Best Marvel Movies

Effective today, "Hey everyone!" has officialy become the best quote of the year.

Captain America: Civil War trailer #2 has unveiled the most expected (or unexpected) appearance in any superhero movie -Marvel or DC- to date. Many believed he wasn't going to be in the film, while some others were skeptical on whether he would join. Thankfully, Spiderman is now among them.

I'm so pumped up!!

Ths brings me to today's entry: I would like to rank all Marvel's movies filmed so far, as we brace ourselves to enter phase 3 of the MCU.

Without furthe adieu, let's take a look at my review in chronological order.

Scenes like this are the reason why I like that this movie.
It feels realistic... Tony feels realistic

Iron Man (2008). Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges. Director: John Favreau

Post-credits scene: introduction of Nick Fury. Avengers Setup.

What I liked: This is the first MCU movie and it started off with a great foot. RDJ is both Tony and Iron Man. I just can't picture anyone else on the role. The plot development was good, the evolution was terrific, the villain was well setup, the flaws were properly handled, but more importantly, it all looked believable. The ending -"I'm Iron Man"- is maybe the best ending of any comic movie, period.

What I didn't like: There wasn't a single thing I didn't like in this movie. It's still one level under Batman Begins, but that's because you can't compare Goodfellas with The Godfather. Begins is simply the best comic movie ever made.

Ranks at: #2

Edward Norton doing what he does best

The Incredible Hulk (2008). Edward Norton. Liv Tyler. Director: Louis Leterrier

Post-credits scene: Tony Stark/Iron Man following up the Avengers initiative.

What I liked: Edward Norton as usual, shines. Hulk is closer to the comics. The story was good but not great. Overall a good setup for the Hulk.

What I didn't like: first of all, kudos to Mark Ruffalo for taking over and holding his own, but it just sucks that Edward Norton couldn't agree with Marvel to film the other MCU movies. Then, the movie kind of lacks drive. I don't know how to put it, but it felt a bit tedious at times, I think because some of the characters felt two-dimensional. It was like there was no motivation to push the plot forward.

Ranks at #11

For some reason, this just didn't work for me

Iron Man 2 (2010). Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke. Director: John Favreau

Post-credits scene: introduction of Mjolnir. Thor Setup. Best post-credits scene of MCU. When I saw that hammer, man I got scared...

What I liked: The post-credits scene is the best end scene of all MCU so far. The only other good thing was the introduction of Natasha Romanoff and Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper character.

What I didn't like: Eveything, except Agent Romanoff and Pepper. One of the worst, if not the worst films of the MCU. The main plot of Tony struggling to live was good, but the side plot of both villains was just terrible. Mickey Rourke is just wasted in this one. The Monaco Race scene was terrible. The final battle gave me a headache. Oh and the post-credits scene.

But, this did.

Ranks at #12




Thor (2011). Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston. Director: Kenneth Branagh

Oops !!

Post-credits scene: introduction to the tesseract and Loki's ability to mind control people at will. Avengers setup.

What I liked: great premise, great acting from main stars and support actors as well, great plot. You can't go wrong with Kenneth.

What I didn't like: this movie suffers the same spell Iron Man did. You can't really mention anything that wasn't likeable, but you just can't label it as a classic either.

Ranks at #7





Captain America: The First Avenger. Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving. Director: Joe Johnston

The First Avenger

Post-credits scene: Nick Fury setting up the Avengers movie. Best pump up post-credits scene.

What I liked: once again and similar to Iron Man, the choice of Chris Evans to play Captain America is simply perfect. The post-credits scene is awesome as well... it gets you so pumped up!

What I didn't like: This is one of those movies like TRON (1982) where you can't really say what happened or what was wrong, but for some reason you know it is not good. However there is still hope it will become a cult-following film, just like TRON did. In CATFA, I particularly felt that maybe the movie needed more: more action setpiece, more drama, more acting. Something seems missing and nothing makes it really stand over any of the other films.

Ranks at #10






The Avengers (2012). Ensemble cast. Director: Joss Whedon

Perfect

Post-credits scene: introduction of Thanos.

What I liked: everything. This is a movie that can rival with Batman Begins (or The Dark Knight for that matter). Of course, it gets a lot of help from its individual setup movies for each superhero, regarding that it doesn't need major character development for anyone. But still, just because you have a dream team, doesn't mean that you will win a gold medal. That's when one must give all credit to Joss Whedon.

What I didn't like: Agent Coulson dies. Also, the post-credits scene. I think they could have done something better. The post-post credits scene was hillarious.

Ranks at #2




Iron Man 3 (2013). Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce. Director: Shane Black

Oh come on man, I had just finished cleaning!!

Post-credits scene: Tony thanking Bruce for listening to his story.

What I liked: Tony appearing as human and as humble as he can be. Guy Pearce as usual shines.

What I didn't like: Mostly eveything. This movie is not bad per se. My issue with it, is that it should have been called "TONY STARK 3" instead of Iron man 3. The movie is all about Tony and there is barely any Iron Man in it. There are like 829 suits, none of them worn by Tony -well except for the famous #24, and the final battle is won by Pepper. It just kind of lost me when Killian kidnapped the President. Also, the Mandarin was wasted, completely wasted in this. I will repeat: it's a good movie, but it doesn't honor the name Iron Man 3.

Ranks at #8




Thor: The Dark World (2013). Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman. Director: Alan Taylor

"You know, my ex-husband was a Jedi Knight!"

Post-credits scene: introduction to The Collector. Setup for Guardians of the Galaxy.

What I liked: Thor and Jane Foster.

What I didn't like: The film has no substance. It's all style but the inside is just empty. Some of the dialogue is cheesy and at times it feels like the movie is running on autopilot, meaning it's completely predictable. Malekith was wasted and there is no character development; he ends up coming across as one-dimensional. It seems like there was little to no effort or thought put in filming this.

