The 2017 _thony Awards

I don't post to this blog much anymore but I'm not giving up on the _thony Awards yet.  I like "best of" lists and I'm going to make one and I might as well put it here.  If anyone happens to be reading this and they want to know what's been taking my attention away from this dumb blog, well.... it's another dumb blog.  With the housekeeping taken care of let's just get right into it:

Best Movies

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The first Guardians movie was a nice action adventure like most Marvel movies, but in space.  It also benefited from director James Gunn's slightly offbeat sense of humor and a wonderful 70's soundtrack.  The sequel has all that and so much more.  The plot follows Chris Pratt's Peter "Star-Lord" Quill as he meets the father he never knew, who turns out to be a celestial godlike being and kind of a dick named Ego.  The b-plot focuses on Quill's teammates Rocket (a tough talking raccoon) and Groot (a shrunk tree that says "I am Groot") as they ally themselves with Quill's adopted father/captor Yondu to escape from Yondu's mutinous pirate crew and get to Quill to save him from Ego.  I guess when you put it like that it sounds really weird, and it is, but weird in all the right ways.  It's a wonderfully sentimental story about family and friendship but the real star is the jaw droppingly vivid cosmic scenery.

Get Out

It's rare for a piece of art to immediately feel like an important, landmark work but that's exactly what Get Out did.  Almost before release there was a feeling that it would be something special.  A study of race relations in modern America it updates the classic Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, about white progressives meeting their daughter's black boyfriend for the first time, and takes the events to horrific extremes.  Overtime, it becomes clear that despite all their talk the seemingly perfect liberals don't really care about the well-being of black people.  Skillfully crafted by writer, first-time director, and long beloved comedian Jordan Peele, with layers of subtext that reward close attention in dividends, Get Out is no less than a masterpiece.

Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is one of the greatest film sequels ever made.  It is darker, stranger, and richer than its predecessor.  In a way, The Last Jedi wasn't following up Episode VII: The Force Awakens but Empire.  Director Rian Johnson's challenge was to make a movie that would defy expectations set by a movie famous for defying expectations.  He accomplished it by pushing back against the legacy that was threatening him.  The Last Jedi critiques the worst parts of the Star Wars franchise, namely a through-line of elitism, and embraces all the things that make it wonderful, clearing room for greatness to come.  The final result is a beautiful movie about war, populism (the good kind), legacy, and spirituality.  It's a true space opera for the modern age.

Honrable Mention: The Dukes of Hazzard reboot you would get if you mashed up Baby Driver and Logan Lucky.

Baby Driver is a movie set in Atlanta, Georgia about cold hearted criminals and one good soul in the mix.  It's got some great urban car chases and a killer soundtrack of alt-rock and hip hop.  Logan Lucky is a movie about decent working class folks from Virginia who rob the mega-corporation that laid off Jimmy Logan.  If you were to make a movie or TV show set in rural Georgia with a close-knit working class family like the Logans taking on the one percent and cool driving sequences on dirt roads with a country/Americana soundtrack it would be a lot like the best possible version of The Dukes of Hazzard.  If you could do it with the same amount of style as directors like Steven Soderbergh and Edgar Wright it could be really, really, rad.  You could maybe even do it without the neo-Confederatism of the original series.

Movies That Most Surpassed Very Low Expectations

Power Rangers

If you knew how much I loved Power Rangers when I was a child you might think I would have high hopes for a new movie based on the show.  However, looking back with a more attuned critical eye it is clear to me that the original Power Rangers series is absolute trash and perhaps the very worst thing that I loved the most at that young age.  As an adult, the best thing I can say about it is that the quality is so low that it's almost charming in a rainbow-trashy kind of way.  So, when I went to the theater to watch the new movie against my better judgment I was thoroughly impressed.  It's a little rough around the edges, to be sure.  The young actors are mostly wooden and the pacing is bumpy but the ambition is through the roof.  The idea to combine Wachowski-esque philosophy with elements of The Breakfast Club and mix that into the mythology of Power Rangers, a mythology that was given less intellectual consideration than this run on sentence, is fascinating to watch unfold.

