The Falcon and the Winter Solider Series Review

     Hey everyone welcome back to Silver Screen Spectacle! Here is my review of the latest MCU TV series Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This article will include spoilers, so I have warned you. I will give my thoughts on each episode then the series overall.

    Episode One: The Whole World is Watching

   Definitely my least favorite episode of the series. This was still a strong first episode. Sam’s big action scene was really cool and the bank scene was effective, but the start of his story didn’t connect with me immediately. Bucky’s hit me immediately. The slow revelation of who the old man actually was and the scenes with his therapist was easily the highlight of this episode for me. They also had a strong ending with the revelation of John Walker in the Captain America Suit. 

7/10

    Episode Two: Truth 

    This was an improvement on the first episode, but they still hadn’t quite hit their stride yet. Sam and Bucky’s back and forth was hilarious, and the truck action scene was a lot of fun to watch with the revelation of Walker in action. The highlight of this episode for me was the therapy scene with Sam and Bucky. When Bucky tells Sam that if he was wrong about you, then maybe he was wrong about me broke my heart. I already liked Zemo in Civil War so I was happy to have him brought back in. The weak part of this for me was The Flag Smashers. This was an amazing idea for the antagonists of this show, but it felt they couldn’t decide what to do with them.

7.5/10 

    Episode Three: Power Broker

    My second favorite episode of the series, I loved this episode. I appreciated we didn’t waste time getting Zemo out of prison and any scene he’s on screen I adored. The dynamic between the now trio was amazing. Everything in Madirpoor was everything I wanted from that place being in the MCU now. Sharon being back was an interesting development, though I called her being the Power Broker immediately. Bucky going back into Winter Soldier mode was terrifying but very well done. The Flag-Smasher stuff was better this episode but still left something to be desired.

8.5/10

    Episode Four: One World, One People 

    So this episode is great, but I still didn’t love it as much as everyone else seemed too. Let’s start with the Wakanda flashback with Ayo and Bucky, which I absolutely loved. I really loved anything involving the Wakandan’s this episode. The scene where they go to take Zemo and fight Walker was amazing. “Looking Strong John” from Bucky cracked me up. Other than that stuff, I thought the first 2/3 of this episode while entertaining meandered a bit. The last 1/3 easily makes up for it, though. Walker with the serum is a terrifying beast and the last couple minutes with Lemar’s death and Walker beating a prisoner to death with the shield in public were iconic moments I won’t soon forget. 

8/10

    Episode Five: The Star-Spangled Man

    This is my favorite episode of the series, no competition. The start with Bucky and Sam vs Walker was exactly the Civil War rematch I wanted. “You don’t want to do this,” Yea we do" gave me so many chills. After such an intense opening, the show wisely slows down and goes hard on character development leading into the finale. Zemo’s story in this show had a very satisfying conclusion leading to the inevitable Thunderbolts now that he’s at the Raft. Walker losing the Captain America title and being met by Madame Hydra made me squeal in excitement at the possible Dark Avengers story we’re building towards. Bucky and Sam’s friendship really went into high gear during this episode with the fixing of the boat. Everything with Sam and Isaiah was perfection, and I loved the imagery of his jaded perspective and then Sam’s nephews playing with the shield. Sam's training to be Captain America was believably done, and the episode ended on a good hook for the finale. Even the Flag Smasher stuff was pretty good after this episode. 

9/10

Episode Six: New World Order

    This was a good episode and finale to the show, but it felt rushed and lacking in wow moments. I appreciated getting straight into the action right from the start, and it was very good action. Sam fighting with the shield felt earned and satisfying, and it was nice to see Bucky get to be heroic. Walker was actually my favorite part of this episode. When he entered the fight screaming Karli’s name, I got chills. Now that he’s US Agent, I’m curious where they take his character. My problems with this episode are the lack of big wow moments. Sharon being the Power Broker is way too obvious, and they had a missed opportunity not to have her on the phone with a revelation in the ending. The sympathetic angle with the Flag Smashers went out the window in this episode, as it felt like they had no clue how to end Karli’s story. While I loved all the character resolutions after the battle, it felt really rushed, especially Bucky telling the old man he killed his son. Still an overall satisfying finale to this show. 

7.5/10

    So overall The Falcon and Winter Soldier wasn’t as consistent for me as WandaVison but I still really enjoyed the journey, especially the standout moments overall. 

Overall Score

8/10

Six Minutes to Midnight Review

    Hey everyone welcome back to Silver Screen Spectacle! We’ve got yet another true story historical spy drama, Six Minutes to Midnight. Still, this one has a strong cast and an intriguing story, so how bad can it be?

