Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phase 4 & Beyond (and a chance to change your vote)

I'm kind of excited, if the MCU rolls on undefeated, for actors' availability/age to push generational and identity changes. Instead of the 4th iteration of Peter Parker, let's grow Spider-Man to Miles or Spider-Gwen or Spider-Girl or ... Growth eliminates the stasis of Spider-Man being a 60 year old comic.

being in the middle of college applications herself she had a tougher time buying that so many kids from one school could get into MIT

This was an extremely accurate part of the movie based on my experience at the school down the street; one of my roommates was one of four kids from Uniondale High School on Long Island, which to my knowledge isn't even set up as an advanced top university/college feeder in the same way as, say, Hunter College High School, who sent at least 10 kids in my class alone.

Knowing how old you are (which is to say, around my age) I gotta say, the game has changed *radically*. I graduated high school in 1993. Admissions that year at MIT, for class of 1997, were 32% of 6,410 applicants.

https://news.mit.edu/1993/class-0331

Last year, for the class of 2025, MIT's admissions rate was 4.1% of 33,240 applicants.

https://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/stats/

That doesn't mean certain schools aren't more-heavily represented, particularly reputable magnet schools and private schools.

By the end of the movie, 3 kids from the top math and science magnet high school in NYC got into MIT; this is not far-fetched, particularly since the acceptance for two of them were put into motion by Peter's heroics midway through the movie.

An analogous real-life school is Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, VA, who had 35 former students graduate from MIT between 2015 an 2017: https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/10/10/which-local-schools-have-the-most-graduates-go-on-to-the-ivy-league/#:~:text=Number%20one%20on%20the%20list,%2C%20or%20MIT%20(35).

the kid in real genius was only 15

You'll believe a man can get into MIT

lol it's definitely *possible* for three best buds from one school to get in to MIT, but the class of 2017 acceptance rate to MIT was already somewhere around 7% and now it's down even further to between 3.5% and 4%. But sure, Spider-man and his friends do all probably have a leg up on the competition. Good for Spider-man. Though to be fair, he and his spider-friends were initially all denied from MIT, so maybe it was pretty accurate after all.

We just saw a good doc called "Try Harder," about the #1 ranked public school in San Fan, where everyone thinks they can get into Stanford, and most are probably qualified, but who all get a rude awakening come application season:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4WZ6nDz-3w

lol that school got turned into a normal school during the pandemic (no more testing kids to get into "the one good high school in SF"), and parents are freaking out.

Tell me about it. I'm not even a parent and I couldn't miss the noise that happened over that.

I love it. Why should one school get all the "smart" (ie rich) kids and resources?

Eh, 35% of the kids there are categorized as economically disadvantaged. Apparently, from what I saw, Lowell High is in the middle 50% of schools by income level.

"I can't believe this movie about superpowered humans battling each other and traveling through multiple parallel universes doesn't accurately reflect the college application process!"

Tbf, counterpoint: I can't believe this movie literally hinged on Peter Parker asking Dr. Strange to cast a magic spell on the entire world so that he and his friends could get into MIT (and Dr. Strange saying yes).

That did lead to one of the better exchanges in the movie, when Strange was all “wait, what do you mean you didn’t talk to anyone at the school”

Strange comes off as a pretty hapless knucklehead in this film... was he like that in the comics, too? (In the issues I read, I guess later in his career, he seemed rather more... mature.)

Wtf does the superhuman genius need to go to college for anyway

Connections? You know literal gods!

Peter? I can see why – Tony's not on the scene any longer, his gf is going there, he wants to be sort of a regular guy

Tony had to have left a will. So many plot holes in these sagas of alternate universes

he left Dr Strange a fart

Yeah, that college admissions consultant video I posted brings that up, that multi-billionaire mentor father figure Tony Stark really should have set up a 529 or something for Peter.

