Avengers: Infinity War Movie Review

Avengers: Infinity War

Movie Review

5 out of 5 stars

 

It has been a long time since I have thought a Marvel movie was perfectly designed and executed, but Avengers: Infinity War really blew me away. It was perfectly balanced in every aspect of character development, plot detail, and humorous interjections. I was really worried about this one too because there were going to be so many characters and plot elements that needed to happen, or at least were set up to happen. 

Notes for the rest of this: 

1) There will be lots of SPOILERS. Read at your own risk

2) I have not read the comics, or even seen the movies a billions times. I am a Marvel fan, not a Marvel fanatic, so if I get small details wrong, please forgive them.

The first thing that I want to talk about is the character development of Gamora. She's always been a really cool character throughout the movies, but I really love how we get to see more of her history. It really rounds her out as a character and there is just the most perfect wait to let that history of her and her father sink in before Thanos kills her. That made the moment all the more heart-wrenching because of the lack of understanding on her part. 

The other character whose story has become really interesting is Banner's. His whole relationship with the Hulk side of him is fascinating. I'm not entirely sure what it is that is making the Hulk refuse to come out, but I'm wondering if is what happened in Thor 3? Or was there something preceding that movie that is making this happen? For whatever it is, it is really interesting to see play out across these multiple movies and come to a tipping point in this one. I really really hope the Hulk comes back for the next movie and that there is a kick-ass resolution for this character.

Apparently, none of the actors, or close to none of the actors, read the actual script with the real ending. And honestly, rightfully so I think because HOLY COW- so many people died in this movie! The deaths that really got me were Peter's and Bucky's. The latter because we just got him back, and then he died, so we lost him all over again. Peter's really got to me because he became so vulnerable at the end and he completely leaned on Tony in a way that showed their father-son-like relationship. And then, of course, my favorite died- T'Challa- and that massively sucked. I don't think all of these characters are dead though because a good deal of them have sequels coming out in the future.

My biggest lingering question from this movie is: how is Tony going to get back to Earth? Because I really think that's where he needs to go, if only to talk to Aunt Mae. The obvious answer is that Nebula is going to start up the ship or fly over there with him, but what is that relationship going to look like? Are they going to be able to commandeer a ship with just the two of them? Which ships are still working? Whose are they going to take? What will happen when they land? 

What kills me in this movie is that STUPID STAR LORD HAD TO POKE THE BEAR. Nearly literally- he just had to punch Thanos when he did. If he had waited until the gauntlet was off, then not only would the universe be safe and no one would have died, but he probably would have been able to beat the crap out of him due to pure anger afterwards at that point. Stupid. Just completely stupid.

Around this same moment, Dr. Strange gives up the time stone, which a couple of people I saw the movie with were wondering about. First, I really think that he had to do that because he saw that there was only one possible option to win the war and I think that had to be a part of the equation. Secondly, why did he not just chop off Thanos's head with the time sphere thing? Well, there are two points to that. The first is that he probably didn't know that was the way to kill Thanos. Sure it was probably a possibility, but the second point is that he might have seen that option and maybe Thanos was too quick in reacting to the sphere and it ended up failing spectacularly somehow. No matter what though, I have complete confidence that Dr. Strange knew what he was doing when he gave up the stone.

This leads into the question of how the time stone will play into the ending and if it will be used to bring characters back. Because while I think it could be used hypothetically to bring some back, it would be a cop out to use it to bring everyone back. Also, I really don't think everyone survives, specifically Captain America. This is based entirely on my own theories and whispers of what I think happens in the comics, but doesn't Cap die? Also, doesn't Chris Evans's contract end in 2019? Anyway, I also don't think the time stone could be used to un-kill half of the universe. This is a very serious problem that needs to get solved in the next movie, and I think the time stone will play a fairly large role in it.

 

Lastly, in the end credit we see Fury page someone, but all we see is a symbol. Again, in the theater, a lot of people were wondering whose symbol that was and who was being called on, but my immediate thought would be Captain Marvel? I've just heard his name, I have no clue where he fits in the timeline or the comics, but couldn't there be a way for it to make sense? I don't know enough about this hero to more fully elaborate on this theory, but there it is. Please make of it what you will- I'm going to blindly stick with it, but would love more info on it.

