MCU in Review

Favorite moments from every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and TV show (so far)

One week from now will see the release of Avengers: Infinity War, the nineteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and the culmination of everything that has come before it. Its storyline centers around the objects that have weaved through almost all of these films: the infinity stones. This film will also have an unprecedented number of big-name cast members and characters. It includes every single Avenger (though Hawkeye and Ant-Man have been mysteriously absent from marketing), as well as Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and all of the Guardians of the Galaxy (and I’m hoping for cameos, or at least references, to some of Marvel’s TV shows).

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m pretty excited. This is something I’ve been preparing for all year. Around New Year’s Eve 2017, there was a picture going around which explained that if you watch one MCU movie a week starting with the first week in January, then you will finish just in time for the release of Avengers: Infinity War. We had to slightly adjust the schedule when they announced that Infinity War would be releasing a week sooner than originally announced, but my family has (for the most part) kept up with this weekly schedule. As I’ve been re-watching them, it's been fun to remember those parts that I really enjoyed. The moments I’ve written about here are those scenes that really stand out to me as highlights - scenes that I look forward to seeing when I press “play.”

***Spoiler warning for all MCU movies and TV shows***

Movies

Iron Man (2008)

When I think back at my favorite parts of this movie, I actually prefer the smaller, dialogue-driven scenes to the explosive action scenes, and that is largely because of this movie’s stellar cast. The casting for this movie is spot-on, especially that of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Gwenyth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. Their chemistry together is the main reason this movie is so good, and that’s why my favorite moment from Iron Man is when Tony needs Pepper’s help in replacing the arc reactor in his chest. It’s a funny scene that allows them to play off each other comedically, while also serving as a way to build up the relationship between them. Though there are many great scenes in this movie that have these two throwing quips at each other, this scene stands out because of the added humor of Tony playing it cool during his procedure while Pepper freaks out.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

My favorite moment from this film is the chase near the beginning with Banner and the special forces trying to capture him. One of my favorite aspects of this movie is that it really focuses on the character of Bruce Banner more than the Hulk, and that is largely why I love this scene. It’s an action scene that focuses on this scientist-in-hiding rather than his monstrous alter-ego. I love seeing Banner climb on the rooftops and run through the crowds like something out of Assassin’s Creed, but I especially love the added suspense of Bruce making sure his heart-rate stays below a certain number so he doesn’t Hulk out. My heart races right alongside Bruce’s as he evades the special forces for as long as he can. On top of that, the thrilling music makes the scene that much more intense and exciting. The movie may not be as much of a memorable part of the MCU now, but this scene still stands out as a highlight.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Before the amazing casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, one other actor who was considered for the part was Sam Rockwell (who just recently won an Academy Award for his performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). Though he would have been entertaining as Stark, Rockwell is hilarious as Justin Hammer, a rival inventor and the comedic foil for Tony Stark. Though Iron Man 2 isn’t one of my favorite MCU films, Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer makes the whole movie more enjoyable, and some of my favorite moments involve his interaction with Ivan Vanko. One scene in particular that stands out to me is when Hammer finds Vanko working on drones instead of suits, and he gets frustrated, sarcastically telling his butler to try to fit his head into the drone’s head like a helmet.

Thor (2011)

After re-watching Thor, I had forgotten how much smaller this film is compared to later MCU films. I also found that I don’t like this film as much as some of the other movies. It’s still a good movie, just not quite as enjoyable as I remembered. One aspect I’ve always loved about this movie is the characters. Director Kenneth Branagh, who has been involved with several Shakespeare adaptations, wanted a large focus of the film to be on the Shakespearean-type characters of a king and his two sons. This is why one of my favorite scenes in the movie is Thor’s banishment. The acting from Anthony Hopkins, Chris Hemsworth, and Tom Hiddleston as Odin, Thor, and Loki, respectively, is incredible. The pure emotion of the scene is palpable: an arrogant son angry with his father, an upset father deeply disappointed with this son, and another son who would rather stay out of this.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

I’m a big fan of musicals and movie music, so I was extremely excited when I heard that Alan Menken (Academy Award-winning songwriter for Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast, to name a few) would be writing a song for this movie. His song “Star Spangled Man” works perfectly as a patriotic period piece reminiscent of World War II USO songs, and the scene it accompanies is an exciting montage that shows how the Captain America character impacts the morale of soldiers and citizens alike. I like that the film implements the original Captain America comics, as well as showing Steve Rogers starring in several black and white war films. Even though shortly afterwards we see that Rogers wants to be more than just an actor in tights, I like this scene because it shows that for a little while at least Steve has found a way to help out the war effort.

The Avengers (2012)

My favorite moment from The Avengers is without a doubt the scene when Hulk punches the leviathan, the other Avengers help bring it down, then we get the first panning shot of all six assembled Avengers ready to fight, all accompanied by Alan Silvestri’s epic Avengers theme. I get goosebumps every time. The rest of the Battle of New York is amazing as well, especially that one continuous shot that follows each Avenger battling Chitauri and concludes with Hulk and Thor killing a leviathan and crashing it into Grand Central Station - but my favorite moment is still that amazing first shot of the assembled Avengers.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

One of Marvel Studio’s strengths is that it cares more for the alter egos rather than the superhero sides of its heroes, and it’s great at getting the audience to feel the same. I loved The Incredible Hulk for focusing more on Bruce Banner than the Hulk, and I loved Iron Man 3 for focusing more on Tony Stark than Iron Man. Iron Man 3 sees poor Tony suffering from anxiety attacks following the Battle of New York, and sees him having to rely solely on his brain rather than his fancy tech and unlimited resources like usual. My favorite moment in this film is when he goes undercover to a hardware store and buys random household materials to turn into makeshift weapons. He then uses those weapons (such as glass ornament bombs) to infiltrate the “Mandarin’s” house. It’s an exciting scene, and even more fun to watch because this is our first time seeing Tony fight without the aid of an Iron Man suit. Also, shout-out to Trevor Slattery, my favorite of the new characters introduced in this movie.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

