CAPTAIN FREAKING AMERICA!

So, I recently saw Captain America opening night at midnight, and it was AMAZING. Since this is a film I actually really liked, I doubt it will be as long as my previous rants. Here's my thoughts on the film overall. Obviously *SPOILERS* ahead:

1.) The Acting

The acting in this film was phenomenal. There wasn't a single person whose performance took me out of the movie, or made me sigh dismissively. Some performances were better than others, but overall, great cast. Chris Evan's Captain America was excellent. I actually find him to be a much better actor than I did before after watching this movie. He plays the part seriously, and I enjoyed his character as he experiences a real arc throughout the movie (more on that later).

Hugo Weaving's Red Skull was pretty hammy, but in a good way. Its an over the top character, who's fairly one dimensional, so it makes sense to have him act over the top. I couldn't see the Red Skull sitting around filing paperwork and sipping on coffee. No, he has to scream and be all over the place with his acting.

No, I don't think you can go quiet and demure with a face like that.

Tommy Lee Jones as a no-nonsense dismissive Colonel in the army was excellent. I've never been let down by Jones' acting, and this film was no exception.

I do not blame this on you, Mr. Jones!

For his character not being a huge character in the comics, he was a totally welcome addition to the cast and not at all superfluous part of the cast.

Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes was as well portrayed as Evan's Cap. For not having much screen time together, you get a real feel for the comradery between him and Steve. Making his ultimate fate as tragic as it needed to be.

Dresses like a Boy Wonder, shoots like a MAN...Wonder.

Stanley Tucci as Dr. Erkskine played his part perfectly, as did Dominic Cooper as Tony "Iron Man" Stark's dad, Howard. Peggy Carter, played by Hayley Atwell wasn't bad. She's not so much a love interest as she is the only female with a name, so she has chemistry with the lead, similar to Pepper Potts in the Iron Man films.

Wait, its the 1940's? All of her scenes take place in the kitchen, right?

The Howling Commandos, though underused, were cool. The only one that really stood out was Dumdum Dugan, and they totally nailed his appearance. Personally, I was glad to see Neal McDonough play a likable character, after seeing him in the crappy Street Fighter sequel and a crooked priest on Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

Damn, that man can pull off a bowler derby and handlebar mustache... 

2.) The Story

Pretty much what I expected. Its not a complex story by any means, but it doesn't have to be. Much like Iron Man, it was very character driven. It boils down to a young man going through a journey to develop physically and mentally into the man he always wanted to be. The character interaction is great. The connections between Cap and Bucky, and Cap and Dr. Erkskine are the most interesting, but the relationships between Cap and everyone else are each unique and fun to watch.

There were PLENTY of Easter eggs for the die-hard fans. The first time we see Dr. Arnim Zola, is on a distorted screen image, making reference to his comic counterpart existing as data traveling between screens on robot bodies.

Just prior to his death, Bucky picks up the famous shield and fires off a couple rounds with his sidearm, in reference to Bucky's all too brief role as Captain America.

After gaining his powers, but no direction, Cap winds up being a media sensation, and his cheesy costume is reminiscent of his original costume and shield, and even shows one of the first comics he appeared in.

Steve's artistic ability gets a subtle nod as well when he draws a self-loathing sketch of himself as a performing monkey. The film makers really took their time to make this one appeal to as many people as possible, and I applaud them all for that.

3). Shortcomings

To be fair, here are my brief concessions where I think the film faltered a bit. First of all, the effects used on the Red Skulls face where kind of iffy. The CGI head on a real human body was noticeable, and the voice sync was slightly off. The montage of Cap being a cheesy show-pony went on a little longer than it had to. And while I was cool with the way they ended the film, the prologue in the present day was annoyingly unnecessary. It ruined the suspense of whether or not Cap was going to wind up frozen by the end of this film or a flashback in Avengers. Once he got on the ship in the end, you knew how it was going to play out. Which also meant that Bucky was going to bite the big one by the end of the movie too.

4). My Hopes

Avengers looks amazing. The teaser trailer at the end of the credits was an awesome surprise. Seeing Thor interact with Iron Man on the big screen is just unreal. Its finally happening. I have very high hopes for the film, and can't wait to see more trailers over the next year.

The letter of the day is F*CK YES!

