I would say 17+ for this one. 

Black Panther 

Quality: 

I enjoyed this one a LOT more than I thought I would! To be very bluntly honest, I was expecting a lot of sort of "black lives matter and white folks are bad" propaganda, and, though there was a little of that, it didn't bother me too much at all, which was nice. Now, I'm not saying that "black lives don't matter," because I believe that they definitely do, ALL lives matter the SAME no matter what color your skin is, and we don't need to put any race above any other. YES slavery was bad and white people were cruel to enslave people of another race, but that was ages ago and the people alive now are not the people who were part of the slave trade. It's over and we can't change history. 

Anyway, I was glad that there was a GOOD, POSITIVE white male role model (who was superbly played by Martin Freeman and was also my favorite character) who could get along with the Wakandans and wasn't portrayed as a total jerk. *thumbs up* The soundtrack was great, the characters were very fun, and it was overall a very enjoyable film! Also, Shuri and T'Challa's sibling dynamic is awesome! 

Content: 

Not bad at all. There are some pretty intense moments of hand-to-hand combat/dueling determining the future kind of Wakanda, but nothing too gruesome or disturbing. Andy Serkis plays a very detestable villain (he's good at that I think) who is a little crude, but there is nothing explicit. Shuri gives T'Challa a rude gesture, which is very brief and for which her mother admonishes her. I would say maybe 14/15+

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Quality: 

Definitely improved from the first Ant-Man. Still kinda predictable, but much more funny and interesting to watch, I thought. Cassie was still adorable and had a slightly bigger part, which was great, and Hope finally lost the awful haircut! The villain seemed a little feminist-propaganda-ish to me, but not too much, thankfully. 

Content: 

Better than the first Ant-Man as well, some of the same stuff, but not so much I didn't think. 17+

Avengers: Infinity War

Quality: 

When a main character dies in the first 10 minutes of the movie, you know that bad things are gonna happen. This movie is no exception. It is VERY sad, and kills just about everyone who shouldn't have died (naturally they're coming back in Avengers: Endgame or at least I expect they will somehow). It was a very sad movie, though there are quite a few lighter, funnier moments. I thought it was great. The scene *SPOILERS, THOUGH IT'S BEEN OUT FOR LIKE A YEAR AND I'M SURE YOU ALL KNOW* when Peter dies...that hurt to watch. It was so sad and emotional, and wooooow the acting on both Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr.'s parts...whew. Painful. Though I didn't need emotional counseling afterwards (it's JUST A MOVIE, it's not REAL), it was a very tragic and sad film. Well done though. Very well done. 

Content: 

Infinity War is...intense. Characters are tortured, stabbed, have their necks broken, are turned to dust...you name it. It's tragic and dark at times, and although the violence isn't super grotesque, it is very intense. There's a little more language than most in this one (thanks to Chris Pratt and his Guardians of the Galaxy; apparently, though he is a very funny person, he likes to make slightly off-color jokes), and it is implied that a couple is living together unmarried, though nothing explicit is spoken of or shown. I'd say 17+ for this. Really lovely movie. Just really intense as well. 

A Final Note About the Use of Crude Language In Film: I am in no way encouraging this. Yes, I watched these. Yes, I enjoyed the films immensely despite the language. No, I am not condoning or excusing the characters from speaking that way, just because I watch it doesn't mean I like that particular element of the movie. The (sad) thing is, I have become much more "desensitized" to somewhat rude language in my time of attending a public university, and these movies, well, what you hear in them is cleaner than what I hear at school all the time. Now, it's still not a GOOD thing, and it still makes me a little disappointed, but, with a mature and discerning audience, I personally don't have any serious problems with watching these movies or movies like them. It's up to your discretion and personal convictions, however. The age ratings I gave these are from my personal perspective, and naturally many of you are going to think differently than I do, and that's totally fine. But this post is my personal response to and thoughts on the films. 

All right, that's it--now that I FINALLY got that post out after like three weeks of drafting and procrastinating, I feel much better about life...:P Now I shall leave you...

What are your thoughts on the Marvel movie franchise? 

We Love Shakespeare Week: The Tag

Okay okay, I know it's technically the last day of Hamlette's We Love Shakespeare Week, but I was so busy with midterms and school and all that stuff that I had nearly no time to make any comments on other people's posts (for which I apologize...I wish I had had time...), but I am DETERMINED to finish the tag before the day is out! 