Ranks at #9




Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Chris Evans, Scarlett Johanson. Director: Joe Johnston

"Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?"

Post-credits scene: Avengers Age of Ultron setup. Introduction to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

What I liked: It's a  sequel better than the original. You don't see that pretty often. Captain's character development grows even more -if you couldn't think that possible- and you can definitely understand why he has such a huge role in the Avengers, arguably the most important role, even over Nick Fury. Chemistry with Black Widow as a teammate, also grew up substantially. The plot is great, the thrill that passes by every minute is fantastic, and you can really feel the sense of being a hero that Steve Rogers has. This film raises the bar in the MCU.

What I didn't like: Nothing, but it's no Avengers or GOTG

Ranks at #6



Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista. Director: James Gunn

Post-credits scene: The Collector "collecting" himself at his office after the explosion, including a cameo appearance by Howard The Duck.

The Best Marvel Film so far

What I liked: The perfect MCU movie.

THIS is the film that Star Wars: The Force Awakens should have been.

When you have five complete random characters, played by five random actors, mold together, blend together, come together and pull off such a hillarious, well developed, clever and overall, well done film, you know you have done the perfect MCU movie.

It's funny, it's witty, it's robust, it took liberties only when needed and left unanswered questions only when it made sense (contrary to The Force Awakens, that consisted of a 2-hour movie that kept leaving unanswered questions, interrupted by some Harrison Ford cameos).

The chemistry was superb, the villain was incredible, the script was terrific. Heck, it's so good, it's better than The Avengers! Even the post-credits scene is perfect!

What I didn't like: Nothing.

Ranks at #1





The Avengers (2015). Ensemble cast. Director: Joss Whedon

Avengers! A...... (What was Cap going to say?) 

Post-credits scene: Thanos vowing he will collect the infinity stones himself.

What I liked: A great sequel. Deep character development, while also increasing the tension between them that justifies both the need of a new Avengers team and the conflict that will arise in the next film. The movie carries on the MCU theme from phase 2 to phase 3, in a perfect way.

I like the way they brilliantly coped with their struggles and how the team felt "forced", leading to each member kind of running away on their own, with Hulk simply taking the plane to who knows where, Hawkeye staying with his girlfriend, Thor heading back to Asgard again, Quicksilver dying. They may be heroes but they have emotions and feelings. This humanization was wonderfully executed (not sure if the term applies for Thor... is he human?)

What I didn't like: Again, the post-credits scene. I think they could have done something better. Seems that Joss Whedon is not goot at post-credits scenes.

Ranks at #4





Ant-Man (2015). Michael Douglas, Paul Rudd. Director: Peyton Reed

Post-credits scene: Captain America setting up Civil War.

Kudos to both of them. Well done, master/mentor and student

What I liked: What a great film. When I read Paul Rudd had been cast as Ant-Man, and that Hank Pym (played by Michael Douglas) was NOT going to be Ant-Man, but instead handing Ant-Man to Scott Lang (Rudd), I thought to myself something along the lines of: "ay ya-y-ayy...." However the risk paid off very well, and Rudd surprisingly stole the show as Ant-Man while Douglas -as fresh as ever- stole the show as Dr Hank Pym. Evangeline Lilly was a terrific addition to the cast as well.

What I didn't like: While I rate Douglas' performance as Dr. Hank Pym at a solid 9/10, the reason why I don't give him the perfect score, is because I think they could have done more with his character, regarding his intelligence. Let's remember that according to several consensus, Hank Pym is the second most intelligent character in the Marvel Universe, even smarter than Tony Stark! I felt this should have been developed a bit more and make Hank Pym really show off his brilliance skills and abilities as a scientist.

Ranks at #5


Final Ranking:

#1: Guardians of the Galaxy
#2: The Avengers
#3: Iron Man
#4: Avengers Age of Ultron
#5: Ant-Man
#6: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
#7: Thor
#8: Iron Man 3
#9: Thor The Dark World
#10: Captain America: The First Avenger
#11: The Incredible Hulk
#12: Iron Man 2


SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.

Spiderman films

Great actor, but terribly miscast in my opinion.

Five Spiderman films in less than ten years (with a sixth one announced for 2017) doesn't speak to good of how well has Spidey been treated by Hollywood and built up as a character. I like Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, and I think their S1 and S2 films rank as #1 and #2 respectively. Andrew Garfield also made a good effort. However, I still can't really buy neither Tobey nor Andrew as either Peter Parker or Spiderman, the same way I buy RDJ as Tony Stark/Iron Man, or Chris Hemsworth as Thor, or Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, or... Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Bat Man. For some reason, something simply doesn't add up and I believe the main reason is because the main character, Spidey our hero has simply been miscast.

Ranking of Spiderman films:

#1: Spiderman
#2: Spiderman 2
#3: Amazing Spiderman
#4: Amazing Spiderman 2
#5: Spiderman 3

(with Spiderman being a bit better than Iron Man 2)



Fantastic Four films

Suffer the same fate than the Spiderman films, with the added bonus that at least Spiderman movies had a decent script with somewhat of a decent plot. All three FF films have neither. The main error in FF films is the cast. Reed Richards, the brightest mind, the most intelligent character in the Marvel Universe comes across as a huge joke. Jessica Alba as the Invisible Woman simply does not work. Only the Human Torch (played brilliantly by Chris Evans) and The Thing pull this one together. Other than that, it's a monumental flaw. As you can imagine, I am only referring to the first two FF movies. The latest reboot, is a huge piece of ...

Ranking of Fantastic Four films:

What a piece of....