This sequel to Thor stands along with Iron Man 2 as generally one of the least-liked MCU films. Upon a recent re-watching of it, I actually liked this movie, maybe even more than the first film. This movie’s main flaw is its misuse of Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who’s ninth doctor) as the boring villain Malekith. However, one of my favorite scenes in the film is Malekith’s invasion of Asgard. It starts with Heimdall being awesome and attacking an invisible ship, then gets better from there. Honestly I think one of the reasons I like this scene so much is because it feels like something out of Star Wars. I also love the mix of ancient Norse iconography mixed with modern sci-fi, like the ships that look like wooden boats but actually fly around and shoot things. It’s a thrilling scene that I look forward to every time I watch the movie. And if I had to pick a second-favorite scene, I love the battle with portals at the end of the film.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Man oh man, there are so many scenes I look forward to when I watch this movie. But one scene in particular I’ve always loved is Nick Fury’s car chase near the beginning of the movie. All of the action scenes in this movie are top-notch, but this one seems especially exciting. Story-wise I love this scene because it’s the moment we begin to suspect there is something wrong with S.H.I.E.L.D. so it catches the viewers, and Nick Fury, off-guard. Once Fury gets free of the police surrounding his car, the chase begins, accompanied by a thrilling and tense musical score. I also like this scene because it’s action is centered around Nick Fury, who doesn’t get many scenes to himself in the MCU. This scene also has just the right amount of humor (“What’s not damaged?” “Air conditioning fully operational”). To top off this awesome scene, once Fury has finally gotten away from the police we get our first look at Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier, who promptly flips Fury’s car upside-down. What a way to (re-)introduce a character. And if I had to pick a second-favorite scene, I would choose that awesome elevator fight which, in my mind, has become as iconic as that first panning shot of the assembled Avengers.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

When I think of scenes that I look forward to when I watch this movie, one that immediately comes to mind is the first scene after the Marvel Studios logo. Right after the logo finishes, we see a mysterious figure searching a stormy planet set to creepy and foreboding music, all while some of the opening credits appear. That music ends as the character reaches his destination. He then removes his mask, pulls out his walkman and begins dancing to “Come and Get Your Love” while the title appears on screen. The rest of the opening credits appear on screen as Star Lord dances his way to his destination: The Orb (containing the Power Stone). I love this scene not just for how entertaining it is, but for how well it captures the tone of the movie. That initial transition from dark and foreboding to funny and upbeat is the hinge that this movie is built upon, and it is executed beautifully.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

I didn’t like this movie as much as the first one. The Avengers had everything going for it. The main heroes, the villain, and the McGuffin had all been introduced in previous movies - all that was left to do was put them together. Avengers: Age of Ultron unfortunately had the near-impossible task of living up to the high standards of the last movie, in addition to introducing new characters and a new villain. I believe its weakest scenes were those that were just put in to tease future movies, similar to select scenes in Iron Man 2 (or all of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). After re-watching the film, I believe one of my favorite scenes is when the Maximoff twins, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, stop the runaway train. It’s an awesome way to re-introduce them in the film as heroes, and a neat showcase of their powers. It also reminds me of the train sequence in Spider-Man 2, one of my favorite superhero movies. Other favorite scenes include the party near the beginning when everyone tries to lift Thor’s hammer and the birth of Vision (one of my favorite characters).

Ant-Man (2015)

Luis did more than steal two (2) smoothie machines, he also stole this movie. Many of the best scenes in the movie are those with Luis and his two buddies, but my favorites are the elaborate stories he Luis tells - the ones where he is supposed to give “just the facts”, but never does. Of the two stories that Luis tells, I like the second one (at the very end before the credits) best. In this short funny scene we get a Stan Lee cameo, a reference to Spider-Man, as well as another appearance from Falcon (another of my favorite characters), all accompanied by Luis’ quick-talking narration. The dialogue is hard to follow the first time, which makes it all the more hilarious when his last words are “he said yes” followed by a second of blinking. I hope there are more of these stories in Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Before rewatching this movie I was thinking I wanted to pick something other than the airport battle as my favorite scene, because that would be too obvious and overused. But as I rewatched it I realized, *sigh* yeah… this scene is awesome. I remember eagerly looking forward to it when I first saw the movie, and I still get that same feeling of excitement when rewatching the movie, right before the battle begins. I love the moments of interaction between characters who had never met before this battle, especially those involving Ant-Man, who always makes me laugh. It’s also just exciting seeing all of these heroes together in one scene. This is more heroes than had ever been in an MCU film before (a record that will soon be beat by Infinity War). I don’t know how the directors were able to stage such a big fight between so many heroes and make it look good. Infinity War is going to have a lot to live up to.

Doctor Strange (2016)

This film has some of the best visuals in the MCU. It would have easily won the Oscar for Visual Effects had it not been up against The Jungle Book (which had so many visual effects shots it might as well have been an animated film). The story and the music are also good, but the visuals are some of this film’s best features - and they are put on full display during the fight in the Mirror Dimension. It baffles me how they can construct and film a scene that takes place in a dimension where matter can be folded at will. Its Inception-esque visuals of buildings closing in on each other are spectacular to behold, and make this chase and fight scene one of the best scenes in the film.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Music is an integral part of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, and I am forever grateful to director James Gunn for including so many great songs from the 60s and 70s that I very likely never would have heard had they not been in these films. The songs featured in the film are catchy, and go well with the action on screen. They heighten the emotion happening in the moment, whether it be touching, exciting, or funny. One scene that made excellent use of such music is when Yondu kills all the Ravagers with his arrow, set to “Come a Little Bit Closer” by Jay & The Americans. Yondu, Groot, and Rocket are some of my favorite Guardians characters, so it was cool to see them all working together to escape the Ravagers. And yes, the song made the scene that much better. A similar funny scene is when Rocket attacks the Ravagers in the woods, set to “Southern Nights” by Glen Campbell. But the Yondu arrow scene is still my favorite.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