Thanks for reading!

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young Review

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

4.6 out of 5 Stars

*Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing a DRC for me to read!*
 
This book was actually something that initially caught my friend's eye and then I found out about it through her, and I'm so glad that it happened because this book was such a great historical fiction to read. What I think I really liked about this book was that it was very naturally historical and slightly natural while also tying in a lot of questions about how the role of family is thrown into the mix. [

SPOILERS BELOW

CHARACTERS:
 Eelyn: First thing I noticed about this name was that it sounded so similar to "Aelin" to me, from Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass. I was worried that Eelyn would be too similar to this character from the other series, but thankfully, she stood completely on her own and was kickass at the same time. What I really loved about her character though was that she was so fierce and at the same time so strongly loyal to her family and her convictions. She may be one of my favorite protagonists of all time because of this strength and confidence without being annoying or overly arrogant.

Fiske: I really appreciate how the first time they meet each other they are fighting literally to the death and Fiske just barely refrains from killing her. But looking at Fiske alone, he was really interesting to read about because the effects of his role in the house was not as obvious but it was still there. I feel like his character had a lot of moments like this: indirect characterization based on the words of others or a small look or action used in conjunction with them. Again, the familial loyalty in this character was really great to see.

Aska and the Riki: I'm putting the tribes as a character because they conflict that they have with each other is not just the premise of the novel but it is also a major conflict for it. It was so great to see this Viking rivalry though and learn about how these different tribes lived, yet were also so similar to each other. The only thing that was slightly cringe-worthy about this though was that it reminded me of the Montagues and the Capulets from Romeo and Juliette.

PLOT:
The plot was slightly disappointing in the sense that I feel like it all happens very suddenly at the end of the book. There is a lot of build up to the moment where the tribes need to go to battle, but there wasn't much of the actual fighting or resolution afterwards. For the amount of page time that the reader gets from the development of the characters and growth of understanding between the two main tribes, I would've like to have seen more time spent afterwards as well with the joining of the two tribes to tackle the common enemy tribe.

That being said, I loved the different details that were thrown in about how the warriors fought and dressed for battle. Everything from the way the moved with each other and how they prayed and buried the dead was fascinating. All of those details were beautifully interwoven throughout the entirety of the story.


The plot line that I think was handled perfectly was the romantic interest between Fiske and Eelyn. What I loved about this relationship was that it was not automatic and the characters really took their time to learn about each other and get past seeing each other as "an enemy". They took the time to really get to know each other and even at the end, they realistically have a conversation about what their future could look like, which added a nice element of a kind of maturity that typically isn't present in other young adult novels.

WRITING:
From what I remember, nothing really stood out to me as overly remarkable about Young's writing other than it was so smooth. I flew through this story, partially because it was a really good story, and partially because one sentence led you directly into the next. I also really loved that so many different details were added about the Viking culture (that I'm assuming are correct), which means that the author worked around the culture to create her story. I appreciate this because then you can learn more about this culture as you read as well.


The only drawback about this book is that there is only one and I WANT MORE!!!! I actually don't think this story would benefit in any way from an additional book, but the characters and story were compelling enough were I want to hear more about this world and their lives.

Sky in the Deep was a lovely break from the usual stories that are released and from the business of the end of the school year. It was captivating and engaging and I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a standalone novel that is not just contemporary romance.

Thanks for reading!
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge: Book with a weather element in the title

Spoiler Free review of Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

4.6 out of 5 Stars

*Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing a DRC for me to read!*
This book was actually something that initially caught my friend's eye and then I found out about it through her, and I'm so glad that it happened because this book was such a great historical fiction to read. What I think I really liked about this book was that it was very naturally historical and slightly natural while also tying in a lot of questions about how the role of family is thrown into the mix. 



The only drawback about this book is that there is only one and I WANT MORE!!!! I actually don't think this story would benefit in any way from an additional book, but the characters and story were compelling enough were I want to hear more about this world and their lives.

Sky in the Deep was a lovely break from the usual stories that are released and from the business of the end of the school year. It was captivating and engaging and I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a standalone novel that is not just contemporary romance.

Thanks for reading!