Marvel Rankings, Phase 3

My current rankings of the MCU movies. I think. It's really tough to decide, especially at the top.

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

Thoughts on Civil War

I meant to post these earlier but I really wanted to see the movie a second time to help focus my thoughts and some scheduling issues pushed that back. Anyway, some impressions from the movie:

-The movie is very good. I might have to think on this a bit yet but I think it's probably in a tie for the top spot.

-As for tone, I'd say this is about 65% Winter Soldier and 35% Age of Ultron. There's definitely a lot of the slightly darker and more serious feel of Winter Soldier but the extended cast and much of the humor feels like an Avengers movie.

-The action is top-notch. The main fight scene between all the heroes at the airport is the best piece of superhero action committed to film so far. Bucky also has a bit with a motorcycle earlier in the film which is one of the coolest scenes in the whole MCU.

-Ant-Man steals the show. And when he's not stealing it Spider-Man is.

-I never realized how far off the previous versions of Spider-Man were until Tom Holland showed up. He's great and his scenes with Robert Downey Jr. are fantastic.

-Black Panther is quite good too. I was unsure about him but now I'm really interested to see what they do with him in his solo film.

-Considering how stuffed with characters this film is it's amazing that everyone gets some attention, and it manages to do so without feeling overstuffed like Age of Ultron did. The screenwriters deserve a lot of credit.

-I know people are calling this Avengers 2.5 but it really is a Cap movie first, though it's fair to say Stark is the co-lead. 

-The interactions between Falcon and the Winter Soldier are especially good. These are some of my favorite moments from the movie.

-The villain in this is pretty low-key but I think he's effective and interesting. Certainly he's one of the best villains Marvel has done, though that's not necessarily huge praise.

-The final fight in the movie is brutal.

-There is a scene after the credits. It's fun but not essential if you're pressed for time or need to use the restroom, which is possible since the movie is 2 hours and 26 minutes long.

Fantasy Football

Fantasy football is back at Yahoo, so check your email for an invite.

Doctor Strange

Ant Man meets Captain America

Rogue One

Despite being a huge Star Wars fan I was completely uninterested in The Force Awakens, but this movie could be interesting.

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Would we look at coaches and players in sports differently if their individual sports had catchy names for their semifinal games like the NCAA does? If Izzo's team had advanced to the Final Four and lost instead of throwing up all over themselves in their first game it would have been hailed as an achievement and mentioned every time Izzo's bio was discussed. Dantonio won't get that kind of credit for making it to the football "Final Four" and losing. The same thing is true in the NFL, just ask the Buffalo Bills how much credit they get for winning AFC Championships. Peyton Manning could chime in on the subject too. Even Tom Brady could comment on the idea that going 4-0 in the Super Bowl is somehow better than making it to 6 Super Bowls and losing 2. Are we just dumb about this kind of thing?

Civil War

Being a Lions Fan Sucks

I'm not sure how else to respond to the official news that Calvin Johnson is retiring. I don't blame Megatron for the decision but seeing another Hall of Fame caliber player cut their career short is even more depressing than all the losing.

Daredevil Season Two Part Two

Daredevil: Season Two

Australia Day

 Another funny Deadpool ad. There's a little language at the end.

QB Results 2015

I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the fantasy results for quarterback this year. First, the top ten quarterback taken with the round and pick noted:

1. Aaron Rodgers 2-5
2. Andrew Luck 2-8
3. Tom Brady 3-2
4. Peyton Manning 4-6
5. Russell Wilson 4-10
6. Drew Brees 5-4
7. Ben Roethlisberger 6-1
8. Matt Ryan 7-7
9. Tony Romo 7-8
10. Cam Newton 7-9

And here are the top ten quarterbacks in scoring:

1. Cam Newton  497.45
2. Tom Brady  463.60
3. Russell Wilson  444.50
4. Blake Bortles  430.40
5. Carson Palmer  425.95
6. Drew Brees  416.90
7. Eli Manning  401.90
8. Aaron Rodgers  401.45
9. Matthew Stafford  396.60
10. Kirk Cousins  393.10

I think it's fascinating that only five of the top picks ended up top ten in scoring. I guess it's better odds than picking a quarterback in the real draft though.

Marketing

 I'm not sure if Deadpool is going to be any good or not but I do appreciate all the work Ryan Reynolds is doing to promote it. From Instagram:

#caturday

A photo posted by Ryan Reynolds (@vancityreynolds) on Jan 9, 2016 at 10:25am PST

This is also pretty funny:

A photo posted by Ryan Reynolds (@vancityreynolds) on Jan 11, 2016 at 12:30pm PST

Deadpool

It begins.

The Lions have a new general manager, Bob Quinn, formerly director of scouting for the New England Patriots. I suppose bringing in someone from such a respected franchise should be encouraging but I find myself wary. First, I think the success of Tom Brady and, to a lesser extent, Julian Edelman gives an inflated impression of the Patriots' drafting prowess. Here's the history. Obviously they have their fair share of hits but I'm not sure the overall record is quite as impressive as people would think. Second, Bill Belichick is the only one who's been able to make the Patriots system work. So far none of his assistants or former executives from the organization have been able to replicate anything near the success he has had. What do you think the chances are that the Lions are the ones who learn all the right lessons?

Captain America: Civil War

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Stafford Agonistes

I haven't found much interesting to blog about for a while but the Lions pathetic performance Sunday and the benching of Matt Stafford is exactly the fuel I needed to light the fire. Stafford was awful and today I see an article in the Detroit News arguing that the Lions should trade Stafford. Okay, great, then what's your plan? I'll list the starting NFL QBs and tell you if they would be an improvement if the Lions could somehow obtain them.

Tyrod Taylor: No.
Ryan Tannehill: Not really.
Tom Brady: Obviously yes.
Ryan Fitzpatrick: No.
Joe Flacco: Maybe?
Andy Dalton: Yeah, I guess.
Josh McCown: No.
Ben Roethlisberger: Yes.
Brian Hoyer: No.
Andrew Luck: Yes.
Blake Bortles: No, at least not yet.
Marcus Mariota: Not right now.
Peyton Manning: At this point? No.
Alex Smith: Unless you really love the short pass, no.
Derek Carr: No.
Philip Rivers: Yes.
Tony Romo: Yes.
Eli Manning: I guess?
Sam Bradford: I don't think so.
Kirk Cousins: I love the guy, but no.
Jay Cutler: The older version of Stafford? No.
Aaron Rodgers: Emphatic yes.
Teddy Bridgewater: No.
Matt Ryan: Yes.
Cam Newton: Uh, maybe?
Drew Brees: I'm thinking no at this point.
Jameis Winston: Definitely not right now.
Carson Palmer: Yes.
Colin Kaepernick: No.
Russell Wilson: Yes.
Nick Foles: No.

So that's ten QBs that would be an improvement, maybe slightly more if you grade differently. And the draft? Here's an article on the success rate of first-round QBs that pegs the number at 38% or 36% depending on how you measure success. That seems about right to me. So whatever Stafford's problems are, the chances are that dumping him would cause the Lions to be worse at the position. I'm sure that's not a popular opinion in Detroit right now but it's worth keeping in mind.