Updated Marvel Phase Four Movie Schedule - 2021

The MCU is back with a bang with Shang-Chi (尚氣與十環傳奇). Breaking records left and right. With no real competition at the box office for the rest of September, I hope Shang-Chi can break the coveted 300 million domestic total.

Back in December 2019, I wrote a post about the MCU's phase four schedule. After the pandemic hit, I had a update on all of Disney movies in May 2020. I than couldn't keep up anymore after that with so many moves from all studios. It looks like things have finally slowed down and the MCU's upcoming schedule looks as much set in stone as it can be.

Here are the upcoming movies for the MCU:

• Eternals (永恆族) (November 5, 2021)
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (蜘蛛人:無家日) (December 17, 2021)
• Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (奇異博士2:失控多重宇宙) (March 25, 2022)
• Thor: Love And Thunder (雷神索爾:愛與雷霆) (May 06, 2022)
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (黑豹2:瓦干達萬歲) (July 08, 2022)
• The Marvels (驚奇女士) (November 11, 2022)
• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (蟻人與黃蜂女:量子狂熱) (February 17, 2023)
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (星際異攻隊3) (May 05, 2023)

Sources:
Wikipedia.org

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - 尚氣與十環傳奇

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings(尚氣與十環傳奇) is an 2021 film. The movie stars Simu Liu, Awkwafina, and Tony Leung. The supporting cast include Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh, and Ben Kingsley. This is the 25th and the first Asian led movie within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was originally set for release in February of 2021, but due to the pandemic, things got shifted around many times. During the shuffling, summer dates came and went.



Simu Liu is Shang-Chi and Awkwafina is Katy, whom are valet parking attendants at a high end hotel. On the way to work on the bus, they are attacked by a brute with a sword attached to his arm. Shang-chi comes clean with Katy about his past and that they were sent by the Ten Rings organization. Shang-Chi also tells Katy that his father is the leader and he must stop him. How will Shang-chi do that?



I went in with very low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. It is hard to put into words exactly how I feel as there is a sense of pride. Because Asian led products in the "west" have generally been very high on playing to stereotypes. This movie however played very little to it. It was also the first one that I felt was able to mix the world I grew up into a movie a little. I mean this in terms of the mix of English and Mandarin. The use and mix of the two was the best that I've seen in "western" films.



The story itself was fundamentally simple. But the items of each piece was complex in nature. In all, the movie was 4 acts. Each act built up to the next. The pace was really good as I didn't really want it to end. Tony Leung was his amazing self. Because I haven't seen his recent films, it was good to see him onscreen again. The rest of the cast met up with an amazing script so it was hard to mess up.



Some other parts of the MCU made their appearance to welcome their Asian buddy in. Very happy about that. I highly recommend this film. Go watch it!

1917

1917 (1917) is an 2019 film. The movie stars George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman. The supporting cast include Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch. I caught this movie in January of 2020 at a local movie theatre.

In 1917, during World War I, two soliders are assigned a mission to carry a message to the frontlines to call off an attack before 1,600 men are sent in, which would be a slaughter. They have to get there fast. Along the way, they face many changes and obsecles.

Like many movies of late set during wartime, it has become more and more realistic. The stories have also dived more into the emotional state of the soliders. In some cases, it is no longer about who's the enemy. In this case, that was this movie. You were watching two men go through trials and tribulations that meant life and death to them to accomplish a mission.

Since it has been awhile, going purely off memory, I was at the edge of my seat waiting for the next thing to happen and hoping that they would survive. With that in mind, if you like wartime movies with a more modern spin, you should watch 1917.

I think there were some Asian actors as soliders, but I did not notice any prominent Asian faces in this movie.

Knives Out - 鋒迴路轉

Knives Out (鋒迴路轉) is an 2019 film. The movie stars Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer. Since this movie was really an ensemble cast, top billing is hard to promote. I picked this up from redbox right before the pandemic hit Los Angeles in March of 2020. It is currently my last Redbox rental via my T-Mobile Tuesday deals.

The movie is the investigation of a death in a wealthy family. Because of the wealth, the family members are all very interested in how it will be divided. When an unexpected person gets it, but family springs into action to get the will changed. A famous investigator is brought in to solve the mystery.

In looking back on this movie and watching it again in parts on Amazon Prime a few months ago, the movie was not as interesting the second time around. How could it be if you know how the mystery is solved? On the first watch, I was trying to follow along, but gave up. Like most mystery movies, they leave out key details that they only show you when the investigators is telling everyone how they solved the mystery. I was not too disappointed by this and converted myself to just enjoying how the mystery unfolds. As things went on, you saw all the different family members do their thing. In the end, it was quite enjoyable on first watch. If you like mysteries, this one is a dandy.

I did not notice any prominent Asian faces in this movie.

2021 September Blockbuster Movie Guide

I am finally getting back to these post. My last one was back in April of 2020. I normally do this to remind myself of things to watch. Here are the movies to look out for this month, US Edition.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (尚氣與十環傳奇)



Cry Macho



Blue Bayou



Sources:
IMDB Coming Soon
Box Office Mojo
Wikipedia.org
Taiwan Yahoo! Movies
WMoov Hong Kong