Justice League

Man of Steel is my least favorite movie ever.  I hate it with a passion greater than any reasonable human should have towards a wasted three hours.  I reveled in its sequel's low box office returns and Rotten Tomatoes score.  By the time director Zack Snyder made his third attempt at a movie with Superman in it I unfortunately had things much more important to be angry about (have I mentioned my new blog, which is overtly political?).  With my rage diverted I was able to take in a matinee of Justice League without any baggage.  What I found is a truly bad movie.  The plot is sloppy, the villain is unformed and lifeless in more ways than one, and it's just unpleasant to look at.  Nevertheless, I can't say it isn't fun to watch.  There's a handful of fun jokes, charming performances, and cool action sequences.  Best of all, the last act features a version of Superman far, far removed from the grouchy manslaughterer of Man of Steel.  It's real bad but it put a smile on my face, and that's something.

Happy Death Day

I'm traditionally not a fan of the whole Groundhog Day thing.  Watching the same scenes several times over is not enjoyable for me.  The premise has been run into the ground since Harold Ramis and Bill Murray did it in 1993 which is especially rough considering the premise itself is the very definition of repetitive.  I'm also not inclined to watch movies written by comic book writers with a "Controversy" section in their Wikipedia page.  Still, the trailers for Happy Death Day charmed me enough to get me in the theater.  Admittedly, the script, which follows a vapid sorority girl who relives her birthday every time she dies at the hands of a slasher villain at the end of it, is solid and funny, although the gender dynamics are only slightly better than what you would expect from a comic book writer with a "Controversy" section in his Wikipedia page.  Ultimately, what works most about the movie is the same thing that worked about the trailer: the star.  Jessica Rothe is so watchable its scary.  She plays every second of her redemption arc perfectly and delivers every joke better than it deserves.  She's certainly someone to keep an eye on.

Best TV Shows

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, whenever the Whedon family is involved in a TV show you need to give it at least a season to really get good but it's worth the wait.  Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. showrunners Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon, sister-in-law and brother of Joss Whedon, have stepped up their game significantly with each season, finally reaching spectacular heights in season four.  Unusual for a TV show, season four is broken into three acts, rather than two, creating a fascinating pace.  The first act, which aired in 2016, focuses on the demonic gearhead Ghost Rider and other dark magic while introducing an artificially intelligent robot.  Things really heat up in the second act, beginning in January of 2017, when that robot has gone full evil, until the third act, which is so insanely cool I don't want to risk spoiling it even six months later.  On top of just being rad as hell it's also a meditation on morality, philosophy, and the essence of humanity.  But it's also really, really rad.

The Leftovers

I once described The Leftovers as "one of those Jesusy Kirk Cameron movies except for people who are 'spiritual but not religious.'"  There are plenty of movies about America's most popular religion for its followers who want to be told that their faith is right and good.  There are less options for people whose relationship with the divine is more complicated.  In its third and final season The Leftovers dove deeper into the messiness of faith and love.  Like the ocean, the deeper you go the weirder things get but at every level there's really only one thing that matters; one thing that unites every religion and philosophy and secular belief system: how we connect with one another.

The Deuce

The Deuce is HBO at its HBOest.  It's full of sex, drugs, and crime but it's also high quality television.  The series is set in the seediest parts of New York City in the 1970's, following the lives of prostitutes, pimps, and bartenders.  Thanks to creators David Simon and George Pelacanos of The Wire the writing creates the feeling of watching a beautiful, clever novel come to life.  The cast is headed by James Franco, who performs admirably in a dual role as solid-ish guy Vincent Martino and his fuck-up twin brother Frankie.  Meanwhile, Maggie Gyllenhaal is magnificent as Candy, a prostitute with a future in adult film.  Pair all that with a great look and it's clear that in just one season The Deuce has proven its capacity to rival The Wire.

Best Comic Book Series

Rocket

I can assure you that my love for the Rocket Raccoon limited series has little to do with my love for Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 and a lot to do with writer Al Ewing's hilarious genre-bending script.  Rocket follows the titular non-raccoon in a neo-noir space heist/adventure.  When Rocket gets mixed up with a bad crowd and a femme fatale he steals some stuff and breaks out of prison.  It's like Ocean's Eight with strange and exotic space creatures.  Highlights include an issue guest starring Deadpool and two pages dedicated to just making fun of Daredevil.  Although, like the Guardians movie, the space adventure angle wouldn't work as well without a lot of heart and Rocket has a big one that gets broken to bits.