I was unsure at first what an MCU movie would be like that has another studio’s hands in the mix, but Spider-Man: Homecoming was better than I expected. And as always, the acting was top-notch. One of my favorite moments in the movie is near the end when Peter goes to Liz’s house to pick her up for the Homecoming dance, and is shocked when Adrian Toomes (aka the Vulture) answers the door. Peter knows who he is, so he is terrified, but Toomes doesn’t figure out Peter is Spider-Man until they are driving to the dance. The scene is intense, as is Michael Giacchino's score, and the acting from both Tom Holland and Michael Keaton is terrific. On a side note, I also love how this film portrayed high schoolers much more accurately than the previous Spider-Man films.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor: Ragnarok was a gift. After two decent Thor films, we finally got a great one. There was some definite influence from Guardians of the Galaxy, but maybe that’s just what was needed. I enjoyed the whole movie thoroughly, but the ending battle scene on the Bifrost was my favorite. I liked seeing Heimdall with his awesome sword leading the Asgardians to safety, then seeing Hulk save them by fighting that big wolf. This is followed by the timely return of Loki, Korg, and the others coming to the rescue, then Thor fully realizing his lighting powers. I also like the following scene when Loki unleashes Surtur to destroy Asgard (but steals the Tesseract right before). I also like Thor’s line to Hulk after Hulk tries to attack Surtur “Hulk, for once in your life, don’t smash!” The coronation at the end serves a nice bookend to the Thor trilogy - complete with Patrick Doyle’s original Thor theme. Such a great ending to a great movie.

Black Panther (2018)

I didn't get to re-watch this film before Infinity War, so it’s hard to pick a favorite scene. Can I just say the whole movie? I loved the gorgeous visuals of the scenes in the Spirit Realm, the acting and choreography in the waterfall battle scenes, and the beautiful music in the entire movie. One of my favorite scenes was the battle at the end. Not T’Challa vs. Killmonger down in the mine, but the one before that: the one with Killmonger vs. the Dora Milaje, and Black Panther and loyal the Wakandans vs. W’Kabi and all his soldiers. Then some Rhinos come in, then the Jabari come join the fight, and in the middle of the battle Shuri is telling Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) how to remote pilot a ship. Great cast, great music, great story. This might be my favorite MCU film. Infinity War, your bar has been set. Good luck meeting it.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Yes, the movie has not been released yet, but these are some of the moments I am most looking forward to seeing in this movie.

1. The proper introduction of Thanos into the MCU. He first appeared as Loki’s mysterious benefactor at the very end of The Avengers, then had quick appearances in Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron, but this movie will finally focus on and give us some proper information about him. Hopefully he’ll be a better villain than Ultron.
2. The culmination of the infinity stones sub-plot that has been weaving through the MCU since the Tesseract’s first appearance at the end of Thor (though it wasn’t officially identified as an infinity stone until Thor: The Dark World). Though we likely won’t get an official end to this storyline until the still(!) untitled fourth Avengers movie. I also can’t wait to find out where the Soul Stone is.
3. Seeing the Guardians of the Galaxy in a non-Guardians movie. These characters are writer/director James Gunn’s babies, and I am interested to see what the characters do in the hands of different writers and directors. Will they still be accompanied by fun music from the 70s and 80s? I hope so.
4. Seeing more of Wakanda and its people. I loved Black Panther so I am super excited that at least one section of the film will focus on Wakanda, as well as many of its inhabitants. Naturally T’Challa was always going to appear in this film, but I am excited that Infinity War will also have appearances from Shuri, Okoye, Ramonda (T’Challa’s mother), and M’Baku. No word yet on whether or not Nakia will appear, but I hope so.
5. Seeing interaction between so many of these characters. I know that with so many characters it will be hard for each one to get a lot of screen time, but it will be even harder to see interactions from each individual character with each other character that they haven’t met yet. I at the very least want interaction between Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman, who isn’t even confirmed to be in this film, but I hope he shows up anyway). I want to see a Marvel-ous reunion of Sherlock and Watson. On a somewhat-related side-note, Jude Law is confirmed to be in Captain Marvel. Will he appear alongside Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) in Avengers 4? And more importantly, will his character interact with Iron Man? I need my Sherlock/Watson reunions.

It will be hard for this film to live up to the first Avengers movie, and also Black Panther, but even if it doesn’t, I’m sure it will still be a good time at the movies. Maybe next year I’ll update this post with my favorite moments from Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Captain Marvel leading up to Avengers 4.

TV Shows

Despite Marvel’s insistence that #ItsAllConnected, Marvel’s TV shows have yet to make any kind of mark on the movies. Sure, the TV shows sometimes react to or mention movie events and characters, but it’s not quite what most fans were expecting.  Usually it’s an occasional reference to the “Battle of New York” or “The Incident”, or a reference to “that big green guy” or “the guy with the hammer”.

So even though Marvel telling us Avengers: Infinity War is a culmination of everything that has come before it, I am still pretty certain that the TV shows will not be recognized, as much as I would like that. At the absolute most all we would get is maybe a quick shot of some of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Defenders, but at the very least I hope they are given a quick mention. I would also be okay with just showing some of their faces in the opening logo.

These are some of my favorite things about the MCU’s TV shows:

***Again, Spoiler Warning for all MCU TV shows***

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-Present)

Of all the TV shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has always had the most direct connections to the movies (which is saying quite a lot, since there isn’t that much anyway). Some of my favorite moments have been appearances from movie characters (aside from Coulson, of course). In season one we got appearances from Agent Sitwell, Sif, Maria Hill, and even Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Stan Lee also has a cameo in a season one episode. When the show was first announced I was thinking this sort of thing would happen all the time, but it hasn’t. A little later we got cameos from Peggy Carter, a couple Howling Commandos, Dr. List (from Avengers: Age of Ultron), and POTUS (from Iron Man 3), but we haven’t had any film characters appear since season 3.