A few great uses of songs in the movie as well: “I Zimbra” at the beginning, De La Soul at the end

When Peter moved into his apartment, and you could hear neighbor noise, I thought he was about to meet Candi, Randi, and Bambi (as the ultimate fan-service moment for headz like myself)

Peter was very thin in this. And Dr. Strange was obssessed with those cow hides.

I thought he was about to meet Candi, Randi, and Bambi (as the ultimate fan-service moment for headz like myself)

oh man I didn't know I needed this but now I'm really bad they didn't do it

*mad

That would have been pretty funny. Babes of the multiverse.

man talk about culture shift
http://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/spectacular-spider-man-99-2-604x299.jpg

Wow... who's the writer on that?

al milgrom

more like al milfgrom amirite

Just saw spider man (finally)

Movie: dope
Huge group of theater goers who were either a family or a group of friends plus some adults who took over the row I was in and spent the whole time talking, laughing, on their phones, walking back and forth, passing food: dopes

I finally understand why so many people are done with movie theaters. (Yeah, COVID, but this is a complaint I heard a lot before COVID.)

We saw it on a weekday afternoon in a totally empty theater, it was pretty sweet.

That’s how I’m determined to see movies from now on.

Healthy approach.

Meantime, unsurprising consolidation here: in essence, all the Netflix Marvel shows plus Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are leaving the platform at the end of the month, presumably to be consolidated over at Disney+

https://gizmodo.com/marvel-netflix-daredevil-leaving-streaming-march-1-1848523123

Strangely, nobody has a thing to say about the smash popular and critical success that was Inhumans.

I gotta assume those shows do *not* end up at Disney specifically and instead end up at Hulu. They are *way* too bloody and ugly for the relatively wholesome Disney+ platform, which had to make a special exception for the *Beatles* doc, because of smoking and a few bad words.

They even had to censor some lyrics in the Billie Eilish concert doc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWzlQ2N6qqg

hype level increasing

Finally saw Spider-Man this weekend, it was enjoyable enough, though I didn't like how they dumbed down Dr Strange. I haven't seen all the marvel movies but it seemed weird that he would do something this irresponsible, though I did like the implication that he maybe does stupid stuff all the time and always casts that forgetting spell afterwards to make himself seem like a smart and wise wizard.

Right? He’s such a putz

Strange's characterization is very loosely "what if Tony Stark wasn't a genius, how much of his blustery bullshit would actually work" and I think it's a reasonably good fit for the character, particularly with Tony gone

i thought "overconfident guy who barrels headfirst into things he doesn't fully understand" was a major part of the strange character

i thought he was fine in no way home, and the mirror dimension scene was a great set piece (that kind of made the final fight seem blah by comparison but i digress)

Finally saw this, first time back in a theater in over two years. Kid was beyond thrilled since we kept it a surprise until the very last minute.

It was fun! And, yeah, DJP and voodoo otm, Strange is all about the cocksure swagger that he can pull off anything and waving away the consequences when he inevitably fucks up.

I'm assuming it's a Sony thing, but I didn't like the way the post-credit scene was just basically a trailer. Thought it would have been more in line with other Marvel stings to be something like just the shot of Strange walking up to the woman in the orchard and cutting right after he says, "Wanda, we need your help".

i think i might have gotten broken wrt marvel movies now? it feels like we're in the late 90's comic universe and that's when i stopped giving a shit. i'm okay just reading plot synopsis and watching youtubes of montages and trailers until ms marvel shows up.

I’m not quite where Forks is at but, y’all, if Disney+ is the only way to see Marvel shows ever, then I’m just not seeing them.

There are cinematic holes in my MCU viewing but not too too many. Some things coming up I care about, others I don’t.

kind of agree but sometimes I just need some popcorn and the cinematic equivalent of comfort food

Well heck to the yes for this

The future is in her hands.

Ms. Marvel, an Original series from Marvel Studios, starts streaming June 8 on @DisneyPlus. #MsMarvel pic.twitter.com/1ZPllR1ktr

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) March 15, 2022