And so, here it is: 


1. When and how did you first encounter Shakespeare's plays?

I started reading them in high school, actually as a part of my homeschool curriculum. I didn't understand them super well, but over the past school year I took a college class (basically "Shakespeare level one") and my professor was really great at helping us understand the plays, so that's how I came to really enjoy and like them.

2.  What are your favorite Shakespeare plays?  (Go ahead and list as many as you like!)

Oooh...definitely Macbeth, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew (which I know is a controversial one but I thought it was somewhat hilarious in certain parts), Midsummer Night's Dream...they're all good.

3.  Who are some of your favorite characters in his plays?  (Again, list however many suits you.)

Well I kind of have to include Iago in this list, not because of his "goodness," but because of the complexity and interesting-ness of his character...

I also love Banquo. He is most likely my very favorite Shakespeare character ever. 

4.  Have you seen any of his plays performed, whether live or on film?

Sadly I have not seen any performed live, though I would love to. In my college class, we watched bits and pieces of many various film adaptations and such, but never the entire production of anything. The two that I remember best are a newer production of Macbeth, with Patrick Stewart. It was set in a kind of weird, horrific place, and it had me tense and nervous throughout the whole thing--super well done, but a little terrifying. We also watched the film of a live production of Taming of the Shrew done by Shakespeare's Globe, which was GREAT, aside from the dirty jokes that unfortunately are sprinkled throughout the Bard's comedies. And then we watched part of a 2018 version of King Lear with Anthony Hopkins as Lear and Emma Thompson as Goneril. It looked really good from what I saw, but I haven't watched the whole thing, soooo...I don't know.

5.  Have you read any of his plays?

Yes!!! I have read maybe ten-ish. I can't remember the exact number. 

6.  Share a dream cast for one of your favorite Shakespeare plays.

Oh dear...boy, I don't know. I guess I have never really thought of that, as shocking as that is. I'm sure that as soon as I finish this post and hit publish, I'll think of something. 

7.  What draws you to Shakespeare's plays?  (Language, themes, characters, the fact that they're famous, whatever!)

I love the characters and the clever language! (Plus, being able to interpret and read the Shakespearean language is a great skill to have.)

8.  Do you have any cool Shakespeare-themed merchandise, like t-shirts or mugs or bookmarks, etc?  Share pictures if you can!

*sighs* Unfortunately, I do not. 

9.  How do you go about understanding his language?  (Do you prefer copies with translation notes, look things up online, or just read so much stuff written in Elizabethan English that you totally know what everyone's saying?)

For my college class, we were required to get the Folger editions of all of our plays, which are really cheap (I got most of mine used for like $5), and they all have really good notes in them. Other than that, I used the Oxford English Dictionary to understand words I didn't know or that are no longer used in our modern English. But as far as understanding the language itself, I think that the best way to do so is just to practice. Now that I've read so much of it, I have gotten used to the language and am able to understand most of it without any help or notes.

10.  What are some of your favorite lines from Shakespeare?  (Maybe limit yourself to like ten, okay?)

"If I be waspish, best beware my sting." 

-Taming of the Shrew, II.i.223

"Know thou this: that men are as the time is: 

to be tender-minded does not become a sword." 

-King Lear, V.iii.35-37

"I'll tarry no longer with you. Farewell, good Signior Love." 

"I am glad of your departure. Adieu, good Monsieur Melancholy." 

-As You Like It, III.ii. 295-297

"I dare do all that may become a man. 

Who dares do more is none." 

-Macbeth, I.vii.51-52

"Let this pernicious hour stand aye accursed in the calendar!" 

-Macbeth, IV.i.148-149

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

To the last syllable of recorded time,

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

that struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, 

Signifying nothing." 

-Macbeth, V.v.22-30

"Why, thou silly gentleman!" 

-Othello, I.iii.349

"Thou know'st we work by wit and not by witchcraft, 

and wit depends on dilatory time." 

-Othello, II.iii.393-394

"The general so likes your music that he desires you, 

for love's sake, to make no more noise with it." 

-Othello, III.i.13-14

And of course, in addition to all those, all the ones that I quoted in my previous post about Iago....