Film references aside, I’ve loved getting to know the main characters of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., my favorites being Fitz, Simmons, and Mack. Some of my favorite moments from the show include Mack chopping off Coulson’s hand, Daisy emerging from her Inhuman cocoon as Quake, the deaths of Lincoln and Ward/Hive, and all the appearances of Ghost Rider (with surprisingly good visual effects).

Agent Carter (2015-2016)

As with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I loved seeing characters from the movies make appearances in this show including Howard Stark, “Dum Dum” Dugan, and Dr. Zola (all from Captain America: The First Avenger). But some of my favorite moments were the interactions between Peggy Carter and Edwin Jarvis (Howard Stark’s butler). To me they always had this lovable R2-D2/C-3PO kind of interaction with each other. Another one of my favorite moments is the musical number dream sequence near the end of season 2. I like that the style of the song fits the time period, and I liked that both Peggy and Daniel Sousa sang and danced in it. I was glad those two finally got together at the end of season 2. But is Daniel Sousa the “husband” that Peggy Carter mentions in Captain America: The Winter Soldier? We will never know now.

I will forever be upset with ABC for cancelling this show after just two seasons (and at the same time renewing Once Upon a Time again). There are so many things I wanted to see happen. Aside from confirmation about whether or not Daniel and Peggy get married, I wanted to see Howard Stark get married to his wife Maria and I wanted to see Peggy and Jarvis watch baby Tony Stark for the day. I wanted to see Peggy and Howard start S.H.I.E.L.D. and maybe even meet the parents of some characters from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. As sad as it would have been, I would have wanted to see how Edwin Jarvis dies, then see when Howard Stark (or young Tony Stark) names his new AI program after him. Maybe we could have also had more guest appearances by characters like Hank Pym or even the Winter Soldier. I also want to know if Agent Thompson is still alive or not after getting shot at the very end of season 2. I suppose there’s always hope for a revival or a TV movie to at least wrap up the series.

Inhumans (2017-?)

I would honestly be surprised if this show wasn’t cancelled. Though it could potentially improve during a second season, since Agent Carter wasn’t renewed for a third season, there no way this show will be renewed for a second. The show was okay at best. My brother and I watched the premiere of the first two episodes in IMAX, which was fun for the experience but not worth the price. Though I was pleasantly surprised about Medusa’s haircut (which got rid of that super fake-looking wig), I still didn’t like the show all that much. The finale was probably the highlight of the show: abandoning Maximus on the moon while the rest went back to Hawaii. A fit punishment for Maximus, though I believe actor Iwan Rheon played a much better bad guy in Game of Thrones. In general, the acting in this show was pretty bad.

Daredevil (2015-Present)

Marvel TV’s first foray into streaming television had a pretty good first season, but I didn’t like the second season as much. Of course, (like all the Marvel Netflix shows) I’ve only seen the show all the way through once. It would take far too long to try to watch all of this again before Avengers: Infinity War. One upside to a long television series is that there is much more time spent on character development. The characters in this show are all great, but two that stand out are Daredevil/Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk. The fight choreography is also incredible. One of my favorite moments in the show is the long one-shot hallway fight in early season one. It does an awesome job of showcasing Matt Murdock’s abilities. The fact that this was all one shot (or at least made to look like one shot) shows realistically the stamina it takes to fight a whole group of people like that. And this is while Matt is still recovering from another fight after being patched up by Claire.

Jessica Jones (2015-Present)

Jessica Jones is one of my favorite Marvel Netflix TV shows, though (like Daredevil) I didn’t enjoy the second season quite as much. It wasn’t until Kilgrave’s guest appearance in season 2 that I realized how much I missed Kilgrave (played brilliantly by David Tennant). Though he was an evil, oppressive person, I loved all the scenes with Kilgrave in both seasons. (maybe because it’s funny to me seeing the tenth Doctor acting evil). Though I really like the character, one of the scenes that stands out to me the most is when he dies. Jessica tricks him into thinking he can control her again, and then she snaps his neck. It’s an awesome moment for Jessica, and a good death for Kilgrave.

Luke Cage (2016-Present)

Overall, this was a pretty good show. The acting and the music were especially good. Weirdly though this show (one season so far) was split in half, story-wise, and in my opinion the first half was better. My favorite moment in the show comes at that halfway point, when Mariah Dillard kills Cottonmouth (Mahershala Ali). Cottonmouth was the presumed season-long antagonist, so I was pleasantly surprised to see Mariah rise up and kill her cousin. I assumed this meant that she would be the main antagonist going forward, which I was ready for, but then Diamondback showed up and took that role. Diamondback was not near as impressive a villain as Cottonmouth was, or as Mariah would have been. I hope that Mariah will be more of a main antagonist in season 2.

Iron Fist (2017-Present)

I didn’t think this was as bad as everyone says it was. The pilot episode to me was pretty bad, but the rest of it I actually enjoyed, even though Danny Rand can be pretty stupid sometimes. I liked most of the characters in the show, but my favorite was Colleen Wing. To me, she was a much more interesting character than Danny, and she needs to have her own show with Misty Knight from Luke Cage (who she teams up with in the comics). One of my favorite moments in the show is when Colleen fights in an illegal cage match as “Daughter of the Dragon”. The dialogue at the beginning is great (“You sure you want to do this honey?” “Call me honey again, I dare you.”) and the fight is awesome. I also like her fight later against two people.

Defenders (2017-?)

Defenders: the Avengers of the Marvel Netflix shows. I really enjoyed it, maybe more than all the other Marvel Netflix shows. The first episode had some cool lighting design, assigning each Defender a color scheme. It felt like four different shows in one, which was cool. But my favorite moment was when they first all came together at Midland Circle. First just Danny Rand was there, then Luke Cage, then Jessica and Matt. Pretty soon they were all fighting together in the hallways of the building. Eventually they all end up in an elevator together and Danny asks “Who are you people?” It was awesome seeing these TV heroes interact with each other. The chemistry between all of them was great, especially between Jessica and Matt. I know it’s difficult to make crossover shows like this, but I really hope they make another season.

