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    Movie Review

    Avengers: Endgame is everything Marvel fans could want and more

    Alex Bentley
    Apr 25, 2019 | 3:45 pm
    Avengers: Endgame is everything Marvel fans could want and more
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    What each viewer will want out of Avengers: Endgame depends on their devotion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I used to decry Marvel for compelling fans to see each and every one of the previous 21 movies to keep up with the larger storyline connecting them all. In this film, all of that prior knowledge finally comes to a head, and to say that it rewards loyal viewers is an understatement.

    Picking up in the aftermath of Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) infamous snap that turned half of all living creatures into dust in Avengers: Infinity War, the surviving Avengers must regroup and see if there is any way forward. The road map ahead will require all of the brainpower of heroes like Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), combined with the brute strength of Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson).

    And that is about all that’s safe to say about the plot. However, given that there’s another Spider-Man movie coming out this summer, and plans have already been made for sequels to both Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s no spoiler to say that those characters — almost all of whom were killed in Infinity War — and others return in Endgame. But how they return is best left to discover upon viewing.

    The film, as you can tell by the title, represents the end of an era for MCU Phase One characters like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), no matter what actually happens to them individually. That naturally brings up a lot of emotion, but how directors Joe and Anthony Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely deploy those feelings is a welcome surprise.

    What the filmmakers, along with producer Kevin Feige, have learned over the course of these movies is that smaller is usually better. There’s a time and place for epic scenes — and this film contains the most epic of epic scenes — but the audience won’t care about the outcome of those battles if the filmmakers haven’t taken the time to allow us to connect with the characters.

    Over and over again, Avengers: Endgame offers up small moments that contain huge amounts of emotion. These moments can be heartbreaking, hilarious, or infuriating, but they all serve the purpose of seeing each character — no matter their species — in a human light. That even goes for Thanos, and when you can make the audience feel empathy for a giant purple guy who’s destroyed half the universe, you know you’re doing something right.

    Much of what happens could rightly be called fan service, but Feige and the other protectors of the MCU have proven, especially in the last three years, that they know how to shape scenes without ever forcing the issue. Thus, no matter how many times they call back to previous films or pair characters in unlikely but cheer-worthy ways, each moment feels earned and respectful of the audience’s intelligence.

    A movie like this is as sprawling as they come, and yet they still find a way to incorporate almost every main character in a meaningful manner. There are a few notable misses, and Hawkeye still seems to get short shrift despite having his most usage to date, but it will be the rare fan who doesn’t come away satisfied with how his or her favorite character is used in the film.

    Avengers: Endgame is everything Marvel fans could want and more. It will be interesting to see how the MCU moves into the future after the events in the film, but woe be upon anyone who doubts their ability to adapt and succeed mightily.

    Robert Downey, Jr. in Avengers: Endgame.

    Robert Downey, Jr. in Avengers: Endgame
      
    Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios
    Robert Downey, Jr. in Avengers: Endgame.
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    Metallica concert review

    Heavy metal legends Metallica roll into Houston with thunderous riffs

    Craig Hlavaty
    Jun 15, 2025 | 12:59 am
    Metallica concert Houston NRG Stadium 2025
    Photo by Brittaney Penney
    Metallica played a career-spanning set on June 14, 2025.

    Heavy metal is a baton that has been passed on for generations now. Now, more than ever, metal has turned into family entertainment. On Saturday night at NRG Stadium, the Metallica family reunion left ears ringing and hearts full, with a few scorch marks from hellacious pyro.

    Metallica — 44 years into this — is a frenetic, multigenerational machine. Four gray hairs from San Francisco that can still pack out a football stadium. The current lineup of James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo is the longest-running one in the band’s history.

    Hetfield’s frenzied screech from 1981 is now a smoky, barrel-chested growl. Hammett’s metallic, exploratory guitar lines are a part of the metal vocabulary, and Trujillo — still the new guy — has been the sturdy thunder below it all. Urlich’s reliable drumming is its stadium-honed heart.

    Openers Suicidal Tendencies and Pantera provided direct support, with ST serving as a bracing thrash appetizer. Keeping it all in the family, Trujillo’s 21-year-old son Tye is now playing bass for ST, just as Robert did in the ‘90s. The band’s set whizzed by before most fans were able to enter the building, but those who arrived early witnessed a masterclass in ‘80s hardcore thrash.

    Texas sludge legends Pantera have been celebrating the lives of departed brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul since the group reformed in 2022. Collapsing in acrimony in 2001, the band and its fans never got a proper sendoff, and, with the violent shooting death of Dimebag and Paul’s death due to heart disease, the current lineup only features two original members in lead singer Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown. Guitar hero Zakk Wyle, stepping into Dimebag’s shoes, is a Hall Of Fame avatar for Dimebag, perhaps the only living human that could have delivered the appropriate riffs. Anthrax’s Charlie Benante now handles drumming duties.

    It’s 2025, and I’m watching a Pantera pit on the floor of NRG Stadium from a comfortable seat in the end zone. Anselmo, seemingly ageless, stalked Metallica’s sprawling, jaggedly circular stage barefoot and howling, splitting the difference between Henry Rollins and Rob Halford. Heathen anthems “Walk” and “Cowboys from Hell” still slice with precision, just as they sounded in the adjacent Astroarena in 1995.

    Before Metallica hit the stage around 9 pm, bored fans passed the time by doing the wave in NRG Stadium, but it only made a few laps before fizzling out.

    Kicking off with “Creeping Death” from 1984’s Ride The Lightning, Metallica reveled in rumbling NRG Stadium’s foundations.

    “For Whom The Bell Tolls” sounds as apocalyptic as ever, one of the early highlights of the night. The band has embraced it’s Load and Reload era recently, with the latter’s “The Memory Remains” and “Fuel” making setlist appearances. The crowd deftly filled in for the late Marianne Faithfull during the former. There’s still a lot of love for ‘90s eyeliner Metallica.

    Metallica’s 2023 album 72 Seasons saw the quartet reconvening for a loose and unrelenting collection of songs. “Lux Æterna” and “If Darkness Had a Son” have a slithery swing to them, borne from those famous Metallica jam sessions that sometimes appear on YouTube.

    1991’s “Nothing Else Matters” is still a romantic ballad for metalheads, a Gen X wedding staple.

    Few hard rock bands can still pack a football stadium in 2025, which makes Metallica among the last of a dying breed. All in their early ‘60s, they’re not unlike a performance hot rod team with 30 or so souped-up machines in the garage that only they know how to drive. They just have to take a few more breaks than they used to in between laps. Those four guys together still make magic via extremely loud noises.

    Closing out with “Master of Puppets and “Enter Sandman,” Metallica pushed Houstonians out into a humid Saturday night, covered in each other’s sweat, looking forward to the next Metallica family reunion.

    Setlist

    Creeping Death
    For Whom the Bell Tolls
    Ride the Lightning
    The Memory Remains
    Lux Æterna
    If Darkness Had a Son
    Kirk and Rob Doodle ("Hit the Lights" and ZZ Top's "La Grange")
    The Day That Never Comes
    Fuel
    Orion
    Nothing Else Matters
    Sad but True
    One
    Seek & Destroy
    Master of Puppets
    Enter Sandman

    Metallica concert Houston NRG Stadium 2025
      

    Photo by Brittaney Penney

    Metallica played a career-spanning set on June 14, 2025.

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