TV Review: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1 Episode 3

By: Chris "Sledge" Douglas

Episodes 1, 2

So yeah, my apologies for being so late with this. The thing is... this week's show left me with very little excitement... and that's saying something. Even though the show has had it's detractors, I had been one of the few people enjoying it for what it is (a spy show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with perhaps some occasional cameos), rather than what everyone else wanted it to be (straight up superhero action show).

This week though... well, read on. Of course, spoiler warnings are in effect.

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Top 9 Favorite Hulkout Moments

By: Chris "Sledge" Douglas

The Incredible Hulk; by far my favorite Marvel character of all time.  I just love the dichotomy of a generally mild-mannered person becoming so pissed that he becomes a raging green monster of destruction.

The Hulkout.  By far one of my favorite events in all of fiction.

Of course, it's not an altogether original concept.  Take the wolfman transformation, and add elements of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and there you go.  In the comics, it has served it's purpose, as a transition to go from one part of the plot to the next.  But in its various alternate media incarnations, it's served multiple purposes.  It can be a fascinating study of the extremes of the human psyche, or an exploration of the pain of fictional metamorphosis.

However, I truly feel that there are a number of such instances in TV and film that are truly better and more interesting than others.  Therefore, I have composed my Top 9 Favorite Hulkout Moments.  Because I am a nerd with nothing better to do than to get emotionally invested in a fictional beast.

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REVIEW: Why "The Avengers" is the Best Movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Avengers

Paramount Pictures / Walt Disney Pictures

By: Chris "Sledge" Douglas


The Avengers.

I was not expecting to like this movie as much as I did.

Sorry, not like.  LOVE.

I unabashedly LOVE this film!

There hasn't been a movie that made me feel like the way this film did.  It catered to me as an action movie fan, as a comic book fan, as a Marvel fan, as a fan of the individual characters, as a fan of the previous movies, and, most importantly, it penetrated my jaded exterior to reach a part of me that hasn't been active in years.

Yes, I love this movie, and I'd like to SOMEHOW explain why.  Here is my attempt to do so.

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REVIEW: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

The Amazing Spider-Man

Columbia Pictures

By: Chris "Sledge" Douglas

The Amazing Spider-Man.

After I saw this movie for the first time, my friends asked me what I thought of it. They'd seen it, and they reacted pretty positively to it.

My reaction to this fourth Spider-Man film from Columbia?



Meh.



A big resounding "meh."



In fact, specifically I remember saying that this movie just felt empty. It had decent moments, but overall just felt like there was no heart.

Now, I'm noticing I come around on my opinions a lot more these days. Maybe it's a symptom of getting older and more jaded to this sort of thing. Or maybe I just have strong initial reactions, but then calm down considerably. Who knows?

Plus, I just felt it was way too soon to do a reboot of a franchise whose last movie was just a few years earlier. In fact, plot elements such as Dr. Curt Connors being the main bad guy seemed to only be there because the previous franchise would have gone there anyway.

So I decided to watch it again. And here is what I thought.

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Mattel's Secret Wars! ...Why are there only 2 commercials online?

Seriously! Why can i are there a million videos of Sonic fan-fiction, yet only 2 commercials for Mattel's 1984 Secret Wars toyline?

Anyways, SECRET WARS!

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The Sober Review - IRON MAN 3

OH MY GOD... THE GALL OF THIS POSTER!

By: Chris "Sledge" Douglas

So... you may have seen this... my first reaction to what is apparently every mainstream critic's favorite movie, and every Marvel fanboy's ragepoint.

I came down a bit from my rage-cycle... went to see it a second time... didn't have as big of a problem with it as I did during my first showing... but maybe that was because I knew what to expect this time.

It's all explained here in my FIRST IMDB review:

http://imdb.com/title/tt1300854/reviews-603

Feel free to give that one a look and show some love, if you'd please!

If not, feel free to read my second-look review right here... RIGHT AFTER THE JUMP!

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Thor and the Avengers vs. Molto and the Lava Men!

In order to help us all wash away the bad taste left in our mouths from Iron Man 3 (which, incidently, a much better movie on second viewing, though more on that later), here is an episode of the infamously cheaply "animated" Marvel Super Heroes cartoon from 1966. This is an episode of Thor's segment, and here he teams up with the Avengers.

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GUT REACTION REVIEW: IRON MAN 3

IRON MAN 3

Paramount Pictures / Walt Disney Studios

By: Chris "Sledge" Douglas

You can't believe how excited I was to see this movie. After all, THIS movie:



... was my favorite movie of all time. Couple that with a series of movies that were ALL excellent to fantastic (I still don't understand the hate that Iron Man 2 sometimes gets), it's impossible to disappoint, going by that track record.

So tonight, I hit the latest show I could, and with the last $10 I had in my pocket, I took the plunge.

Well...

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