#1: Fantastic Four
#2: Fantastic Four Rise of Silver Surfer
....
....
....
....
#2984298: Fantastic Four (2015 reboot)

(with Fantastic Four being toe to toe with Iron Man 2)



Ranking of the Best Marvel Movies:

#1: Guardians of the Galaxy
#2: The Avengers
#3: Iron Man
#4: Avengers Age of Ultron
#5: Ant-Man
#6: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
#7: Thor
#8: Iron Man 3
#9: Thor The Dark World
#10: Captain America: The First Avenger
#11: The Incredible Hulk
#12: Spiderman
#13: Iron Man 2
#14 Spiderman 2
#15: Amazing Spiderman
#16: Amazing Spiderman 2
#17: Spiderman 3
#18: Fantastic Four
#19: Fantastic Four Rise of Silver Surfer
....
....
....
....
#2984315: Fantastic Four (2015 reboot)



Cheers,

H

Is Sharapova's downfall beginning?

I must begin by admitting that sadly, I find myself writing this entry on International Women's Day.

By now everyone must be aware that after calling a press conference a couple of days ago and holding most of the tennis and sports fanbase in suspense for most part of the weekend, Maria Sharapova announced she had tested positive on a drug test at the Australian Open, a result for which she took full responsibility.

Visible upset, Sharapova announced she had tested positive on a drug test

Most players who have tested positive on drug tests have been disciplined accordingly. Now the question is: what will be the case with Sharapova?

While standing up in front of the world to admit her own guilt shows bravery, heart, class and any other positive adjectives you can mention, that doesn't take away from the fact that she is in the same position Martina Hingis, Lance Armstrong, Diego Maradona, Barry Bonds and many others have been.

While many other tennis players have been banned for testing positive on drugs,
Martina Hingis was the last Grand Slam Champion to be banned from the sport (2 years) in november 2007

Sponsors have already ditched Maria, less than 24 hours after her announcement. Tag Heuer, Nike, Porsche, Evian, among others, have either suspended or halted relations with Sharapova. This sends a clear no-tolerance message to all athletes. Therefore and unfortunately, as much as I like Maria and I respect her as a tennis player, I believe the ITF should do the same thing and proceed with a ban. 

As shocked as I am by the announcement, many former pros have expressed mixed reactions. Particularly I have been quite impressed by Jennifer Capriati's:

Let's start by saying that Jen Capriati may not be the most objective opinion, as she has lived a... complicated life herself. However, despite going through all her issues and despite being in a bit of a rant, I believe she is stating the truth and talking from the bottom of her heart when she says:

"I'm extremely angry and disappointed. I had to lose my career and never opted to cheat no matter what I had to throw in the towel and suffer"

Jennifer Capriti fought many injuries and a mental breakdown as a teenager,
before becoming the Champion she was poised to become

She may be a bit over the board with the "high priced team of doctors", but she is alsto right there as well. Caroline Wozniaki makes a great point when she stated that professional players "double and triple check" everytime they take any supplement or medicine. It's as simple as that. 

Another fallen champion

Moreover, the Latvian company that manufactures meldonium says the normal course of treatment for the drug is four to six weeks - not the 10 years that Sharapova says she used the substance. That's why it is not only Sharapova, but also her team, the ones who where the blame should be placed.

This case is quite straight forward in my opinion. Sharapova let her fans down and as an elite player, who which the eyes of boys -and especially girls-are looking up to, this represents an unexcusable behavior.

Sadly, the announcement came a day before International Women's Day. To all women out there reading me, I wish you my most sincere congratulation and admiration. Keep doing what you have been doing... always following the honest way.

H

The Trump Legacy

Eight years ago I was making a connecting flight with a 24-hour stop in Miami. It was mid-july, just a few weeks before the ending of the primary elections and I decided to run a few errands in the city to kill some time. I exited the airport and took a cab driven by a Nicaraguan immigrant, probably 35 years old. We shared a nice chat during the ride and believe it or not, it turned out to be one of the most defining moments in my life.

He told me the story of how he got to the US. His dad brought him when he was only sixteen years old, escaping the misery and guerilla that reigned in Nicaragua, and being in his teen years, he never had the chance of getting educated or even dream of have a decent income. He arrived in the US without having reached sixth grade in Nicaragua, having no formal education, and knowing no English at all. At one point in the conversation he asked me: Do you know who are you voting for in november?

Do you know who are you voting for?

At that point I had pretty much decided who I was voting for, but I normally tend to avoid political discussions, especially elections, so I answered that I was making up my mind. The next lines he pronounced were simply unbelieveable. 

"This country is ready to change" he said. "McCain is going to lose, it doesn't matter who he runs again."

I nodded in order to let him follow his idea, which he did very elegantly:

"Bush has not been a very good president. He's very qualified, but he ran into too many problems and I think the job ended up being too big for him. He had good intentions though." He continued. "But the main failure of Bush, is that he failed to be the 21st Century President this country needs. He's a 20th Century President. Do you understand what I mean?" - he asked. 

That part rang interesting to me. "I think so" - I said. He then continued

"Listen. You look like a really smart person." (earlier we had talked about what I studied in college, what was I doing in Miami and where I was working. I guess my $10,000 diamond watch kind of tipped him off regarding my success in life). "To be honest with you, I never made it past sixth grade. I can be considered as what most people would refer as an ignorant person. But I do know a thing or two. And I know that right now, the world is changing. Cars are not mass-produced the way Henry Ford manufactured Ford Ts. Do you know he once said 'you can have a brand new Ford T in any color you like as long as the color is black'?"

At this point I found remarkable the fact that a Nicaraguan taxi driver would know this. Let alone, use the correct terminology "mass-produced".

"Now you have japanese cars, german cars, american cars, all big brands are competing for customer satisfaction. It is a different market era you know?" - he added. "And just like that, the political era is also changing." - he said. "In the 20th Century, America was driven by outlasting and outdoing the Soviet Communist System, and they did it, you know why? Because this is the greatest country in the world." - He said. -"But now we are in the 21st Century. The Soviets are dead, and Communism is dead. America now has a different enemy to compete against. This is not the space race, the arms race or the nuclear race. It's a different race and therefore, the strategy that has to be employed is different"

"And that is why the next president is going to make history. You see, the next president of this great country, will either be Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. That means that for the first time in the US history, there will be, either a woman or a black man in the white house. Personally, I think it will be the latter"

Back in 2008...