Mister Miracle

This year the late "King of Comics" Jack Kirby would have been 100 years old and although he is best known for his work at Marvel their rival DC has loudly reminded readers of his contributions to the Metropolis and Gotham set.  Kirby's ambitious "Fourth World" epic of gods and devils is back with a vengeance and the centerpiece is the 12 issue Mister Miracle mini-series.  With seven remaining issues planned for the new year from Tom King and Mitch Gerads, writer and artist behind the acclaimed Sheriff of Babylon, the series promises to be on a lot of "best of" lists this time next year as well, but I couldn't wait.  It follows Scott "Mister Miracle" Free's battle with depression and questions of his own sanity in the midst of a grave threat from the dreaded Darkseid.  It's some dark, heavy shit for sure but the gooey center is Scott's relationship with his wife, the towering warrior Big Barda.  The art is gorgeously grimy and the story is intensely mind bending.  Throw in some biblical themes and you've got an epic tale worthy of the King himself.

Generation X

X-Men characters frequently serve as a metaphor for oppressed minorities, a metaphor that has resulted in many fantastic stories.  However, the misfits and outcasts known as mutants are also prime for another metaphor; youth.  At any given time there is usually at least one ongoing X-Men comic that follows the teenage students of the Xavier School for Gifted Mutants (or the Jean Grey school).  This year saw the rise and untimely demise of Generation X, a quirky teen soap opera that follows the B-squad of Xavier students written with relatable punchiness by Christina Strain (The Magicians) and oddly dynamic art by Amilcar Pinna.   The student's drama is immensely absorbing but the real star is fan favorite character Jubilee, a graduate of a previous incarnation of Generation X.

Best Albums

Colors by Beck

In 2015, the year after Beck won a (hotly contested [by Kanye West]) "Best Album of the Year" Grammy for his gently moving folk album Morning Phase, the alt-rock titan released the fantastically upbeat, danceable single "Dreams."  Two long years later he released the gorgeously rainbow trash album that goes with the single.  It's the peppiest, most vivid pop album of the year.  Highlights include the anthem of joyous relief "I'm So Free," the trap influenced "Wow," and the driving pop-rock of "Up All Night," with its bonkers cool video.

Felony Blues by Jaime Wyatt

Country artists from Sturgill Simpson to Blake Shelton love to shout out the Outlaws of the 70's but no one walks the walk like Jaime Wyatt.  After a stint in prison on a drug charge Wyatt has released the best country album of the year.  However, going to prison does not necessarily make a good musician.  Wyatt is also a terrific singer and songwriter.  Every song is rich with confinement, freedom, love, and loneliness, from the poppy romance of "Your Loving Save Me" to the cosmic song of longing "From Outer Space."  The only problem is that thirty minutes isn't nearly long enough.  Hopefully a life as fully lived as Wyatt's will have plenty to offer in the future.

Rainbow by Kesha

At the end of this year we've heard a lot of talk about the rash of molestation and assault charges against powerful men as a major news stories, which it is, but it's also something that personally affects far too many women.  Kesha is one of those women, and after a legal battle with the man she has accused of "emotional distress, gender-based hate crimes and employment discrimination," she released a new album by the new Kesha (her first in five years and her first without the dollar sign in place of an "s").   What makes Rainbow the album of the year isn't that it captures the zeitgeist but that it's one person's story of surviving a torturous experience.  It's the artistic achievement of a free woman, more joyous and optimistic than it is vengeful.  Most exciting for me, Rainbow signals a stylistic shift for Kesha.  It's a little less dance pop and a little more country and alt-rock, as you would expect from a music nerd who grew up in Nashville and befriended the Eagles of Death Metal.  Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of partying to be done on songs like "Boogie Feet" (featuring EoDM) and "Woman" (featuring the Dap-Kings and a few hearty chuckles) but the real standout is the stripped down, earth scorching ballad "Praying."  It's a new Kesha for the new world; a soundtrack for everyone who feels like they're looking down the wrong end of a barrel but is glad they're looking up.

Marvel's Villains Suck. So What?

