In no particular order….
With Suicide Squad, Civil War, Batman v Superman, and Doctor Strange coming out next year, I’m positive that I will be updating this list soon.
The Dark Knight
“Don't talk like one of them. You're not! Even if you'd like to be. To them, you're just a freak, like me! They need you right now, but when they don't, they'll cast you out, like a leper! You see, their morals, their code, it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these... these civilized people, they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve.”
This movie got it. “Batman Begins” was a great reboot and Nolan finally got Batman and his origins right and introduced Batman’s code and what he stands for to the general admission crowd. Then, “The Dark Knight” introduced us to Batman’s world and truly showed us what a day in Bruce Wayne’s shoes would look and feel like. I was so impressed with “The Dark Knight” and I still am, in my opinion, it’s the first CBM to really bring across the feel of the Batman mythos and comic. This is something that I feel will carry over into the DCEU and I couldn’t be more excited.
Favorite Moments:
The opening scene (Bank Robbery)
The interrogation scene with The Joker
The car chase and the Batpod
The Joker/Two Face Hospital Scene
Alfred stitching up Wayne’s arm
The Joker/Batman Final Confrontation
….Too many moments to name….
Iron Man
Amazing. Whenever I have the chance to watch Iron Man 1, I can easily watch it from start to finish and be fully entertained. This is the movie that not only established Iron Man as a household name and a force to be reckoned with at the Box Office, but it’s the movie that started the MCU and brought Marvel Comics to life.
Favorite Moments:
The Cave sequence and creation of the Mark I Iron Man suit
The Jericho Speech and Demonstration
Tony Stark messing around in his lab
The “Icing Problem”
Iron Man’s first mission
Obadiah Stane stealing Stark’s tech
Proof that Tony Stark does have a heart
The Winter Soldier
“The price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not.”
Just like Iron Man 1 brought Tony Stark to life, The Winter Soldier brought Steve Rogers to life and showed us Captain America in modern times. Hydra and The Winter Soldier gave us amazing villains, and the repercussions of the downfall of S.H.I.E.L.D could be felt throughout the MCU after the events of The Winter Soldier. With great performances from Chris Evans, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie and more, The Winter Soldier was Marvel Studios at it’s strongest. The Winter Soldier also gave us the Russo Brothers, who will be leading us into Civil War and beyond.
Favorite Moments:
On your left
The opening sequence on the ship
The Triskelion and the meetings with Alexander Pierce, Fury, and Cap
The Elevator Scene
Cap vs Quinjet
Fury Assassination
Winter Soldier/Hydra vs Cap, Falcon, and Widow
Captain America vs The Winter Soldier
….Overload, Too many scenes to name….
Batman Begins
“And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.”
Amazing movie. Again, this movie did it right. It took influence from the comics and brought the characters and story to life. The origin was done perfectly, not only the murder of Bruce’s parents but also the origin of Batman and what he stands for. The quote above that Bruce’s father says to him when he’s a young boy and later Alfred repeats is one of the strongest lines in any CBM. This movie also got Gotham right and set up “The Dark Knight” perfectly. Some of Nolan’s best work.
Favorite Moments:
The training sequences with Ra’s
The origin story
“Nice Coat”
“Swear To Me!!!!”
The Tumbler, the chase scenes and “Does it come in black”
The Origin of the Bat Cave
The Joker Card ending scene
….Too Many To Name….
Kick-Ass
It’s a funny movie, but it actually tells a good story that really draws you in and feels like a comic book come to life. It also has some amazing performances from Mark Strong, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Nicolas Cage.
Favorite Moments:
Hit Girl and Mindy.
(She steals every scene she’s in the action is amazing and she’s hilarious)
When Kick-Ass gets his ass kicked
The scenes in the comic book shop
The Mob scenes
The “Microwave” scene
Hit Girl Saves the day/Big Daddy’s Torture
The Final Battle
V for Vendetta
This is an awesome movie that delves into so much more than just the comics. With amazing performances all around from Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, and Stephen Fry the movie deals with a freedom fighter who works in the shadows and fights to overthrow a brutal neo-fascist regime that has subjugated the dystopian United Kingdom and exterminated its opponents in concentration camps. A truly great movie, if you haven’t seen it yet, go see it, now.
Favorite Moments:
V’s introduction and when he introduces himself to Evey
Evey’s backstory
Evey’s transformation
The Talk Show with host Gordon Deitrich
The Music
The dialogue and delivery
Ant-Man
“Second chances don't come around all that often. I suggest you take a really close look at it. This is your chance to earn that look in your daughter's eyes, to become the hero that she already thinks you are.”
Marvel chose to embrace Ant-Man, and it paid off, it’s a fun movie, with great performances, great characterization and a great story. Michael Douglas gives an amazing performance as Old Hank Pym, and the story of Hank Pym is brought to life through flashbacks and flawless CGI, and heartfelt scenes that make you want to give Hope Van Dyne a hug and tell her that everything is going to be okay. Evangeline Lilly played the role of Hope van Dyne perfectly, she made us feel for her and at the same time she made us believe that she is worthy of a suit. Corey Stoll was a definite highlight as Darren Cross/Yellowjacket. He was smart, aggressive, emotional, and he let the “Cross Particles” and constant exposure to experiments get the best of him, and slowly drive him insane. Paul Rudd was awesome. I’ve always been a fan of Rudd and this movie showed his versatility even more. I actually believed Rudd was Lang and I got lost in the MCU. I can’t wait to see more of him. The visual effects and the fight sequences were absolutely amazing. Another major highlight was the Quantum Realm, and what that can mean for the future of the MCU. There were so many scenes that brought me right back to the comics. There’s definitely more to like, but I want to keep this short. Ant-Man Rocks.
Favorite Moments:
The Hank and Janet flashback scene
Hank explaining Janet’s “death” to Hope
The Ant-Man vs Falcon
The visual effects and action
The heist scenes
Old Hank Pym.
The Quantum Realm
The Avengers
History, this movie was an instant classic. This movie was awesome, and I was waiting for it for so long. This is one of the first movies that I was insanely hyped for and it totally followed through on the hype. I went into the Theatre excited and left satisfied. I’m sure everybody has seen this movie…. it is amazing.
Favorite Moments:
Hulk.
Iron Man vs Thor
Black Widow confronting Loki
Loki and Hawkeye stealing the Iridium
The Tesseract/Wormhole
The music.
Loki squaring off against Iron Man
The final battle sequence
….too many to list, too many....
The Crow
“I'm not gonna kill you. Your job will be to tell the rest of them that death is coming for them, tonight. Tell them Eric Draven sends his regards.”
The Crow. For those of you that haven’t seen this movie, watch it, now. It has influenced countless movies, it has amazing performances, and it has one of the best soundtracks ever. It’s definitely an older movie, but it is not afraid to be graphic and it will make you root for the hero. It’s an awesome revenge story that combines real issues, fantasy, and amazing action scenes.
I’m going to avoid spoilers here, if you haven’t seen it you might want to avoid reading my “favorite moments” too, and instead go out and watch the movie, now. Also, RIP Brandon Lee, I can only imagine how many amazing performances he had left to give us.
Favorite Moments:
The Crow watching over Sarah
The resurrection of Eric Draven
Eric’s revenge
The Flashback Scenes
The Action and Fight Scenes
The relationships and character dynamic
The feel of the city
Also DEFINITELY on the list and in no particular order
Hellboy I and II
Guardians of The Galaxy
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Man of Steel
The Watchmen
Sin City
Spider-Man 2
Batman (1989) and Batman Returns