"Those two represent a new era in US presidency. Either of them will be a president for the new Century. A 21st Century President. And that is why McCain will lose. He's still a 20st Century man."

And then he dropped the final beauty: "But either way, whoever wins, this country, which is entering a recession right now, will get back up again. Look at Europe!... " - he said -"They had to unite and form the EU, to try to keep up with the US. Look at China and India. They had to exploit workers paying them 2 cents a day to try to keep up with the US. And still, the US is able to be on top of them! Those guys in the Federal Reserve Bank, or at the White House, or at those World G7 summits... there is not a single mind in the world that can comprehend the superpower that the United States' economy is."

"God Bless America" - he said.

I was speechless. I had never ever in my life seen such a humble, yet powerful and sincere analysis of my country, in such a simple and down to Earth way. We arrived back at the airport after circling the city all day long, and after changing subjects to sports, entertainment and hobbies, I had yet to figure what I had just heard. I also wondered who would the guy vote for: McCain, Hillary or Obama. 

Fast forward to today's presidency campaign and I can't help but make the connection that again we have reached a defining moment in US history. But this time, we are setting up to move forward with a change, whether we vote Republican or Democrat.

If Trump wins, it means that for the first time in US history, we'll have a president with little to no poltical background. A businessman, a celebrity, a real-estate mogul. But someone who had never been senator, governor, major, or even congressman

If Hillary wins, it means that the prophecy stated by the Nicaraguan cab driver, will become true: for the first time we'll have a female president.

As today, most powerful players in the US are against Trump (or adverse at least) as it has been pretty clear with the never-ending daily bombardment of anti-Trump stories. Some justified, some not so. Some self-infringed, some infringed by others.

Some Trump followers happen to be anti-Obama, which kind of makes sense -regarding the political view- but doesn't make much sense when you go by the numbers. Like it or not, Obama:

• Brought unemployment rate to 4.9% the lowest levels since the recession
• Increased oil production to make the US the #1 oil producer in the world
• Brought oil and gas prices down, shattering oil-dependent country economies
• Captured and killed Osama Bin Laden
• Ended the 2008-09 recession
• Is a better, way better speaker than Bush

President are measured by what they achieve.
Not by what they promised

So under that logic, if I were a Trump voter (which I'm not saying I am, or I am not), I would expect Trump to achieve similar objectives, probably within the lines of:

• Bringing unemployment down to 2.5%
• Maintain the US as the #1 oil producer
• Bring oil prices to $20 or lower and gas prices under $1.50
• Capture and kill ISIL (ISIS) leaders
• Boost the US economy to favor small entrepeneurs
• Be a better, way better speaker than Obama

plus of course...

• Put a halt and an end to China's growth
• Fix the border and immigration problem
• Improve law enforcement and reduce gun violence
• Implement a better Tax system.

As it happened with my chat with the Nicaraguan Cab Driver, I won't be sharing who is my candidate of choice in this article. But I will dedicate a few lines to analyze what I have decided to call "The Trump Legacy", referring to the impact and influence that Donald has generated ever since he announced his candidacy.

Will he be fired or hired?

1. Some of Trump's ideas are actually spot on. 

The problem doesn't lay in his ideas. It lays in the execution of these ideas -or the way he's planning to do them-. It is true that the southern border has more holes than a swiss cheese, but the idea of a wall across the US-Mexico border is just ridiculous. There are dozens of other ways to reinforce, tackle and solve the immigration reform.

Enforcing the laws on the books is another true course that we have to take. But empower gun owners to take matters in their own hands, is like travelling back 150 years to the time of the wild west (or 50 years in Clint Eastwood movies). That is why we have law enforcement entities.

2. A Republican Debate (or any debate for that matter) shouldn't have as focus or even mentioned, the size of a candidate's penis 

Marco Rubio's call on Trump's hands and "something else" was perhaps the lowest shot I have ever seen... in ANY debate ever (and that includes WWF and pre-school debates). However Trump fell for it (in my opinion) and replied accordingly (or not). 

This is the primary election to select the candidate of the Republican party to run for the most important job in the world. Whether a candidate has large or small hands, or has "something else" large or small, definitely doesn't add or disqualify merit to anyone running for President.

3. The reality of Trump becoming President is a scary fact

The funniest tweet I have read regarding the campaign has been:

2016: Trump won't win

2017: President Trump can't do that, can he?

2018: You watching The Hunger Games tonight? I hope my District wins

It sums up the combination of how Trump's fantasy scenario of becoming US President -perhaps imagined ten or fifteen years ago- has grown up and developed in the the possibility that he may actually end up facing Jennifer Lawrence in Capitol City... I mean Washington DC.

4. Trump preaches a slogan that is a fallacy

Here is where I take a strong stance. "Making America Great Again" is a fallacy. Like it or not, Obama gave an astounding truth in his last state of the union speech. "The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period."

Apparently Trump hasn't been to China, India, Mexico, Southamerica, Africa, Spain, Russia, Italy, and etc. There are no utopias in the world. Every nation has stengths and weaknesses. But all in all, the American Dream still exists and it's still there. America is a great nation. It is the greatest nation in the world. I would like it if  Trump's slogan was "Making America Even Greater Than It IS!"

5. Trump is a successful man

Whether you like it or not, Donald Trump is one of the richest and most succesful men on Earth. Yes, Trump University, Trump Airlines and many other Trump ventures have failed, but we can't use that as leverage to judge him. How many of Steve Jobs' projects failed? It's not about how many times a man has failed. It's more about how many times he has gotten up.