Thirteen movies deep into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and one of the biggest problems with the franchise has yet to be fixed: the villains of the pictures tend to fall flat.  The consensus seems to be that the only foe with any heft is Loki, the malevolent God of Mischief and adopted brother to Thor, who is ironically the star of the weakest link in the chain.  The Captain America series, under the hand of the Russo Brothers, had proven to be the strongest link but has far weaker villains.  Alexander Pierce, the antagonist of the near-perfect film Captain America: Winter Soldier, was really only interesting because he was played by Robert Redford, who admittedly played the hell out of the role. The Russos barely even tried to make Helmut Zemo, the puppet-master of Captain America: Civil War, interesting.  He would have just been a distraction from the battle between heroes any which way.   Everyone else in between falls just as flat.  From the backstabbing Obadiah Stane in Iron Man to Thunderbolt Ross and his army in The Incredible Hulk to the charismatic but toothless Justin Hammer and the monosyllabic Ivan Vanko  in Iron Man 2 to the heavily war-painted extraterrestrial Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy.  They're all little more than a speed bump for the hero to drive over.  Especially Ronan.  My question is "why does anyone give a shit?"

People like to say that the villain makes the movie but that's not written in stone, it's just something people say.  Albeit there is a precedent.  Many of the best superhero movies have the best villains: Magneto in X-Men, Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2, General Zod in Superman II, and of course the never duplicated but far too often imitated Joker as played by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.  Then there's the worst of the worst: Venom in Spider-Man 3, a cloud called Galactus in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and of course the entirely forgotten Lenny Luthor as played by Jon Cryer in Superman IV.  So perhaps there is a case to be made that historically a good villain is needed to make a good superhero movie, however Marvel has proven over and over again that they are not beholden to any of the old ways of film making.

Marvel loves to break the rules.  Nine years ago Iron Man was a B-list superhero, A-minus at best.  Then Robert Downey Jr. nailed the role so hard Marvel thought they could build a previously unheard of cinematic universe on that foundation and they were right.  Marvel called their shot with a few seconds of Nick Fury after everyone had already left the theater then in 2012 they knocked it out of the park.  Before Guardians of the Galaxy the world assumed that James Gunn's greatest talking animal movie would always be Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.  Not long ago the idea of a movie about a shrinking superhero was laughable but it turns out Paul Rudd backed by some of the best comedy writers in the business proved far funnier.

Marvel's ability to make fantastic films without what has always been considered a necessity of the genre is simply another testament to their dedication to playing by their own rules.  As long as Paul Rudd is capable of quipping his way out of a paper bag maybe Corey Stoll doesn't need to be there at all.  (That's not just a turn of phrase.  With Ant-Man's powers I really think you could get a whole act out of just Paul Rudd being trapped in a sack lunch.)  As fantastic as Robert Redford is, no one went to the theater in 2014 for the Sundance Kid.  They were there for patriotic kickboxing and homoeroticism.  Did I mention that Winter Soldier is a great movie?  So, I just don't care if Marvel's villains are good or bad as long as the movies are great, although I would love to see them make an entire movie starring villains like DC's upcoming Suicide Squad just to say "you wanted villains, you got 'em, any more complaints?"

What is Stan Lee's cameo in 'Civil War?'

Since the very beginning of this age of superhero cinema legendary comic book writer Stan Lee has been making cameos in movies based on characters he created.  If you forget about Blade (as many often do) you can credit X-Men with kicking things off back in 2000 and Stan Lee was right there on the beach selling hot dogs.  Ever since, his gloriously mustachioed face has been in almost every Marvel movie and TV show, even animated ones.  He appeared in the after-credits scene of the "even more for children than usual" superhero movie Big Hero Six.  Thus far he hasn't shown up in person in Netflix's gritty "probably not for children at all" Daredevil and Jessica Jones series but his picture can be seen hanging on the wall of Hell's Kitchen's local police station.  The Stan Lee cameos are so revered a tradition for Marvel that the Russo Brothers made it one of the first scenes they shot for the newly in theaters Captain America: Civil War.  If you're anything like me, exposing the nature of the Stan Lee cameo is a spoiler of the highest order and should be punished to the full extent of the law.  However, that won't stop me from making a few semi-serious guesses.