Assuming this film does decently well, I don't doubt that a sequel will follow after the Avengers. I'm looking forward to present day Cap now that they got the origin done. I'd be surprised if they didn't go with the Winter Soldier storyline for the sequel. They made a point of building up the relationship between Cap and Bucky, so it only makes sense to me to take it to that plot next. The director has mentioned it being a possibility, so SWEET!

This film was excellent. 4/5 in my opinion. Favorite movie of the summer, and one of my favorite superhero films overall. Better than both Thor and Iron Man.

Harry Potter and the Final McGuffin Pt. Deux

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two came out today, and I was one of the multitude of nerds at the midnight showing last night. It was the end of an era. We've watched these kids grow up (some more awkwardly than others *cough cough Ron*) , and its hard to believe that this is probably the last installment to feature this cast. I'm sure JK Rowling will eventually write a prequel or sequel series, but its not going to be the same.

I've never read the books, other than skimming the first one when I was about 11 or 12, so what follows is my evaluation of the movie based solely on its own merit, or in relation to the MOVIE series.

1. The Characters

After seven movies, its pretty much established who everyone is and what their character roles are going to be. Harry is wizard Jesus, Hermione is the brains, and Ron is the less competent, somewhat cowardly bff, who has been known to stuff his face with junk food, but then surprises us all when he does help save the day.

Zoinks, Harry!

Probably my favorite part of this movie was seeing the secondary characters, who we rarely see do anything in the previous movies, actually kicking ass and taking names. Professor McGonagall, who we all take for granted as just kind of being there, and occasionally pointing the kids in the right direction, aggressively beats the crap out of Snape, and lead the defense of Hogwarts, and it is awesome!

Similarly, Neville, the goofy "Why is it always me?" kid, is easily my favorite character in this film. He really grows a pair, and flat out saves the day. Everyone would have DIED if he didn't show up brandishing a kick-ass sword. His development as a character was the best thing in this film and film series in general. I know he got a substantially larger role in the later movies versus the earlier ones, but I wish they would have had more of them in there, so this already awesome busting-loose scene would have been built up even more.

Pictured: That kid you made fun of in high school, who turned out to be better than you.

I have mixed feelings towards the film's villains. Ralph Fiennes' Voldemort is a hard character to judge. His acting is a little hammy at some points, between making scary "BLAH! EVIL!" faces at the camera, and hobbling around and wheezing like an old man after some of his soul McGuffins are smashed, but I could live with it. Personally, I've always liked the visual form they decided to go with. He could have easily looked like a bad Power Rangers villain, but I think they nailed it so that he was a creepy enough reptile/human monster.

This also would have been acceptable.

Helena Bonham Carter's Bellatrix was sufficiently creepy as well. Unfortunately, she's quite underused in this half of the film, and its not as big of a payoff when she's defeated (More on that later).

It was really difficult to find a creepy picture of Helena Bonham Carter.

The Malfoys are a mix-bag for me. Draco's an interesting enough character. He's pretty much the anti-Harry. Rather than being used as a pawn for good as Dumbledore does with Harry, he's Voldemort's Wizard-Nazi youth. A frustrating part of the film for me was after Draco and his cronies burn up the room of requirement. One of the goons burns to death, but Harry and his pals fly back on their broomsticks to save Draco and Crony #2. Now, I realize that Harry is the ultimate good guy, and I didn't expect him to KILL Draco, but I think it would have played out better if he had let him die, to save him from being anyone's pawn, basically mercy killing him in a way.

He could have totally Batmaned it.

Draco's mom is a complex enough character for as little screen time as she gets. She's pretty rotten, but at least we know she cares more about her son than she does Wizard-Hitler. Daddy Lucius, however, is the only character whose ultimate fate I was truly disappointed in. He was an evil, hate-mongering, slave-beating, attempted child-murdering, slug. I think after being in most of the previous movies, he should have gotten what he deserved, instead of scurrying away.

2. The Story

As its own movie, its hard to judge this film. As the title states, its really just a direct continuation of the previous installment, and it shows. In terms of pacing, it just picks up immediately after the previous film, even showing the last shot from Part One. Because of this, I found myself not connecting as much with the characters as I could have. Many major characters get little screen time. Hagrid doesn't show up until the last 20 minutes or so, and Bellatrix's death isn't as impressive as it should have been, given that she only had about two lines in this film. Most of this story's heart was in Part One, and this one was basically just the good guys fighting back after spending the entire first film running away. If and when I watch this film again, I'd have to watch it in conjunction with Part One. I couldn't see myself ever going "I think I'll watch the second half of Deathly Hallows!"