I am quite sure that the list of successful businessman who haven't failed in their life is less than 5%. And don't get me started on the list of successful politicians.

6. Trump talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk

I cannot get over how this doesn't make sense and no one so far has capitalized on it in any of the debates.

Why does Donald talk about smart negotiatiors that serve the interests of American workers, yet has his clothing line serving the interest of Chinese workers?

7. Trump has a valid and good point when he says he's "telling it like it is"

Unfortunately, the Brian Williams issue has been misinterpreted as to whether it matters if Brian lied or not, or whether if it should be a big deal the fact that he changed his story. That's not the point. People lie everyday and that is an intrinsic behavior of human life.

What matters is that Brian changed his story for personal gain, recognition or satisfaction. He was at a talk-show host and at a hockey game with a US Veteran. Hence breaking ethical journalism codes. As NBC ended Trump's contract, it should have also ended any relation with the most respected prime-time news anchor of its network.

8. Trump has brought the campaign into his confort zone

Trump likes attention. He likes showmanship. He likes exposure. He likes being the man in charge. He likes being in the spotlight. With all this, Trump as turned the campaign into a circus, which is the environment where he is comfortable with.

Also, there is no need to use curse words and insult everyone on sight. That's why they are called "politicians". If we didn't need them, we would just have the WWF champion in the White House and the Russian equivalent in the Kremlin, and just have them fight each other when the topic of trade agreements and foreign policy on Syria is brought on the table.

Even if Trump does not win the US Presidency, he may end as the most celebrity-like candidate in US history. The US election will end up having a president that was chosen, either because people didn't want Trump to be President, or because people wanted Trump to be President.

This should be a huge warning sign for US politicians who should take it as a signal that candidates should be preparing for a US election and have us US citizens actually choose which candidate we want to run our country, and not pick one guy because we didn't like the other guy, or blindly liked the our guy despite everyone hating him.

That is The Trump Legacy.

Upcoming movies of 2016

Continuing my tradition of writing about the up and coming movies for the year -as the Oscars gave the official close to the 2015 season-, it's time to move on and see what 2016 has in line for us. But first, let's make a quick pass on what I wrote last year and what ended up happening:

Man from UNCLE

I had: low hopes
It ended up: better than what I expected

Fast and Furious 7

I had: no hopes. I mean, what can be said about the same movie repeated six times?
It ended up: Yep. Same movie, repeated six times.

Jurassic World

I had: low hopes:
It ended up: Slightly better than what I expected

Fantastic Four "reboot"

I had: zero hope
It ended up: turning up worse than zero hope

Terminator Genisys

I had: no idea how it would turn out!
It ended up: confirming what I said. The franchise should have ended with T2.

The revenant

I had: no comment
It ended up: giving Leonardo Di Caprio his first Oscar

Mad Max Fury Road

I had: hope it'd be able to top the original
It ended up: doing it

Straight outta Compton

I had: no comment -although I hope my readers correctly interpreted this a flattering compliment to do such an interesting film about Dr Dre and NWA
It ended up: confirming my suspicions

Ant Man

I had: high hopes
It ended up: completely fulfilling them and even better than I hoped.

Hateful Eight

I had: thoughts it would be a good film, but not as legendary as Pulp Fiction
It ended up: turning exactly as I thought.

Age of Ultron

I had: high hopes
It ended up: fulfilling them. Special compliment to Elizabeth Olsen for pulling a fantastic Scarlet Witch

Regression:

I had: high hopes
It ended up: way, way below them.

Entourage

I had: no idea how it would turn out
It ended up: disappointing

Vacation

I had: complete disgust on why did someone gave the go to reboot this
It ended up: confirming I was right

Creed

I had: oh come on....
It ended up: ok, I guess.

Steve Jobs

I had: thought it'd be a good biopic
It ended up: pretty much good

Hunger games Mockingjay part 2:

I had: no major comment on it, other than being the final chapter of this dreadful drama.
It ended up: becoming reality once Donald Trump announced his candidacy for US President

Macbeth

I had: thoughts on how Shakespeare plays never transition well into movies
It ended up: confirming them

Experimenter

I had: thought it'd be interesting
It ended up: being as dull as watching grass grow

The lobster

I had: thought it was the craziest plot ever, and no idea how it would turn out
It ended up: I haven't pulled myself together to watch this yet

and finally... The Force Awakens

I had: no thoughts
It ended up: completely destroying the Star Wars universe forever



and now for 2016........the most interesting movies ...

Great addition to the MCU

Deadpool

Although it has already been released -and has turned into a huge sensation- I have to say it's a real pleasure to see Hollywood bringing a different angle to the comic-book superhero movies.

Zoolander 2

Another recently released film. Oh man, why did Ben Stiller had to destroy Zoolander's legacy.

Captain America: Civil War

I actually have VERY HIGH hopes on this one. Director Anthony Russo has a high profile credit resume on TV sitcoms, and bringing him as the entire responsible to connect phase two with phase three in the MCU is a huge weight to hold on his shoulders. With a cast that has already demonstrated great chemistry, it is possible that this film will serve as the perfect prelude for The infinity war.

Ghostbusters

Was supposed to be released in 2015, but got pushed to 2016. I still have low hopes on this one.

Allegiant

This movie will be worse than its predecesor, Divergent

Please don't mess this up!!

Doctor Strange

They better make this film good. Unfortunately, I don't think they will. Nothing about it so far suggests it will be a good movie. The director is mediocre, the plot seems pretty bad, and the cast is ... well... let's move on. I hope I'm wrong on this one.

Jason Bourne

Really?

Airlift

This foreign movie is about the 1990 Iraqi invasion to Kuwait. Normally American films on biographic topics are a little bit biased, and a foreign approach is always a bit more objective and realistic. It reminds me of the german classic, Das Boot. Therefore, I believe this movie should be very good.