Well, that was quite fun! Thanks again, Hamlette! :D 

“We Work By Wit And Not By Witchcraft”

Hello everyone!!! Today is the opening day of the We Love Shakespeare Week, hosted by Hamlette of Hamlette's Soliloquy! Many thanks for hosting, Hamlette! :D This is going to be wonderfully fun. Now, without any more rambling introduction (because goodness knows this post is much longer and rambly-er than it needs to be already), here we go. My topic today is the character Iago, from Shakespeare's play Othello. I have not seen any full movie productions of this play, just so you know, just read the text, so this is what I got from that. *There are spoilers in this post, just so you know.*

(Don't know whose artwork this is, but I like it a lot)

Iago, from the play Othello, is honestly my favorite Shakespeare villain. He is a deceitful, treacherous man, who uses each person he knows for his own personal gain, but he operates with such Class and Cleverness that's it's impossible not to feel just a LITTLE bit of respect for his character.

So, a little background, for a brief synopsis of the play:

Othello is a Moor, which is basically Shakespearian for a person of color, and, TO GIVE YOU FAIR WARNING, the play has a loooooot of racist content going on. He is also the leader of an army, which is kind of where his "identity" as a character is found, in warring and in leading his army. He elopes with Desdemona, the daughter of a wealthy, white noble, and then they go off together to the place where the next battle is, along with his army, second-in-command Cassio, and Iago, the standard-bearer and advisor.

Not long after that, their enemies are defeated. The war is over and there's nothing else in anybody's way. And the army starts partying and kind of just chilling while Iago's devious plots are put into action. In the end *SPOILER ALERT EVEN THOUGH THE BOOK'S LIKE 500 YEARS OLD* Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful, Othello kills her, then Emilia (Iago's wife and Desdemona's maid) deducts that Iago is the villain, then Iago kills her, then Othello kills himself, and Iago is carried off to prison. The End.

Now, with that background, let's talk about Iago's actual character. His main reason for the grudge against and hatred of Othello, his commander, is that some dude named Cassio got the promotion to second-in-command instead of him, and now he wants revenge. Naturally. And not revenge on Cassio! Revenge on Othello, for not picking him.

Weirdly enough, Iago isn't physically aggressive throughout most of the play, which is somewhat strange for such a terrible villain.  He isn't killing people left and right like other Shakespeare villains, and really, it's through  his use and command of language that he is essentially the play’s “director” and the main instigator of most action in the play, or at least I think so. 

In fact, Iago’s verbal, emotional, and mental manipulation of pretty much everyone he meets engineers the entire play’s plot! From the very beginning, he is there (in fact his are the opening lines), orchestrating events and exerting his will on those surrounding him. 

His skills are mainly these: 

1. Planting small seeds of ideas in his listener’s mind, not EXPLICITLY stating his purpose or point, but saying enough to make the hearer think, "wait a minute...something's strange here," and then claim the idea as their own, in a way. Interestingly enough, many of Iago’s “seeds” of ideas are not full, blatant lies. He's an expert at twisting the truth juuuuuuust enough to change peoples’ perceptions of reality, just enough to skew their sight and make them think the way he wants them to think.
2. He's  REALLY good at painting word pictures so that his listener can see in their brain exactly what he wants them to see, glazed in the light that he wants them to see it in. 
3. Basically, he's tricky with words and not somebody you'd want to have any sort of debate with.  Cause you (if you're anything like me) would probably end up losing. 

The reason that he is such a compelling and believable villain is (I think) because Iago is also an excellent actor. People (such as Othello) constantly call him "Honest Iago" or "Loyal Iago" or such terms, and many of the characters even look up to him as a mentor and adviser, constantly bringing their worries and fears to him for resolution. But of course, Iago never gives pure advice or honesty; in fact he is a two-faced, treacherous, equivocating man. 

"Iago doth give up the execution of his wit, hands, heart to wronged Othello’s service! Let him command, and to obey shall be in me remorse what bloody business ever,” he says as he kneels and pledges fealty to Othello.  Buuuuuuut then as soon as Othello leaves, Iago basically never stops hating on “the Moor." (He is also INCREDIBLY and disgustingly racist. The language of race is used constantly throughout the play and, through that, Iago makes Othello seem like an animalistic, "othered" being, almost inhuman and monstrous. It's pretty awful, but that's a topic for another time.) 