    Yea, this sucked. This might be the worst film of 2021 so far. Eddie Izzard is painfully mediocre in the leading role. He has one great moment, but it’s over as soon as it starts. Judi Dench is completely phoning it in here, and I don’t blame her at all. The role they give her is borderline laughable. Carla Juri is the only one who comes out of this looking good. She is giving this script her all, and it’s only thanks to her performance that the film occasionally comes to life. Andy Goddard’s direction is actually fine, but there are few interesting things to direct. The script is atrocious. You would be hard-pressed to find a more boring way to tell what is an intriguing story on the surface. At 99 minutes other than the rare moment this film came to life, it was painfully boring or hilariously bad. 

    Overall, I did not like Six Minutes to Midnight at all and cannot recommend this to anyone. This is the worst film of 2021 so far. So, guys, that’s it for this one I’ll see you next time.

3.5/10

The Courier Review

    Hey everyone welcome back to Silver Screen Spectacle! We’ve got a new movie review today with yet another true story spy thriller, The Courier. This genre has produced a lot of great films but also a lot of very boring ones, so where did this one fall? You can find the film in theaters and on Digital Rental. 

     This was a really solid film. Benedict Cumberbatch did a superb job in the lead role. This isn’t his best performance, but it’s a very good anchor to the film. Especially in the latter half of the film he really impresses. Merab Ninidze was the standout here to me. His dynamic with Cumberbatch was great, and he really sold his dramatic moments. All the other performances are wonderful, but this was really a two-actor film. Dominic Cooke does a fine job directing. It’s competent, but nothing special about it. Where this movie shined for me was the script. Tom O’Conor’s script was at its best when our leads were just sitting and talking. Those were the film’s best moments. At 112 minutes the film is a slow burn, but only occasionally dull, mostly I remained engaged. The third act while phenomenally acted, was the least intriguing part of the story for me. 

    Overall, The Courier was an average spy thriller with two powerful performances anchoring the film. So guys that’s it for this review I hope you enjoyed it and I’ll see you next time. 

7/10

Where I've Been For A Month

     Hey everyone so this is a little update on why I've vanished since Zack Snyder's Justice League. So around that time, I was job hunting and I got a new job. While I was very happy it was so exhausting at first I never felt I had the energy to run this. However, now that I've settled into my new job I've realized how much I've missed this. So while I cannot promise an article every day I'm going to do my best to try and get out a few articles a week. 

Zack Snyder's Justice League Review

     Hey everyone welcome back to Silver Screen Spectacle! It’s finally here! The much anticipated, memed, and infamous Snyder Cut of Justice League. So now that it’s finally here after the long campaigns, how does it fare? This was one of my most anticipated films of the year as Man of Steel and BVS are incredible films for me. I have been campaigning for this cut for years. 

    Okay, so I have some minor flaws, but overall I can’t explain how happy I am! Zack Snyder’s Justice League is the true sequel to BVS and the movie I’ve been craving since I saw Josttice League. This is four hours of pure wish-fulfillment and vindication after years of hate. Ben Affleck’s Batman is back! This is the character I fell in love with back in 2016 and not the parody we got in the theater cut. His character has evolved from BVS into a more traditional Batman in an extremely satisfying arc. Henry Cavill’s Superman isn’t in this movie too much more than the 2017 cut, but he’s so much better. How he returns is one of my least favorite parts of the old cut. Here it was perfection leading to a moment that had me bawling my eyes out. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is also phenomenal here with much-improved action sequences. She gets a few superb dramatic moments as well, though. Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is probably the weakest link of the core team to me. His performance is quite good, but the portrayal is so different from his solo movie it threw me off. Ezra Miller is one of the few bright spots of the old version, but he’s much improved here. I saw his potential back in 2017, but a lot of his jokes missed. In this cut, Flash is intelligent but also comedic and has my favorite moment of the movie. Ray Fisher, WOW, easily the most butchered performance in Josstice League, where his character is useless. Here Fisher’s Cyborg is the heart of the film and arguably the principal character. He blew me away with how good he did here. Even Jared Leto’s Joker who returns briefly here is much better than in Suicide Squad, though his laugh still sucks. 

    As for our villains, Steppenwolf in the theater cut is atrocious. In this movie, he has understandable motivations that made me feel bad for him. His character design looks awesome and his voice is much more intimidating. Ray Porter voices Darkseid in his minor role, and it would be a crime not to get to see him continue. As for the script and direction, this is fully Snyder’s insane vision. You know whether you vibe with his style or it annoys you. The script, as much as I loved it, could’ve got trimmed down in a few places. As much as I appreciate the four-hour running time, there are parts you definitely feel it. The musical score is fantastic, though Wonder Woman’s new theme gets overused. The visual effects are mostly great, and I understand they didn’t have their full budget to make them flawless. 