The Jungle Book

This film will be good. This is a classic film that deserves an update/reboot, and only Jon Favreau can be trusted with this sort of task.

Inferno

Tom Hanks and Ron Howard once again team up for another profound movie. In Inferno, a man wakes up in a hospital in Florence, Italy, with no idea of what happened to him in the last few days. This kind of smells like a hybrid of the Da Vinci code with Memento. Kind of like a bad smoothie combining pineapple and a pancake with salt syrup.

Now THAT's what I call a close encounter
with a movie that WON'T be good

Independence Day: Resurgence

This movie will not be good. Trust me.

The Legend of Tarzan

The approach to this film seems interesting, which only brings the question on how much a risk is everyone commited to it taking to make such a movie. I have no idea what to say about this one.

Kindergarten Cop 2

Believe it or not, Kindergarten Cop is getting a sequel, more than 25 years later. I know what you're thinking: Is Arnold starring? Well, sadly he isn't, which is kind of weird considering Arnold should be the only one authorized to star in his own sequels. This time it is Agent Reed, played by the most underrated actor in all Hollywood: Dolph Lundgren.

John Wick 2

Is back for more people to kill, after grieving the loss of his dog!

Warcraft

Video game movies have always proven to be a major flop and fraud. Warcraft will be no exception.

Silence

Martin Scorsese's latest addition finds himself working with Lian Neeson and Adam Driver, in a classic 'established actor + up and coming actor' setup of his. It's staged in the seventeenth century, meaning it is one of the few times Martin doesn't set up a movie in current times. More importantly, he tackles the controversial topic of religion. Since Scorsese's well-known for his violent movies, it will be interesting to see if he is bringing a softer side to filmmaking.

Angry Birds Movie

Yep, you read it here first. Angry Birds are getting a movie. Soon we'll see something like Twitter Movie.

HUH !?!?!?!? ---- HAHAHAHAH !! ---
OHHH sorry, the voices !

Suicide Squad

DC Universe's real -and perhaps only- chance to compete toe to toe with Disney's/Marvel's juggernaut money making machines + great films. The cast looks perfect, with Jared Leto bringing a new approach to the Joker character. We haven't seen Ben Affleck as Bat-Man yet, so it's hard to judge how much influence he'll have.

X-Men Apocalypse

This film WILL be good.

Rogue One: Star Wars

Another continuation of Disney destroying the Star Wars universe.

Pwned !!

That's what happens when you don't shoot first!

BEN! Take of that mask ! You don't need it!

-Why !? What do you think will happen if I take it off ?

NOTHING, because you DON'T need it! literally speaking!

-Will you help me?

NO! I'm not an idiot!

-Yes you ARE!

Venezuela SHOULD be a very rich country

But it isn't.

A couple of months ago I wrote this article on the next steps for the now opposition led National Assembly in Venezuela, recommending what in my opinion are the immediate measures they must take regarding exiting the current crisis the country is in. So far, none have been done.

Most leaders in Venezuela are making a right when faced with this sign 

Today I came across this very interesting article, that captures in one sentence, the constant affirmation what every venezuelan knows (and constantly preaches): "Run the right way, Venezuela should be a very rich country"

Thing is, it isn't a rich country. Which begs to ask the question: Why? Which brings the most simple answer: Because it's run the wrong way.

Most of the Venezuela's middle class -filled by opposition- place the blame on the government and its strict (and crazy) policies, economic controls and laws. This makes some sense, as any business school graduate knows that as the saying goes, "the fish begins to rot from the head". However, the fish also has other body parts apart from the head.

I was having lunch with a friend yesterday at an upscale mall in Caracas when after finishing our meals, we decided to take a walk, eventually ending up at the most visited place any venezuelan attends to in his daily routine: a supermarket. Once inside, we found out a recently arrived flour shipment had made its way to the market and we took the respective two packages (1 kg each) allowed per person, per week, each package costing 2 cents (yes, $0.02). It's so cheap because it's a regulated product. However, whether you're buying regulated or unregulated products, you still have to checkout, right?

Despite many warnings, they keep going past this

Despite the supermarket being relatively empty -which is a rarity-, we ended up spending over an hour in there. You may ask, why? Well, after ten minutes or so (definitely not more than 15), it took us around 45-50 minutes to do checkout and pay. Yes, you read it right: 10 to 15 minutes shopping, 45-50 to checkout. Inevitably, you will probably ask again: Why? I mean, after all, a cashier checkout at a supermarket shouldn't take you more than five minuntes (and that's an insulting time), even if the market is full -which it wasn't. In other words, one could say:

"Run the right way, a Supermarket checkout should take no longer than five minutes"

But in Venezuela, it doesn't.

Going back to your question: Why? The answer is, quite, quite, simple. Because it (the supermarket) is run the wrong way.

Some time ago, I came across this fascinating report on what is called FedEx's Super Bowl: Christmas Rush. Whether you like FedEx or not, if you watch the video or fast forward to the 4:04 mark, where they are filming at FedEx's main hub in Memphis, TN, also known as "The Matrix, you'll listen to the manager say "if you stand here for fifteen minutes, you will see the world's economy pass before your eyes"

This profound statement can be used to explain Venezuela's critical condition, without any comprehension of GDP, CPI, official exchange rate, Black Market, or whatever economic or financial term you wish to use. Instead, just recite this: "if you stand in a supermarket line for fifty minutes, you'll see the explanation of Venezuela's crisis pass before your eyes."

In other words, you will understand why Venezuela should be a very rich country, but it isn't. More importantly, you'll see why Venezuela is run the wrong way:

1. We have a supermarket in an upscale mall, run the wrong way.
2. We have a shipping process in an upscale mall, run the wrong way.
3. We have a distribution process in an upscale mall, run the wrong way.
4. We have a pricing process in an upscale mall, run the wrong way.
5. We have a checkout process in an upscale mall, run the wrong way.
6. We have a payment process in an upscale mall, run the wrong way.