Punisher (2017-Present)

I struggled to watch this whole show. Eventually I made myself sit down and finish the last few episodes, but I think this may be my least favorite of all the MCU TV shows, aside from maybe Inhumans. Although, as with the other Marvel Netflix shows, the cast was good. It was fun seeing Ben Barnes (who I know as Prince Caspian) play a bad guy. One of my favorite aspects however was the unusual partnership and later friendship of Frank Castle (Punisher) and Lieberman (Micro). This may be because I had spent most of the show thinking that Micro was one of Punisher’s arch enemies in the comics (not sure how that idea got in my head). I was pleasantly surprised that they became unlikely allies, and even friends. It was fun seeing them go on their mini road-trip early in the season, then later taking care of each other. Maybe I’ll enjoy the second season more, but I still like the other shows better.

Runaways (2017-Present)

I really didn’t know what to expect from this show, but I actually really liked it. The story was interesting, but hard to follow at times. The main aspect I liked about this show was the cast. If there’s anything Marvel’s great at, it’s casting. The kids were all believable and had great chemistry, but I think I actually liked their evil parents more, especially Gert’s parents. It was hard to believe that these quirky comic-relief scientists could be part of an evil child-killing organization, but their motivations actually make sense for the characters. My favorite moments in the show are when these two try to hide things from their kids or the other parents, despite being amazingly bad at keeping secrets - secrets like “there is a raptor in the basement”. I also like how the last episode of the decent season one sets up for an even better season two - one where the kids are actually, finally, runaways.

The Well

Imagine being stuck at the bottom of a dry well, and the only way out is for it to be filled with water so you can swim out. The well gets water every day, but only a very small amount - just enough to drink and stay alive, but not near enough to fill the well, or even make much of a puddle. Sure you could just not drink the water, but by the time the well is even halfway full, you would be dead from dehydration, or mostly dead anyway. The other option is to drink the water daily. You would be forever stuck in that well, but at least you would be alive.

This is kind of how I’ve felt for the past several months. It might not be a perfect metaphor, but it paints a picture of the situation I’ve been stuck in.

My last blog post was in August 2017 (which is even longer ago than I thought it was). I really don’t like to go that long without a blog post. Between then and now I actually started a couple blog posts, but never got around to finishing them. One of them was almost complete, but I thought it was a little too sarcastic to post. Though maybe that’s a perfect reason why I should have posted it: because its harsh, rant-like tone was an accurate display of my feelings.

The post was to be called “Fast-Forward”, because I wanted to fast-forward to the part of my life when I am working in a job I actually enjoy (and has to do with my English degree), my student loans are paid off, and I am living on my own in a clean apartment or house where I have plenty of room to organize my books and movies, and maybe even display some of my Legos. Honestly, I still want to fast-forward to that part - this part kind of sucks. This part may be important (it probably is), but it doesn’t make it any more fun.

The post I had been working on dealt mostly with the woes of job hunting - all of which are still true. Getting a job is extremely hard and requires no small amount of luck. I guess it’s just a God thing. At the moment I now have another job in addition to the museum job. This other one is also part-time, like the museum, but at least it’s a regular part-time job. I am currently in training to work behind the desk at Best Western Inns & Suites.

And how did I come to get this job? Not by any regular way I was trying, that’s for sure. People don’t get jobs by applying online. People don’t get jobs by going and talking to people in person. “Oh, you have to go online for that.” “I did.” “Oh okay, then we’ll call you.” They never do. The only real way to get a job is to know people who know people. That’s how I happened to land this hotel job.

After Shrek the Musical ended I was intent on finding a job. I mean, job-hunting is something I’ve been doing pretty much ever since I graduated Cedarville, but after Shrek the Musical I was really starting to get desperate about finding a full-time job. This is 100% going to be my focus from now on, so I definitely have no time for any more theater. But in the midst of all my seemingly pointless job-searching I kept getting calls from people in the area that wanted me to be in their plays and musicals, all of which I kept turning down so I could focus on looking for jobs. Then a couple months ago I heard that the Lindsay Community Theatre (where I did Shrek the Musical) was putting on a production of the play One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

I always thought it would be fun to be in a play again (the last real play I did was A Christmas Carol in high school). A couple different people contacted me about being in this play, and I thought about it, but decided to keep my focus on looking for a job. Then I got a call from the director asking if I would reconsider and be in the play, since they were short on guys (a common problem in theatre, it seems). I thought to myself “ugh, fine, I’ll do it. At least it won’t be as much of a time commitment as a musical, so I could still look for jobs during this…”

Ever since Big Fish (which was almost literally right after graduating from Cedarville) every play or musical I’ve been in I’ve always put in my bio for the program that I am looking for work, preferably something related to my English major. This was always in the hope that someone in the cast or in the audience would take pity on me and hire me. No one ever did - up until a couple weeks ago. Someone that I met in the cast of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest just happened to know the manager of a Best Western that was hiring. And seemingly just like that I had a job interview and now I guess the job is mine.

Though it was less of a job interview and more like the manager just meeting his future employee. I think he was going to hire me anyway. Though the job isn’t exactly related to my English degree, it’s at least something. Honestly I think I might be a little over-qualified for the job, but it’s the only one I was able to get. The job is pretty straight-forward: checking people in and out, helping customers, and answering any and all questions they might have. However, I won’t be doing too much of any of that, as it appears I will mainly be working the night shift there: 10pm to 6am. Every now and then I stay up until 2:00am (like right now), but 6:00 is kind of pushing it for me. I’ll have to re-arrange my sleeping and eating schedule. It’s not the job I had in mind when I was at Cedarville, and it’s not something I want to do for the rest of my life, but at least it’s something I can (presumably) count on for as long as I need.

