The final piece of the the puzzle that gets us to ‘Avengers: Endgame’ was a good one!
Captain Marvel was a fun, superhero breakout role for Brie Larson and a great throwback (thanks to modern technology) of a mid 90’s Samuel L. Jackson!
The majority of the movie is an origin story of Captain Marvel, mostly showing how powerful she really is and how she became the biggest weapon Nick Fury could rely on in case of the most dire situation (aka Thanos).
(Post credit spoilers coming, you’ve been warned!)
If you read this far you most likely know what happens in the movie, so we will focus on the two post credit scenes that Marvel has made just as popular (and as anticipated) as the movies themselves.
The first post credit scene starts with the “enhanced” pager Captain Marvel suped up for Nick Fury back in the 90’s going off with help from some shocks and chargers. Captain America is looking at the device with a puzzled look, when it shuts off. Black Widow and Bruce Banner join him and wonder what Nick Fury was trying to relay. When they decide to keep trying (by adding electric charges to the pager), Captain Marvel shows up behind and simply says “Where’s Fury?” and the scene is done!
It’s on like Donkey Kong now! Fury’s message was received and one of the most powerful forces in the universe is here to help the Avengers beat Thanos!
At this point, many people started heading to the exits, but i was telling them there will be another scene so they came back in!
The second scene was after the credits were completely done…it could be nothing or it could be everything! It was a quick & possibly vague scene that involves the cat that Nick Fury took a liking to in the movie, it followed them around and it was the reason Fury wears a patch! More importantly, the cat swallowed the Tesseract (yes THAT Tesseract, the one that’s been at the center of this whole saga!) during the movie to hide it away from the enemy.
In the scene, the cat (which is actually a flerken named “goose”) is sitting on Nick Fury’s office desk, when it regurgitates the Tesseract! What does it mean? We are not sure yet. It could be a flashback scene from the 90’s when the movie takes place that spearheads the whole franchise, or it could just be a fun take on a cat spitting up a hairball…
Will Carol and the Avengers go at it a little before joining forces? we will find out everything on April 26th when Endgame comes out, until then i suggest you enjoy a great setup to the finale.
Well it finally happened, i’ve been lucky enough to see Pearl Jam 14 times since 2000, and while i’ve seen many “epic” shows like PJ20, the Nassau Coliseum “Bushleaguer” incident and the final show at the Spectrum, i think i hit the mother-load a couple of days ago.
They played “Ten” in it’s entirety! For some this isn’t that big of a deal, they play most of the songs from the album on a regular basis, but for me this was the ultimate.
That album made me the lifelong loyalist more than anything else they have released to date, and seeing it all at once, in order was a trip back to a certain place and a certain time that will stick with me forever.
When my buddy & I got to our seats (which were amazing, thank you Ten Club for many years of great seats) we were talking about a possible politically-driven show, but it turned out to be the farthest thing from that. We quickly mentioned that Vs. was done in it’s entirety the week before but i quickly dismissed the idea they would do Ten, i just simply thought it was something they would have no interest in doing……and i’m so glad i was dead wrong.
When we got Once as a show opener and an orange banner that celebrated 10 sold out shows in south Philly, i knew it was going to happen.
Here’s what the entire set list looked like. at just under 3 hours long.
At the season 4 premiere! (Photo Copyright/Louis Pulice)
We often times use words like “amazing” and “perfection” out of context, calling insignificant things in life the most amazing thing we ever seen or experienced.
In the case of “How I Met Your Mother” saying goodbye last night, the 9 year rollercoaster ride ended the way it was supposed to.
There was no Hollywood ending: the gang didn’t walk off into the sunset holding hands with a rainbow developing over their heads, and that’s what made this ending so perfect.
Lucky for me, i had a front row seat for the development of this show. Working in radio back in 2005, we had a young Josh Radnor come in for a live interview the day the series premiered. He was quiet and shy but had a confidence about himself and this character “Ted” he was going to debut to the world. Not knowing a thing about the show, our consensus at the time was this show wouldn’t be able to balance the realness, comedy and deepness Josh was telling us about (Also had the pleasure of interviewing Cobie Smulders and Neil Patrick Harris at a private CBS event for season 4, as you can see in the photos).
Thankfully, we were dead wrong.
This show was truly special, showing us that it’s OK to be unlucky in love because it’s all part of the ride we will look back at one day and cherish.
Ted was truly an amazing character: he was one of the “good guys” in a sea of monsters, a sensitive, deep person who wanted to find love and stay in love, looking for the fairytale ending most of us could only dream of.
He went through so much to get to the pivotal point of the finale, having the guts to talk to Tracy while she fought the rain with that yellow umbrella at the train station.
Me interviewing Cobie Smulders! (Photo Copyright/Louis Pulice)
We rooted for Ted when he thought he found the one in Stella, we yelled at him through the TV when he ruined it with Robin early on, and i dare anyone who was a true fan of the show to say they did not shed a tear in the finale when he said this:
It was at times a long and difficult road…. But I’m glad it was long and difficult because if I hadn’t gone through hell to get there, the lesson might not have been as clear… Right from the moment I met your mom I knew, I have to love this woman as much as I can always for as long as I can and I can never stop loving her, not even for a second…. I carried that lesson with me through every stupid fight we ever had, every 5 AM Christmas morning, every sleepy Sunday afternoon, through every speed bump, every pang of jealousy or boredom or uncertainty that came our way… I carried that lesson with me… And I carried it with me when she got sick… Even then in what can only be called the worst of times, all I can do was thank god, thank every god there is or ever was or will be and the whole universe and anyone else I could possibly thank…. And I saw that beautiful girl on that train platform…and then I had to guts to stand up, walk over to her, tap her on the shoulder, open my mouth, and speak…
I’m about to be a father for the first time in just a couple of weeks, and the words above couldn’t hit home any harder. As i look at my wife, the love of my life, and think about the little girl inside her stomach that will one day ask me how mom and i met, it only makes the words more powerful.
