RANKING MARVEL PHASE 2

age of ultron, ant man, avengers, captain america, guardians of the galaxy, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, iron man, iron man 3, marvel, marvel cinematic universe, the winter soldier, thor the dark world

Hello! So, we’ve just concluded the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s second phase with Ant-Man, and we’re set to begin phase three with Captain America: Serpent Society  Civil War, which will end with Inhumans, following the two part Infinity War and solo movies for Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel and Black Panther. I recently posted my MCU phase four predictions, check it out here. We began phase two with the unfortunately popular Iron Man 3, continued with Thor: The Dark World which saw Jane Foster go all magic and cray cray on us, we then got the huge Captain America: The Winter Soldier, only for that to be followed by yet an even bigger Guardians of the Galaxy, we were then introduced to Quicksilver (sob), Scarlet Witch and Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and concluded with Ant-Man and were introduced to Wasp too, but more on that in my next blog post.

6. Iron Man 3

I mean, the best part of the movie wasn’t any of the Tony Stark scenes, it was Pepper Potts going all badass on us. The film essentially screwed up Mandarin, this is one of those films I don’t really talk about, much like Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk. BUT YOU GO PEPPER YOU GO. 

5. Thor: The Dark World

I actually quite liked this movie, I liked what they did with Jane Foster, as well as what they did with Loki towards the end. It just doesn’t really stand out though, not in the grand scheme of things. Phase two had some really brilliant movies, and I guess you can’t expect every movie in the phase to be just as good as each other. 

4. Avengers: Age of Ultron

Now, I was a bit disappointed because both CA:WS and Guardians before AoU were amazingly good, but the film is pretty darn good. Vision and Scarlet Witch have instantly become favourites of mine, We didn’t see much of Thor in the movie, he was busy building up to Ragnarok, which I was actually okay with. The villain was cool, and the focus on Hawkeye and Black Widow was even better, however the backlash against the Black Widow development kind of killed it for me because it was so unnecessary and overwhelming. 😦

3. Ant-Man

Paul Rudd makes a surprisingly awesome superhero, and the supporting cast completely made the film. While the production for this film was troubled and complicated, the end result was comedic, inspiring and actually quite moving (Scott and Cassie). Peggy Carter’s surprise appearance at the beginning was awesome, and a great way to connect the film to the MCU from the off-start, as well as a nod towards a soon-to=be MCU hero that’s a web-swinger or something.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This was a difficult choice, because it deserves the top spot so much. The use of Black Widow was great, Falcon had a great introduction, and Bucky Barnes was a fantastic villain. This film redefined the superhero genre by not being an overt superhero movie, it was so much more than just a Marvel movie with a strong super, it was a thriller, it was a drama, it had the occasional comedy, it was a spy movie, and that’s why it completely deserved the critical acclaim that it received. 

1. Guardians of the Galaxy 

A truly eye-catching, visually stunning, cinematic masterpiece, Guardians of the Galaxy plays on the unexpected hero (as does every other film), but in a conventionally challenging way that blends surprisingly well with the Marvel universe. The villains are just as important, with Karen Gillan having a standout performance as Nebula, much different to her days as Amy Pond in Doctor Who. I teared up watching this film, seriously, because the cinematography inspired me and was simply so beautifully done that it really completes the film. 
That’s all for now, check back on the 10th September for my predictions for the fifth phase of the MCU. 
Byeeeeeeeeeeee
TotallyCulture

I’M BACK WITH A RANT AND SOME GEEKY GOODNESS

age of ultron, ant man, avengers, batman vs superman, beyoncé, cara delevingne, doctor who, feminism, gambit, harley quinn, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, maisie williams, masculinity, suicide squad
Before I start, here are a few pictures to create some hype.
Hello! Yes, I’m back. Bit of a change around here, Geek Culture and Me is now Totally Geek. I thought I’d change it around and has a hypothetical ‘rebranding’ of the blog. I noticed that I was writing more about things that weren’t essentially ‘geeky’, don’t fret – I’ll still be doing some super crazy posts about all things geeky, like Suicide Squad (HOW COOL DO MARGOT ROBBIE AND JARED LETO LOOK AS HARLEY QUINN AND THE JOKER WOAH) and Doctor Who (MAISIE WILLIAMS IN DOCTOR WHO WHAT WHAT WHAT). Basically, I’ve been away for a few months to focus on my exams, and this morning I finished my last exam Sociology (I had two Sociology exams, and just for reference I also took English Lit and Media). It seems that actually I have missed blogging, just because it’s a place for me to be myself in what seems to be a really idealised, constructed society (lol jk I’m just introverted). My gap year has begun, and with this comes more blog posts, some exciting prospects, and some fun travelling (as well as re-applying to University because I withdrew my application).
DISCLAIMER: FEEL FREE TO SKIP THIS WHOLE MASSIVE PARAGRAPH BECAUSE IT’S SIMPLY ABOUT HOW WE SHOULDN’T BE LABELLED IN SOCIETY AND HOW MUCH I SUPPORT FEMINSIM