A Janitor

The most common kind of Stan Lee cameo is the "guy just doing his job."  Take the beach hot dog vendor in X-Men for instance, or the oblivious librarian in The Amazing Spider-Man.  More often than not these men are dressed in a sharp uniform.  Lee played a security guard in Hulk and Captain America: Winter Soldier.  He was a mailman in Fantastic Four and an U.S. General in Captain America: The First Avenger.  Captain America is a soldier by his very nature, so it makes since for Stan to be in military garb but that's been done.  Civil War is a battle between heroes and it promises destruction.  Someone has to be picking up the debris left by these super battles, maybe Civil War is the perfect time to reveal the working class stiff who's been sweeping up after the Avengers for all these years.  Although, that's also been done but only in the cartoon Ultimate Spider-Man.  

Phil Sheldon

Speaking of working stiffs, the idea of a genuine every-man living in a world of superheroes was explored to perfection in the 1994 graphic novel Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross.  It follows the life of photographer Phil Sheldon from the late 30's to the mid 70's as he witnesses firsthand the major events of the Marvel Universe.  One memorable scene puts Phil in the middle of a battle between Namor the Submariner and The Human Torch (an android of no relation to The Fantastic Four).  Through Phil's eyes the reader witnesses a true battle of titans and an early example of heroes fighting each other.  Over time, as Phil loses his hair and grows a mustache, he begins to look not unlike Stan Lee.  The tribulations of Phil Sheldon as played by Stan Lee could make an excellent sub-sub-plot in Civil War.

J. Jonah Jameson

If Stan Lee is going to play a comic book character it might as well be one of the countless horde that he created, like he did in 2005 as Willie Lumpkin, the mailman to the Fantastic Four.  Better yet, he could play one that he based on himself and has specifically expressed a desire to portray.  That character is J. Jonah Jameson, publisher of the newspaper The Daily Bugle, frequent employer of Peter Parker and extremely outspoken critic of Parker's alter-ego Spider-Man.  As you probably know, the newest incarnation of the wall-crawler is debuting in Civil War.  Conveniently, Marvel has something of a J. Jonah Jameson casting dilemma.  Not only would any actor be playing a beloved character, but one that was already played exquisitely by J.K. Simmons in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.  Simmons as Jameson didn't just steal every scene he was in, he acted as if he owned the whole movie all along and it's hard to disagree with him.  He remains one of the most fondly remembered parts of an incredibly beloved and acclaimed film series.  Rumor has it that JJJ didn't appear in the The Amazing Spider-Man because of the difficulty of replacing Simmons.  Perhaps Stan Lee is the only person who can pull it off, with his hammy charm and the novelty of it all.  He is generally much more cheerful than the irascible JJJ but he definitely has the 'stache for it.

An Actual Pimp

Another common type of Stan Lee cameo is the "man surrounded by young, attractive women," a way to capitalize on his slightly-creepy-but-equally-sweet-flirty-old-guy vibe.  In Guardians of the Galaxy he is seen hitting on a Xandarian woman, prompting Rocket Raccoon to call him "a class A pervert."  In Iron Man Tony Stark mistakes him for Hugh Hefner and in Iron Man 3 he plays a zealous beauty pageant judge.  The most extreme case is in Deadpool, where Lee plays a strip club DJ.  The next logical step is for him to play an actual pimp.  It seems a little out of place for a superhero movie, but Captain America is the most political Avenger and that means pushing the envelope.

Bernie Sanders

Or, slightly more likely, a Bernie Sanders look-a-like.  Iron Man and Iron Man 2 both see Tony Stark mistaking Lee for other white-haired old men, Hugh Hefner and Larry King respectively.  Iron Man 3 went in a different direction, I assume to avoid wearing out the joke and because there are only so many men who fit the profile.  Enough time has passed now that another mistaken identity cameo wouldn't feel so familiar.  Coincidentally, another silver fox has recently entered the zeitgeist, the sweetheart of the Presidential election, Bernie Sanders.  Unfortunately, Stan shot his cameo almost a year ago and Bernie didn't enter the race until about a month later.  However, that's just going by Wikipedia and several news sources.  I actually lived it and I'm fairly certain this election cycle has been going on for seven years and three months.  That's plenty of time for Bernie to have won the hearts and minds of not enough people to beat Hillary but enough to make an impact worthy of a brief reference in Civil War, which promises to be very political.  Although, there are a few other options in the "mistaken identity" category; Regis Philbin and Alex Trebek  come to mind.