    Overall, despite a few minor nitpicks I loved every single second of this ride. So come on Warner Bros you know what to do #restorethesnyderverse. You wanted to compete with Marvel now you have a chance. So guys that’s it for my review if you enjoyed give it a share and I’ll see you next time.

9.5/10

Snyder Cut Week: Justice League (Josttice League) 2017

    Hey everyone welcome back to Silver Screen Spectacle! Well, this is the last article before my review of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. The theater cut of Justice League AKA Josstice League got released to poor critical response in 2017 after Wonder Woman and made even less money than Batman v Superman. So when this first came out I wasn’t much of a fan but I tried to convince myself that I liked it more than I did. So four years later, how do I feel about this weird film history piece of a film?

    This is one of the most offensively mediocre comic book films ever made. I don’t like this movie, but I don’t hate it either. Ben Affleck is still enjoyable to watch, but his character is so useless in the action sequences it becomes laughable. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is fine, but she’s nowhere near as interesting as she was in her own movie. I’m one of the few who always liked Ezra Miller’s Flash, even in this movie. I thought he was funny and the scene where Batman tells him to save one person is great. Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is fine but doesn’t have much to do. He does not get shafted nearly as bad as Ray Fisher’s Cyborg. He is pointless in this movie and cut down to barely being a character at all. 

    So I don’t want to get into all the behind-the-scenes drama, but Joss Whedon got brought in to reshoot most of the movie after Snyder left the project and it shows. The visual effects are atrocious and the movie looks like a soap opera thanks to the filter Whedon puts over everything. Most of the action sequences other than the tunnel fight and Superman vs the League are unwatchable in this version. Steppenwolf looks terrible and is one of the worst villains in comic book movie history. Despite all these thanks to how talented the cast is when this movie just lets the League interact with each other, I find it enjoyable. A lot of the humor doesn’t hit, but some of it does and it’s nice to see these characters I love interacting with each other.

    Overall, I neither hate this movie nor like this movie. I am however happy to leave it in the past with the Snyder Cut being released. So guys that’s it for this one if you liked it give it a share and I’ll see you tomorrow for my review of Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

Snyder Cut Week: Wonder Woman (2017)

    Hey everyone, welcome back to Silver Screen Spectacle! We’re continuing Snyder Cut week with 2017’s Wonder Woman. This was the first time the DCEU had a critical and commercial hit, though that high would quickly fluctuate. So what do I think about Wonder Woman’s first solo film after her amazing entrance in Batman v Superman?

    Let’s start with this, I do not like this movie as much as Man of Steel or Batman v Superman. That being said I still love this movie overall. Gal Gadot really came into her own as Wonder Woman here. She is amazing in the action sequences while also nailing the warmth and naivete of her character. Chris Pine is an excellent Steve Trevor. He nails every single sequence he’s in, especially with his comedic timing. Gadot and Pine are my favorite romance in the DCEU. Robin Wright and Connie Nielsen give wonderful performances through them all trying to copy Gadot’s accent is pretty funny. Now let’s discuss our villains. Danny Huston and Elena Anaya are disposable but fun villains for the first 2/3 of the film. Then we get the big reveal that David Thewlis’s character has been Ares all along. I like his performance but I have some issues with it script wise that I’ll get to,

    Patty Jenkins did a phenomenal job for her first time directing a big blockbuster. No-man's-land followed by the town siege is one of the greatest sequences in comic book movie history. The script is great overall, but I have one big issue. So for the first 2/3, I don’t have any significant issues with the script. The villains are generic but not boring. Everything focusing on our heroes is well written and engaging. My problem with the script is the third act. So I love the sequence where Wonder Woman kills Huston’s character, and the war keeps going. I thought the idea that there was no Ares behind things and humanity just sometimes sucked was a really strong creative decision that I adored. Then fifteen seconds later Ares showed up. Now I was okay with it overall because it’s an entertaining fight scene. But he explains he doesn’t control humanity, but once he dies everyone snaps out of it. It’s not a massive issue, but it’s always bugged me. Wonder Woman’s iconic musical theme gets put to full use here effectively often. As for the visual effects they are overall great, but especially in the first act they are a bit off and more noticeable thanks to all the slow motion. 

    So overall despite my few issues, I love this movie and think it’s one of the better DCEU films. So guys that’s it for this one if you enjoyed it give it a share and I’ll see you guy’s next time.