Anyway, during the ‘intense’ revision period which mainly consisted of binge-watching TV shows, my bad, I found myself really immersed into music, I found that my guilty pleasures won’t really guilty pleasures, they were perhaps just pleasures. I must admit, and it is sad for me to do so, but I feel that there is a kind of social consensus that a (excuse me for being controversial here) white, straight, 17 year old cannot listen to certaint types of music without being laughed at. I mean, heck, screw that. If I want to listen to Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, or listen to Hillsong and songs from musicals, I’m going to do that because we shouldn’t let ourselves be defined by what seems to be this concept of ‘you’re not a man if you don’t behave like a man’, perhaps relating to Tony Porter’s ‘man box’, in which a man is expected to ‘not cry openly or express emotion – except anger’, ‘not express weakness or fear’, ‘be aggressive’, ‘heterosexual’, ‘views women as property/objects’. I find myself in this position, asking why a straight guy can’t listen to a truly respectable artist like Beyoncé, in the fear of being called ‘gay’, why is there this preconception that a straight guy cannot listen to music? I am comfortable enough in my sexuality to be myself and admit that sometimes, I like to listen to the Les Misérables soundtrack, but also admit that sometimes I like to watch action films and be immersed in the oh so ‘manly’ culture. When/If I marry in the very far future, I truly hope that my wife appreciates a quick dance to Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off like I do, there’s nothing wrong with being yourself and the fact that people’s association with such forms of entertainment being negative saddens me, even when reflecting on personal experience. I’ve noticed that with celebrity males, being straight and listening to Beyoncé etc is perfectly fine, however being an ordinary male, being straight and listening to Beyoncé results in people sniggering at you and thinking ‘is he sure?’. That’s sad, that’s depressing. Our society takes pride in taking interest in other people’s personal lives, and with this new wave of feminism that I totally support, which again is a kind of taboo with straight men (I know of only three other friends of mine who can openly admit they support feminism without the fear of being called ‘gay’), it still seems like there’s a division in gender, and a division in character. I believe in a future where a straight male like myself can listen to certain music without being laughed at because it’s ‘gay’ and ‘feminine’, I believe in a future where a straight woman gets a short haircut without being labelled a ‘lesbian’. I believe in a future where genders are treated equally, and we don’t have to hide behind a false mask in order to avoid being falsely labelled, because there is absolutely nothing wrong with being labelled as ‘gay’, ‘feminine’, ‘lesbian’ or ‘butch’, but it would be just as nice to be labelled as something true, to be labelled as ourselves. Self-identification is the future, not peer-identification. 
Anyway, rant over. I thought I’d continue with some fanboyish moments. 
How great was Avengers: Age of Ultron? I got to see it with a group of good friends for free because one of them worked at the cinema, and I found myself so involved in the film. So good! How great is Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch? Why did REVLISKCIUQ (SPOILERS read that backwards, unless you want to avoid spoilers) have to die?!?!?!?! The Vision is my new idol. 
Suicide Squad set pictures are fantastic, and the fan-art is just as good. How cool is this fan-art of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, it’s absolutely poster worthy! Interestingly, no set photos of Cara Dele-whatshername apart from the odd rare (one of her fully covered to avoid costume leak). I’m starting to wonder just what role The Enchantress will play in the DCU film. I think I’m more excited about Suicide Squad than Ant-Man and Batman V Superman, not really too hyped about such films like Gambit though, you get me? 
ANYWAY
In the next few days/weeks, I’ll be back in full force, posting reviews on the new Florence album, doing top 10 lists of live performances and songs from musicals but to name a few. I look forward to start blogging again. It’s fairly exciting! 
Thanks for reading, be sure to check out all my fancy little social media sites. Feel free to subscribe by email to be notified whenever a new blog post comes out! 
2. http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/ant-man_avengers_poster_tv_spot-2015-06
3. http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/doctor-who-spoiler-watch-game-5633767
4. http://www.slashfilm.com/avengers-age-of-ultron-trailer-3/
5. http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=120122