Your Guide to Telling The Marvel Movies Apart

In the years since Marvel started its reign over the box office one of the most common criticisms against their films has been that they're too similar to each other.  There are not enough words in this sentence to link to all the times I've proven my love for superheroes but even I have to admit there's a problem.  It's not a very big problem because even the Marvel movies that stand out the least from the rest tend to be mediocre at worst, but it's a problem nonetheless and one that can certainly be fixed. Fortunately there are several entries in the Marvel canon that prove the studio is capable of branching out and there have been since the beginning.

Iron Man was the movie that started it all and set the tone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a lot of ways.  It was also a huge gamble and they couldn't be sure that it would pay off so it absolutely had to stand on it's on.  Director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr. did a terrific job of crafting a fun, grounded, vaguely political action movie.  The MCU would never again be as realistic as that first film about a billionaire in a metal suit with rocket boots and gloves.  Iron Man 2 was the first to really hone the Marvel formula.  It's flashier and more lighthearted than its predecessor with more quips and bigger action sequences.  It was the first Marvel movie to really look and feel like a Marvel movie.

In between those two there was The Incredible Hulk.  I went over that one pretty extensively a while back, but the Reader's Digest version is that it's too different for its own good.  The look and tone is noticeably distinct from the rest of the MCU and a different actor played the titular Hulk than the one in The Avengers.  As a result it tends to be swept under the rug by the studio and fans alike, even though it is a pretty solid movie.

After Iron Man 2 came Thor.  Despite a host of Shakespearean dialogue and cosmic/mythological characters and settings, Thor is very recognizable as a Marvel movie.  Surprisingly, it's a little lacking in action but it still has the standard tone and humor.  Captain America: The First Avenger followed Thor.  Aside from it's spin-off TV show Agent Carter, The First Avenger is the only period piece in the MCU.  It tells of Captain America's origins and adventures during World War II.  As such, it looks more like Raiders of the Lost Ark than a modern superhero movie.  Director Joe Johnston excels at this kind of period piece and it shows.

Then there's The Avengers; the Marvel formula finally perfected.  A flawless comic book action movie.  Every joke, punch, and teardrop lands with the precision of an Olympic archer, which is ironic since the biggest flaw is the handling of Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye.  The stakes are high and the final battle is appropriately epic.  It's everything anyone could have asked for from the meeting of Marvel's heroes and the centerpiece of their universe.

The next year Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World were released.  Neither one ventures very far from the formula but the former is executed much better than the latter.  Iron Man 3 is one of the more lighthearted and comedy-heavy MCU movies while The Dark World is mostly just dull and attempts to be as dark as promised without any real losses.

The year after that Marvel tried to take some more risks with Captain America: Winter Soldier and Guardians of The Galaxy.  Of the two, Guardians is surprisingly the one that plays it safest.  Winter Soldier is a political espionage thriller that happens to be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe while Guardians is simply an MCU movie set in space.  There's a bit of director James Gunn's offbeat sensibilities in Guardians but by and large it looks and feels like a standard outing for Marvel.

Then everyone came together again for Avengers: Age of Ultron.  Where The Avengers was perfectly crafted and almost universally beloved, Age of Ultron is much more divisive.  It's darker, stranger, and more operatic than all of its predecessors, not just The Avengers.  All problems aside, few could honestly say that Age of Ultron was exactly what they expected.

Finally, there's Ant-Man, which is oddly like The Avengers in that it is the Marvel formula perfected, but also condensed.  Thanks to a brisk pace and short run time, Ant-Man is exceptionally fun and over before you know it, leaving you wanting more.

Next year Marvel is releasing the third Captain America movie, Civil War and their first Doctor Strange.  Civil War is directed by the Russo brothers who also directed Winter Soldier, so it will hopefully be as different as its predecessor, but not too different from its predecessor.  Doctor Strange presents the best opportunity yet for Marvel to get away from themselves.  The title character operates in the world of mysticism and the occult, quite different from the science fiction of their usual fare, with the questionable exception of Thor.  One can only hope they'll take advantage of the opportunity.