"I follow him to serve my turn upon him,” Iago states, as well as claiming, “In following him, I follow but myself." In the same monologue as these statements, he acknowledges his own two-faced, scheming, conniving, treacherous nature: “I am not what I am."  This is the voice of a terrible, evil liar. It is also the direct opposite of what God told Moses, definitely, in my opinion, giving Iago a devillish and almost demonic character. “When devils will the blackest sins put on, they do suggest at first with heavenly shows as I do now,” he says, taking pride in his lying and his evil.  

So anyway, Iago is really the one orchestrating the entire play. He grows his control of and influence on his companions and their actions throughout the whole thing, until he is found out and admits his crimes. The weird thing is that after his evil plots and manipulations are discovered, he just says, “Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak word." 

And that's literally the last thing he ever says. He has no more lines after that, even when the others talk about sending him to be imprisoned and/or tortured. He doesn't even defend himself or try to fight, which *I* found super odd.  The play actually ends about seventy lines after Iago’s last line. Since he wasn't manipulating and directing people anymore, the action sort of winds down after that line, which is super weird.

I think my favorite part of the play might be when Iago is getting Othello to suspect Cassio (a high-ranking officer who, by the way, stole Iago's promotion, or so the villain says) of being a little too close with Othello's wife, Desdemona. The four are standing there talking, Desdemona says something to Cassio, and Iago says, "Ha, I like not that.” (This is in Act III, if you're interested.) Later, after Cassio and Desdemona go their separate ways, Othello starts prying at what Iago disliked. "Why dost thou ask?" Othello says, with Iago's reply of, "But for a satisfaction of my thought. No further harm." In other words, Othello says, "Hey, what's going on?" and Iago says, "Oh, it's nothing. No big deal."

I find this HILARIOUS because it's basically the exact same conversation that I have with my siblings when they won't tell me something or vice versa. "THOU DOST MEAN SOMETHING!!!" (The caps are my addition...) For like five pages, Othello and Iago go back and forth about whether it's important, and Othello becomes somewhat frustrated with his "honest Iago." After several pages of banter, Iago finally, "reluctantly," tells Othello his thoughts, being careful to say "wellllll, I can't be sure, but have you noticed how friendly those two are with each other??" This is also the passage with the famous "jealousy" lines, where Iago warns against the very thing that he is (which is another interesting note, whenever Iago describes a "bad" person, or describes what to "beware," he basically just describes himself). 

(Yes, that is an Iago line, NOT a Loki line. Yes, I agree with the common consensus that Loki's whole character is very similar to Iago's, at least in some ways. But that's not the point. It would be an interesting topic...but not now!) 

The point is, that personally I think Shakespeare was pointing out the significance and impact of words. “But words are words. I never yet did hear that the bruised heart was pierced through the ear.” This line (spoken by Desdemona's father after he discovers her elopement) is pretty much the Shakespearian equivalent of “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” BUT the rest of the play proves the saying completely wrong as Iago’s manipulation wreaks havoc and disarray. (Her dad even dies later because he was sad, further disproving his words.) Words are POWERFUL and can be harmful if used in the wrong way, as Iago's character proves. 

Oh, Iago knows very well that he is evil, a “devil,” but he does not seem to care as long as he does evil well.  He bends and twists the truth, the very embodiment of evil, but not regretful for his evil ever after he gets caught. He is truly one of the most effective, intelligent, and powerful villains in classic literature, I think. Probably the thing that makes him so compelling is his belief in his own lies, the way that he will stop at absolutely nothing because he absolutely believes that he is right. It's almost scary, actually.  

That line, "And what's he...that says I play the villain?" kind of sums up his entire character. It's kind of surprising how well fleshed-out and intricate it is! Not that Shakespeare's characters are all shallow, but in my reading of his works, I haven't yet encountered such an interesting character. Yes, he's awful and evil. But he is human. 

(That being said, it's not impossible that *some* of his anger against Othello was justified, because [according to Iago himself] there were rumors afoot that Othello and Emilia, Iago's wife, had had an affair and Iago was jealous for her...not an excuse for his awful behavior, but a reason nonetheless.) 

But, even with his evilness and awfulness (because I'm not saying I like him, that would be perverted and wrong), he is a fascinating character to study. The play's title is Othello. But Othello is not the main character. 

All right, I think I have rambled for long enough here! Before I go though...has anyone read the book I, Iago by Nicole Galland? And if you have, is it any good? It happened to come up when I was researching the play and I was wondering if it's worth reading at all. 

Well, thanks again for letting me participate, Hamlette! This was very enjoyable! :) 

Happy Shakespeare Week, everybody!