Now keep in mind this is just one supermarket. Add the other 20 stores located all across the city, you now have twenty (or so) supermarkets. Now multiply that by the five most popular supermarket chains, you have a total of 100 supermarkets. Each one of them with is run the wrong way. Finally, multiply that by the six process we listed, all run the wrong way. That's a total of 600 processes, just in the market-retail business industry.

Time passes....

In the end, what other result can it be?

I find it hard to believe that nobody has thought to himself something within the lines of "We have a process that is run the wrong way. Maybe we should fix it, so we can run our business the right way." I simply cannot understand how does a supermarket manager cannot visualize that the less time customers spend checking out (meaning, the fastest they go through the cashiers), the greater revenue the market brings.

This isn't astrophysics, or some sort of complex math problem. It's simply common sense.

Many alternatives can be proposed and I am quite sure some of them can be implemented as well. Below I will list a few:

The BEST Solution is: Drop all fixed prices and distribution controls on regulated products: the easiest and most swift solution. Prices of regulated products will go up, but in the end you let the free market flow and economy will find an equilibrium point, with the supply and demand curves. Resellers of regulated products are posting prices that 10x times the fixed price anyway. Economy 101.

An informal street vendor sells regulated products for 10x time its fixed-price

That of course, is a decision that must come from the government and the manufacturing businesses.

BUT... If you can't (or won't) drop fixed prices and distribution controls on regulated products, then we still have many variants of what can be done:

1. Have one (or more) cashier for non-regulated products: if a costumer is buying an $8 pasta sauce and a set of knives, he shouldn't suffer the same fate than those buying regulated products.

2. Have one (or more) cashier for senior citizens: it's inhuman to have a senior standing up for fifty minutes, when all he wants to do is buy food.

3. Have one (or more) cashier with fast dial-up/high speed connectivity with bank lines: paying with credit/debit cards is supposed to be quicker than paying with cash, not slower.

4. Have one (or more) cashier for express or fast checkout/less than five products.

5. Ban cashiers from using their cellphones while at work if they have customers waiting in line (or ban them altogether).

6. Have one (or more) pre-checkout cashier, so a customer can already have its order taken care of and then only has to pay when he arrives at the cashier.

I hardly believe any of the major supermarket chains will lose a substantial amount of money, if they would decide to incorporate one or all of these suggestions.

This is definitely not what I learned from that famous Toyota's Lean manufacturing case I studied in Business School,
and apparently, neither have the supermarket owners and managers

I will wrap up this entry for now, as I have more material to cover for another post, but I will add a few lines before moving on: most real estate in Venezuela has lost its value, probably around 30 or 40%, yet most of the population argue against the fact that similar to the 2008-09 housing bubble, Venezuela is currently sitting on a buyers market, and instead believe this is a selling market.

Once again, another vital and primary core of the economy, that is also run... the wrong way.

Memorable movie scenes

Although I have been taught to never say never in life and that there is always time to do whatever you want, every day that passes by my life, I always wonder what would have happened if I had decided to become a filmmaker, following the steps of Kubrick, Spieldberg, Nolan, Scott and so many others.

As many of my followers know, I am a huge movie fan who also happens to be a great appreciator of the art of filming. I never get tired of watching great films and also never get tired of watching memorable movie scenes. Thanks to the magic of youtube, today I want to share some of my most favorite with you:

Confrontation in the dark: Jodie Foster and Ted Levine. Director: Jonathan Demme. The Silence of the Lambs 

While the clip cuts a few seconds prior from where I would have recorded it, it still manages to capture the essence of what's happening.

Novice FBI agent Clarence Starling is assigned to her first case and boy what a case it is. After tracking down the whereabouts of serial killer Buffalo Bill, she finally lands at his home's basement where he has been keeping his victims. The music is loud, the basement is huge and she nervously keeps searching door by door for Bill -who had ran away from her upstairs-, only to land at a room with a bathtub and a heavily decomposed body. Lights go off and she loses all sight of where she is, while Bill -using night-vision goggles-, has trapped Clarice and has her at his own mercy. Clarice isn't nervous anymore: now she's freaking scared to death.

Jodie Foster's acting here is as good as it gets, portraying the 249 emotions, things and thoughts that must be going through her head, being trapped in a basement with no lights, a serial killer on the lose, no backup to call or anybody available to help. Other than her heavy breathing, the soundless take lasts the longest 60 seconds of her life. After ten more seconds or so, the orchestral violin soundtrack softly fades in, with Bill's left hand trying to reach Clarice's hair, as in to say "I want to have you", while she's still panicking as you can see in her eyes, giving a completely lost sight, and her left arm trying to reach out for something she doesn't even know. Then Bill finally raises his right arm and points his .357 at Clarice, getting ready to put her out of her misery. He makes one fatal mistake. Being an un experienced gun handler, he cocks his revolver, making Clarice aware that he's behind her, who quickly turns around facing him, which makes him scared and misfire a shot that gives away his position. Clarice, in middle of desperation, exasperation and madness, unloads her .38 revolver and puts an end to his life, while also breaking a window glass that allows outside light into the room, letting her see Bill laying on the ground.

Tech Noir: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lind Hamilton and Michael Beir. Director: James Cameron. The Terminator

Ironically, the reason why is scene is so great, is also the reason why it has aged well, but not as well as other memorable scenes.

The movie opens with two naked guys being sent in time to L.A. Not much info on the guys is given, but they do not seek the cops' help nor do they make a big fuzz of their arrival. They are on their own on the loose. Sarah Connor, on the other hand, is a young waitress who on a regular L.A. day, finds out that two other Sarah Connors have been killed. One we see getting killed by one of the guys we saw at the beginning: some mute tall muscle man guy. The other we find out was killed, on a a broadcast while Sarah is in a bar, and this is the essence that makes the scene so great.