Which reminds me, a couple months ago I was technically hired for a summer job working food service at Hume Lake. I was glad just to have some kind of confirmed job for the summer. But now that I’ve got this hotel job, I might have to cancel the Hume Lake job. Either way, I need to let Hume Lake know right away. I was rather looking forward to working up there - getting away from the bad air and life in general for a few months, but I suppose I will remain in the valley. Also, Hume Lake wasn’t going to offer any health insurance, something I found out I need. However, I also just found out that Best Western doesn’t give employees health benefits either, but at least I would have a steady income of some kind so I can get a cheap kind of health care. In the meantime, if you know of a place that is offering a completely full-time job that includes health benefits, don’t even ask me about it; just sign me up. And bring me back a souvenir from sugar candy mountain while you’re at it.

It still kind of frustrates me that knowing people is basically the only way to get jobs, but I am extremely grateful for it. Like I said before, I guess it’s a God thing. Had I not been a part of this play, I would not have gotten this job. It was nice getting all those requests to be in plays and musicals, but I guess God wanted me to be in this one.

Being a part of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was definitely a unique experience. Around halfway through rehearsals we lost two actors who were playing main characters. One part was taken by the former director, and the other part fell to me. I had previously been cast in the small role of a doctor in the psych ward. I was perfectly fine with having a smaller role. It meant I could spend more time job-searching - I already had all my lines memorized and everything. But then when we lost those two actors, I had to take on the much bigger role of Harding, an inmate and president of the patients’ council (the role of the doctor then went to the multitasking new director). I went from having about 30 lines to 130 lines, some of which were big paragraphs. There was some language in the play (not all of it I was entirely comfortable with) but with the new director, much of it was taken out or replaced.

We didn’t have huge audiences for the shows, which was too bad. Our last show was our biggest audience - around 50 people. That show was also one of our best ones: everything went perfectly. And by perfectly I mean that all of the scenes were in the right order. A couple of our shows had a little bit of accidental time-travel. Just a couple misplaced lines in the wrong spot and suddenly Act 1 is way shorter than it’s supposed to be. Suddenly we find ourselves having to go back and add scenes that were forgotten just for the sake of continuity. Or we find ourselves jumping ahead several pages, then having to skip that scene when we come to it. Oh the thrill of live theatre. Even if no two shows are exactly the same, the show must go on.

Behind the scenes I also had an interesting experience. During one practice I volunteered myself to help set up the lights for this play, because it meant climbing up into the roof of the theater and hanging a light from a bar 95 feet above the audience. Sounded like a fun adventure to me. While I’m climbing around in the ceiling, wearing my headset and communicating with the light guy downstairs, we start talking about the theater and how old it is. The building was originally a movie theatre a long time ago, and it was apparently built in 1929. “Wow, that’s pretty old. Hey by the way, what’s all this stuff lying around up here? Looks like pebbles, but it feels much lighter, almost like styrofoam.” “Asbestos.” About now I feel like saying one of those words the director cut out of the play. “Don’t worry, though. You’re safe as long as you don’t disturb it.” Too late for that. I guess now I better start paying attention to those commercials that say “if you or a loved one has mesothelioma…” I have to go back next week to help take that light back down. Maybe I’ll wear a mask this time.

Later this year, the Lindsay theatre is doing Into the Woods, a musical I’ve always wanted to be a part of. I would love to play either the Baker or one of the two princes. I just hope that I would be able to work it out with whatever schedule I might have at the hotel.

It can be pretty interesting down at the bottom of this well. I’m still stuck down here at the moment, but thanks to this hotel thing maybe I have a little more of a chance of escape. It still might be a while, however, before I publish a blog post called “Un-stuck”. In the meantime, I ask for prayer for every aspect of my life. I have dreams, but I want them to be reality. I just wish sometimes I could fast-forward my life to the good part already. But if you are praying for me, one thing I need prayer for is to not compare myself to others. This is a huge problem I struggle with, and only seems to make my well deeper. I need to remember that other people’s successes are not my failures. I also need to remember that my goals for success should not be just to one-up the people to whom I am comparing myself. As much it may seem, it’s not a competition, and I desperately need prayer to remember that. Also pray that I would be able to pay off my student loans quickly so that I can finally start to pursue my dreams. Don’t know what my dreams are? Ask me about it sometime. And finally, I need prayer that I would trust and follow God’s plan for my life, even if it takes me to places I’m unsure about, like hotels and museums. No matter how He does it, ask that God would fill my well.

P.S. Look for an entirely different type of blog post in the next few weeks here (this one I actually plan on finishing): a review of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe leading up to the release of Avengers: Infinity War.

Looking Back

Writing is like physical exercise. It’s something I really should do every day, or at least more than once or twice every few months. It’s rewarding, and I love doing it; it’s just a matter of finding time for it. No - not finding time; making time. It’s something where you can always make an excuse for not doing it; but something that really should be a part of one’s daily routine. The same can be said concerning reading the Bible and spending time with God. The only difference is that spending time with God and reading His Word is infinitely more rewarding than both writing and physical exercise.

As with any kind of discipline, the further you progress, the more you need to push yourself to grow. I’m finally starting to get back into habit of reading the Bible daily, and I’m reaching that point where I need to read a little more than usual to really get something out of what I am reading. Before this habit starts to fade (like it has so often before) I would really like to join a Bible study or small group so that I can keep working those spiritual muscles. I was a part of discipleship groups all three years at Cedarville University, and those groups were incredibly rewarding. I wish I could have something like that again.

Though I greatly loved discipleship group at Cedarville University, my involvement in those groups coupled with the insane amount of English homework I had kept me from participating in other activities I had always wanted to do there: swing dancing, cinema, and theatre. Swing dancing was typically held in the main hallway of the Dixon Ministry Center, a building that has large windows near the entrance. There were several evenings I walked past those large windows, paused a moment to look at the fun they were having inside, then sadly keep walking toward the library where I would usually stay until they kicked me out.

It wasn’t until a few months ago that I finally got the opportunity to try swing dancing for the first time, and it was a lot of fun! I’ve been going periodically every Tuesday night for swing dancing lessons and open dance in Fresno with some friends I met at Encore Theatre. I’m nowhere near as good as many of the others that go, but at least I can say that I’ve improved. A couple different times I’ve gone they’ve had a live band play for us, and another night was ’50s themed. I dressed as a greaser that night and won a costume contest (the pictures are on Facebook if you feel like stalking me on there to find them). I haven’t been able to go the last couple weeks, and I kind of miss it. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to go back in a while because I’ll be busy elsewhere from now until early November.