Holding true to the show’s premise, the final few minutes were a rollercoaster, showing all the love Ted had for Tracy leading up to her death, and then having his kids call him out for a 9 year story that only included mom in the end.
I know lots of people are mad because he went after Robin, but i agree with the decision. He always loved her, even in these final episodes he couldn’t fully let her go, and this stood consistent. Tracy had a love of her life too, Max, who died in an accident. Both Ted and Tracy were so close to getting married to different people. While my first reaction was to be a little upset with the quick transition, it made sense.
Me interviewing Neil Patrick Harris (Photo Copyright/Louis Pulice)
We can’t get mad that Ted moved on, i think it’s ticking people off because it happened so fast in the episode, after that powerful sequence the kids seem apathetic, but it’s 6 years later and they love their Dad! They also seem to love Robin, who “comes by for dinner” quite often at that point, it seems”
The image of Ted holding up the blue French horn will be embedded in my mind for a long time, as a lesson that life can come full circle, no matter how heartbreaking it can be along the way.
This is how life works, we don’t always wind up with the #1, sometimes we do and we lose them. Sometimes we settle for someone else and live a happy, fulfilling life anyway. Nothing is actually perfect, and there was no better place to experience that than in “How I Met Your Mother.”
Do i wish they could’ve stretched this final hour out into a couple of episodes not to rush through the aftermath of the wedding, ABSOLUTELY! It would’ve been great to see the flash forwards in more detail, but i understand why they didn’t.
As great as Cristin Milioti was in the role, you can’t dwell on the “mother” too much because it’s not about her! We only find out her first name is Tracy in this last episode! This show was about one man’s journey through the prime of his life and the wonderful story he was able to share with his kids, and us, through 9 seasons.
We won’t see a show this smart, funny, emotional and real for a long time, or ever again.
It’s been a while! Had to come out of hiding with some highlights from an amazing Pearl Jam show last night in Brooklyn.
Pearl Jam and Brooklyn…two of my favorite all-time things!
Ed was frustrated for most of the night, he kept looking over at someone on Stone’s side. He was unhappy with the mic levels, mic feedback, two guitars crapping out on him, some bad tasting wine and he even showed frustration when he attempted to give the fan attending his 100th show a bottle of wine, he wound up throwing it because there was too much space between the stage and the railing…it seemed to add some extra angst to some songs which was a plus for us!
Regardless of the mishaps the show was great with a pleasing set list (see below).
(Photo Copyright/Louis Pulice)
I’m so glad I was able to experience the band up close for the first time in GA, NOTHING beats being up close and seeing all the little things that go on which you would never know about from far away.
A couple of highlights: First time seeing the band with Eddie at lead perform the Mother Love Bone song Chloe Dancer! Check it out:
Another highlight was toward the end of the show when they did Porch, Eddie decided to take out his frustrations by swinging on one of the light fixtures!
Here’s the set list:
1. Pendulum
2. Release
3. Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
4. Lightning Bolt
5. Corduroy
6. Mind Your Manners
7. Dissident
8. Why Go
9. Swallowed Whole
10. I Am Mine
11. Infallible
12. Given To Fly
13. Sirens
14. Eruption-(Van Halen Mike solo)
15. Spin The Black Circle
16. Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns-(Mother Love Bone)
17. Save You
18. Let The Records Play
19. Do The Evolution
20. Rearviewmirror
(Photo Copyright/Louis Pulice)
Encore 1
21. Oceans(!)
22. Yellow Moon
23. Sleight Of Hand
24. Just Breathe
25. Daughter/Blitzkrieg Bop-(Ramones)
26. Got Some
27. Porch
(Photo Copyright/Louis Pulice)
Encore 2
28. Wasted Reprise
29. Life Wasted
30. Alive
31. Sonic Reducer
32. Indifference
Been a while since my last post, lots of things happening but i’ll save that for another time.
The 55th GRAMMY Awards will be given away this weekend (February 10th), and it’s always a fun time to give predictions in the rock-related categories!
I’ll tell you the truth, i’m not too enthusiastic about the state of my beloved rock music right now, but you have to hold out hope that the rut we are in is just something that is cyclical and we will get back to SOME kind of golden age, right?
Metallica Rocks AC! (Photo copyright: Louis Pulice)
What a weekend! Whenever i get the slightest doubt about going to a festival, Metallica restores my faith! They are better than ever, and seeing Ride the Lightning and The Black Album done in it’s entirety was icing on the cake!
It’s a sad day with the passing of Davy Jones of The Monkees. When we had him on for an interview back in September he was in such a positive mood and seemed to be in a good place. Rest in peace Davy
The final piece of the the puzzle that gets us to ‘Avengers: Endgame’ was a good one!
Louis Pulice 