Back then, when I first saw the movie I assumed it was THE OTHER GUY who killed that Sarah, and that both of them were on a race to kill the third Sarah (our Sarah), especially when we see the other guy sort of follow Sarah through the dark streets of L.A., till she decides to hide on a club called Tech-Noir and call the cops for help. The cops tell her she'll be fine as long as she stays in the club, because it's a public place, but when she sees the guy that was following her across the bar, she starts to think this may be it for her.

At this time, the first tall muscle man, had made his way into the bar -not paying by the way-, and while at a distance, he makes visual contact with Sarah. What follows next is a cathedratic lesson on suspense: the music of the club, while still loud, fades away to let the movie's soundtrack take over the score. The motion of the characters slows down and now it is at this moment that we know who The Terminator really is, and what he is there to do.

After a violent shooting and a direct confrontation between the unknown other guy and the Terminator, Sarah on the floor hears the words that stuck in our minds for years to come: "Come with me if you want to live"

The Baptism - Al Pacino. The Godfather. Director: Francis Ford Coppola.

I won't take long to describe this one, because we can summarize this whole scene in just one word: Juxtaposition.

Michael Chorleone baptizes his sister's son, becoming godfather to him, while at the same time settles all family business, having his men murder the members of the five families. As Michael's voice in the baptsism utters the words swearing to God he accepts his faith, believes in him, renouncing satan and asks for forgiveness for all his sins, his actions prove exactly the contrary.

Michael's baptism serves for himself being baptized as Godfather to the family.

The Duel - Clint Eastwood, Lee van Cleef, Eli Wallach. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Director: Sergio Leone.

Same as above, not much to say about this one. It is an eight minute scene that simply flows around the fact that three almost equally skilled shooters have been racing each other to find a gold fortune burried in a cemetery.

What I like about the scene is the building of a five minute tension between the three of them and what goes on the mind of each:

The Ugly, doesn't know what to do. He knows he's good. Good enough to kill both, The Good and The Bad. But the question is, who should he shoot first?

The Bad KNOWS what to do. He knows he has to shoot The Good first because he knows that he is the better shooter. But he also knows that if he does this, then the Ugly will shoot him.

The Good also KNOWS what to do, and here is where you see the beauty of the scene and overall, the beauty of the entire movie. Throughout the film he keeps being labeled as "The Good", despite the fact that we haven't really seen ANY good deeds coming from him. It is now, only in the end when we do. He knows Tuco's gun is unloaded, so he doesn't have to worry about him, so theoritically, his only preocupation is Angel Eyes. So if this is true, he could have shot him right away and get it over with, but he doesn't. In fact, he doesn't make a move at all, until the very last second, when he sees Angel Eyes grabbed his gun and is going to shoot him. To me, this serves as an act of good.

Blondie gave Angel Eyes a "last chance". The last chance was, what was fair for all three men who arrived by their own means to the cemetery. Angel Eyes didn't want that chance and took a chance to shoot, which resulted in Blondie shooting him dead in self defense.

The end of the scene contains a memorable line: "In this world there are two kinds of people. Those with guns and those who dig. You dig."

Dallas Dies - Nostromo crew (minus two), Xenomorph. Alien. Director: Ridley Scott.

While the chest-bursting scene has become the classic and I do acknowledge its greatness, I could watch Dallas' death scene over and over for days without getting bored of it. As in the Clarice Starling clip, here the uploaded posted the clip also cutting a few seconds from earlier that help up build the tension up.

After seeing his fellow crew member get attacked by an alien egg on an unkwown planet they landed, then see this creature attached to his fellow crew member magically remove itself, then seeing a tiny alien creature burst out of the crew member -killing him- and finally, seeing another crew member being abducted by the creature, Captain Dallas of the Nostromo asks himself whether or not he screwed up by braking quarantine protocol and bringing up a living creature that is as deadly as it gets to a cargo ship in space, where - as the tagline says- no one can hear you scream.

After coming up with a plan to chase the creature out of the ship through the ventilation shafts, Dallas walks into the "mother computer" and asks "what are his chances?" against the deadly alien creature. From that moment when he is already doubting his own plan, he knows and we know, he's done for, and he will be next to die.

Cut now to where the clip starts and the faces, reaction, dialogues of the other crew members say the rest:

A panicking Lambert feels Dallas' fate as soon as he walks through the shaft
A nervous Parker feels Dallas is hopeless against an unknown enemy
A cold-blooded (later to be found cyborg) Ash is emotionless realizing the Alien's superiority
A passionate Ripley, feels for Dallas, nothing but sadness.

and finally Dallas himself. This scene, similar to Clarice's deals with the sense of isolation. Being alone against an unknown killer, who you know -not hint, know- has the upper hand, and will likely end up killing you.

The ending. Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, John Travolta. Pulp Fiction. Director: Quentin Tarantino

I remember when I first saw Pulp Fiction at my local cinema, throughout the movie as each minute passed by, I knew I was witnessing a classic, but still had a few doubts on how big a classic it was. The ending scene however, cleared and erased all doubts. This movie was THE classic.

There isn't much to be said about the scene, as there aren't enough words to describe how perfect it is, so I'll just say it is perfectly acted, perfectly written and perfectly directed. Even the freaking soundtrack to finish the movie is so casual, as casual is the walk Jules and Vincent walk, leaving the cafeteria with their guns in their dork shorts.

Unfortunately, there is no youtube clip of it as I would have like to appreciate it, but there are two clips that sort of do it justice.

The ending (cuts the final seconds)

The ending (true ending)

Gene Kelly. Singing in the rain. Singing in the rain. Directors: Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly

This scene talks for itself

Assault scene. Malcolm McDowell. A Clockwork Orange. Director: Stanley Kubrick

What makes the previous selection even best, is Malcolm McDowell's version of it in Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange

Cheers,

H