In my last blog post I mentioned that I was thinking of auditioning for Shrek the Musical at the Lindsay Community Theatre. One of my friends had played the soundtrack for me on the way to swing dancing, and it sounded like a lot of fun. I suppose what I learned at swing dancing helped me to become a more confident dancer, because at auditions I felt I did really well on the dance portion. The director obviously thought so too - I’ve been cast as Lord Farquaad, one of the leads.

If you are at all familiar with the movie, you may think it an odd choice casting a 6’1” tall man as the notoriously short leader of Duloc. But if you are familiar with the stage musical, then you know that Lord Farquaad is typically played by a taller actor. This is because the actor plays almost the entire role on his knees, wearing a special costume that has fake legs attached, so as to appear short. Earlier this evening I tried on the costume for the first time; it’s definitely going to take some getting used to. I have to wear these big knee pads that were either made for an umpire or a hockey player. While wearing these I have to walk and even dance around on stage for several scenes - on my knees. And apparently I have a different costume for every scene I’m in, so I’ll definitely be needing help with costumes backstage. The role is going to be a ton of fun, and I can’t wait to get started working on my scenes. However, I think my knees may not be too happy with me after the first week or so of rehearsal. The rest of the cast is amazing, many of whom I have worked with in other shows like Big Fish, Beauty and the Beast, and Pippin. In addition, my sister Debra will be playing a Little Pig, one of the Three Blind Mice, and a tap-dancing rat, while my mom will be playing piano for rehearsals. Our show days are October 27, 28, and 29, and November 3, 4, and 5. Ask me closer to opening weekend about showtimes and pricing. I hope to see many of you there, if only just to see me suffer in my costume.

It’s been a lot of fun doing so many plays and musicals the last couple years. It makes up for the ones I missed out on while I was at Cedarville. And though I’m proud of the Bachelor’s degree in English I earned there, I’ve recently been wondering if I chose the right major. After graduating high school I changed my major many times, and though English definitely was a step in the right direction for me, I’m still not sure it was exactly the major for me. Many of my English classes at Cedarville I only barely passed, while other students excelled in the same classes. I always felt kind of fake while giving presentations and writing scholarly papers using that pretentious language we were taught to use. I liked discussing novels, and I like this kind of writing, but everything else didn’t seem quite me.

There were other times at Cedarville when my friends would work on a video for some kind of media class, and I would want to join in. I was able to help out with a couple videos, but never in the capacity that I wanted. My senior year at Cedarville I joined Filmgate, the campus’ film org, though even with that I wasn’t always able to participate as much as I wanted, largely because of my English homework, but also because I was a discipleship group leader that year.

Looking back at my time at Cedarville, I wouldn’t take back a single moment. I greatly improved my communication skills with my English major, and I greatly wish I could be a part of a discipleship group again. But at the same time, I can’t help but look back on all the times I wanted to be a part of a play, but my homework wouldn’t allow it, or all the times I walked past those windows on my way to the library and saw people swing dancing, or all those times I wanted to help with videos, but my schedule would not allow it. Maybe I could have majored in theatre or cinema arts instead, but I’m still glad I chose English. At least presumably there are more job opportunities with a degree in English than with theatre or cinema arts. I’m still trying to find out.

A couple months ago I had an interview with Bank of the Sierra. I was pretty excited about it. I thought, or at least hoped, I had prepared enough, but after answering many questions with “uhhh” and “ummm” I found out that I was not nearly prepared enough. I obviously didn’t get the job. Since then there were a few other times when i thought I was close to getting hired, but they ended up “going in a different direction.” I’m still currently working at the Exeter Courthouse Gallery and Museum and for A Wish Your Heart Makes. With the money I make from both of those combined, I make just enough to cover my student loans every month, but not enough if I wanted to live on my own, which I would very much like to do someday. Job hunting has taken a bit of a back seat recently, largely because I’ve been pretty busy with both of my other jobs, but also because I know that I’m going to be busy with Shrek the Musical for the next couple months.

While working at the museum recently I met a man who leads a writer’s group that meets every other Saturday at the museum. The group also meets Thursday nights in Visalia, and I was invited to go to the most recent one last Thursday. The writers in that group (about seven of them) each bring something they’ve been working on, read it for the group, then offer constructive criticism for each other. I didn’t bring anything with me, so I just helped with the workshopping. But going to that meeting helped remind me once again to get back on this blog and write. So if any of you in that group are reading this right now; thank you! I’d like to go back again at some point, but it may have to be after Shrek the Musical is over.

Recently I've been ending all my blog posts with prayer requests, and I think I’ll stick with that tradition. Here are some things you can pray for:

• that God would provide me with a good full-time job (that I like) that will provide enough money to pay for student loans as well as enough money to save for the future
• that I would find some kind of bible study or small group to be a part of again, because I kind of miss it, and I want to know God better
• that Shrek the Musical would go well and for my knees to not die
• that I would go where God wants me to go, do what He wants me to do, and trust Him for the future, because I have no idea what His plan for my life is (but I know it’s a good one)

Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying. Hopefully I’ll be on here again before too long.

A Change of Plan

Last you heard from me I was waiting to make any decisions about next school year until I heard back from Biola University on whether or not I made it into the Cinema and Media Arts program.

I did not make it in. It’s not that I didn’t meet their qualifications or anything (as far as I know), it’s that the program was already full. Despite that, it would have been nice to know if I would have gotten into the program anyway if it wasn’t full. All I can do now is apply for the program for next school year; at least this time I know it won’t be late. I will likely also apply for other schools in the Southern California area. That’s where all of the movie production jobs are, so that’s where I want to be located.

As far as Biola goes though, I was able to postpone my acceptance until next year. This means that I am already pre-accepted for the 2018-19 school year at Biola. The only other thing I would have to do is apply once again for the Cinema and Media Arts program there.

While talking with the transfer admissions counselor at Biola, we figured that because I already have a Bachelor’s degree, I would not have to take any general education classes, which makes me very happy (no more math and science classes!). However, if I wanted to get a second Bachelor’s degree, I would still have to take some Bible classes. Biola University has a required Bible minor for all its students, similar to Cedarville University. Oddly enough, only about half of my Bible classes from Cedarville would transfer over to Biola.

The admissions counselor figured that if I went to Biola taking only classes in the Cinema and Media Arts program, and around five required Bible classes, I could complete a Bachelor’s degree in Cinema Arts in about two years, although I don’t know that I necessarily need or want another Bachelor’s degree. I mostly just want to take classes to gain knowledge and experience. Theoretically I could just take some Cinema classes at Biola for a semester or two, get involved in some student films, then find an internship that leads to a job in the field I want. However, while going there for only a year would save me money, it would also make me less likely to be able to get into the Cinema program there at all. Biola is more interested in potential students who are looking to stay there longer and finish a program, which I don’t necessarily need to do.

There is also the issue of finances. Because I have already completed one Bachelor’s degree, I don’t get nearly as much financial help from FAFSA, meaning my student debt would be significantly higher than it already is. However, since it seems I will be living in the area for another school year (or at least another semester), I can use this time to work on paying off a large percentage of my student loans. But to do that I still need a good job.

After many many days of job hunting both in person and online I finally at least have another part-time job. Starting next week-ish I will be working at the Exeter Courthouse Art Gallery and Museum. I don’t know too much about the job yet, but I believe part of it will include handling transactions for those who wish to rent the facilities for parties, as well as showing people around. The only downside to this job is that it is part-time; I only work on the weekends. It would be ideal if I could also get another job that worked weekdays. It sounds like the Art Gallery job is pretty flexible, so I could possibly even work that job along with a full-time job somewhere else.

I’m still working part-time for my dad at church, and also for A Wish Your Heart Makes, but I would really prefer something that was more full-time. I have filled out countless job applications online and delivered many resumes in person. Though I am nowhere close to running out of options yet, I am getting tired of not hearing back from the people who keep saying “yeah we might call you.” I guess I need to keep bothering them in person about a job.

I would rather not work at a fast-food restaurant or anywhere like that, but if I can’t find anything else, I may have to apply to one. I would like a job where I can put my English degree to work, but I don’t mind a job that also involves customer interaction. I would like a job that is somewhat close to home. I don’t want to have to drive an hour to and from work; even half an hour might be a lot; but if that’s all that is available, I’ll take it. So far I have applied (or attempted to apply) to various banks in the area, Savemart, Guitar Center, and the Visalia Times-Delta, to name a few. Prayers would still be appreciated for finding a good full-time job that is nearby and that also pays nice enough to start making a dent in my student loans.

Once I get a full-time job it will be nice to have a regular schedule again. I can then focus on the full-time job rather than the part-time ones (though I suppose I could still occasionally do a party as Spider-Man, or help out my dad at church once in a while). At least for now I have an additional part-time job that will help keep my student loans at bay.

In other news, Pippin is over, which means I can have relatively normal sleeping and eating habits again. We had a good run of shows, though I missed the first two because I was in Ohio for my brother’s graduation. One of the only downsides was that not every show was full, possibly because not many people had heard of Pippin before. There were two or three nights when the audience was nearly full, and those ones were a lot of fun. The cast really feeds off the energy of a receptive audience, and that energy is then turned around to create an even better performance. But despite not every audience being as full as we would like, I still had a blast. I was especially excited to be able to play guitar on two different songs on stage. I also got to wear real chain mail and use a sword in a couple scenes, as well as throw a dummy into a fire pit, which unfortunately was not made using real fire :(

Though it would have been cool to go to Biola in the fall, one benefit to staying in the area another school year is that I can participate in more local theatre. Encore Theatre, where I have done many shows recently, will not be doing a play this fall, because they will be renovating part of the building. So instead of doing a show there, I was thinking of auditioning for Shrek the Musical in Lindsay (which is actually closer than Encore). I listened to the full soundtrack for the first time a couple days ago, and it sounds like it would be a lot of fun to be in. This is, of course, assuming it would fit into the schedule of my full-time job, which I will have by then.

I probably will not be a part of any play or musical this summer, partly so that I can get settled into a new job, but also so that I can spend more time with my family. After this summer, my youngest sister will be going to Cedarville University (where I went) to study history. And next month my brother will be moving to an apartment in Visalia (which isn’t that far away, so I’ll still see him often).

Meanwhile, I will still be here living with my parents, though hopefully not more than a year. It’s nice to not have to pay rent or anything, but I am anxiously awaiting for the next chapter of my life to begin already. Maybe while I wait I can take an online class on cinematography, or teach myself the basics of screenwriting and storytelling.

As a fun project, I’ve recently been studying the structure of the Indiana Jones films so that I can theorize and plot out a script for the upcoming Indiana Jones 5. A screenwriter for the film has already been chosen - David Koepp, who wrote Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - so I’m not trying to steal his job or anything. My project is more to see how close I come to the actual film, which will be released  in July 2020. Although who knows? 2020 is still far away; maybe I’ll be able to get in contact with the producers before then and we can discuss the plot together. Maybe they’ll credit me as co-writer (or at least as a script doctor). I may end up posting some of my work on here at some point, probably in essay form; I’m having a lot of fun working on it.

To my avid readers, whoever you may be, continue to keep me in your prayers. Pray especially for me to find a full-time job that is nearby and also pays semi-decently. Pray also for me to be able to see God’s leading in my life so that I can follow it. Though I make my own plans, it seems God often has a different path in mind for me. I know God has given me my skills and dreams for specific reasons; pray that I would put God first in my life so that I can live the life He has planned for me. And as Psalm 37:4 says, pray that I would delight myself in the Lord so that He will give me the desires of my heart.