Although it would bypass my love/hate relationship with Dobby...

There were many McGuffin callbacks in this film, and I enjoyed that quite a bit, because it rewards you for having watched and remembered seven other films. The Chamber of Secrets from the second film makes a very sensible return appearance, as does the aforementioned Room of Requirement from the fifth movie onward.

I really enjoyed the line: "When have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan. We get there. All hell breaks loose". That about sums up the movies in a nutshell. One of the first few scenes in this film is the gang sneaking into Gringotts Bank to steal a Voldemort McGuffin, and of course the plan falls apart. My first thought was originally, "Why didn't they have any magic exit strategy to poof out of there?" As a regular reader of the X-Men comics, I thought "Cyclops or Cable would have had about ten ways to get them out of there." But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. These kids are in no way strategists. They usually make stuff up on the fly and hope for the best. That and the fact that they only recently lost their mentor figure, Dumbledore, makes one remember that this is essentially the first time they've had to fend for themselves without the grown-ups coming in to save the day (at least not until later).

If Nightcrawler was on Harry's team, their plans would go a lot smoother.

There were a couple of noticeable distractions for me in this film. First of all, one of the actors who played one of Draco Malfoy's cronies was busted for pot possession not too long ago, so his character doesn't appear in this film. It wouldn't have been a huge deal at all if they hadn't decided to replace his character with some random black Slytherin dude. Why bother? All they needed was the hencht-wit who dies, and then the good guys save Malfoy. Having henchman #2 there wasn't an integral part of the scene.

 Henchman 21, however, is important.

The other major flaw for me was the interaction between Harry and the spirit of Dumbledore after Harry basically sacrifices himself. First of all, not ten minutes prior, Harry found out that Dumbledore had been using him HIS ENTIRE LIFE. Dumbledore knew from day one that Harry was going to have to die in order to defeat Voldemort. Despite this revelation, Harry chats with his dead mentor like nothing's up. "Oh, hey we're both dead now. Neat." After he pulled his head out of the Pensieve, I wanted him to just angrily spin around and go "YOU SON OF A B*TCH..." But no. Snape was a good person who had crap thrust upon him, and Dumbledore was too focused on the greater good to give a rat's ass about Harry as a person.   

"BEE TEE DUBS, HARRY, YOU HAVE TO DIE. KTHNXBYE!"

And then, to top off this already implausible interaction, Harry's last words to his deceased mentor are "WHAT DO I DO, PROFESSOR?" Dumbledore died in the sixth movie (and book) because he was the mentor figure. Just as Gandalf or Obi-Wan Kenobi pass on to the great beyond, so does Dumbledore. And why is this? To allow the protagonist to develop on his own. He no longer needs the wise elder to tell him what to do, he's supposed to go out and make his own choices. This seemed like a big regression in character to me, and made Harry even less interesting than he already is.

"SAVE ME, ELDERLY MAN!"

3. The Effects

The effects in this movie were also a mix of good and bad. As I mentioned, I've liked the way Voldemort looks on screen, and that continues in this movie. However, there are several moments when he is speaking in everybody's minds, and it just sounds like a voiceover. There's a smidgen of echo, but I really think they could have done some more reverb or other sound editing to make this sound more interesting. The "moving" voice of Professor X in Logan's head in the first X-Men film, or the elder Spock mind-melding with young Kirk in the newest Star Trek film both accomplished this better. To me, it felt like Ralph Fiennes just sat in a recording booth, read his lines, and they cut and pasted it over the scene. The End.

 "You guys can just edit me out, right?"

One moment I thought was pretty good was the scene you can see in the trailer, where Harry grabs Voldemort and pulls him off the tower. They then go whooshing off into the air in a grappling, twirling, stream of black smoke. I'm told this scene wasn't in the book, but I thought it was pretty intense and helped make the final confrontation as decent as it was.

"And I would've got away with it too, if it weren't for that meddling Potter!"

The opening mine cart ride through Gringotts was a little showy. If I had gone to the 3d showing, maybe it would have been impressive? But as with most 3d, I think it would've detracted from the plot more than this sequence did already.


The gross Voldemort fetus inside Harry's mind was excellent. Everyone in the audience was audibly grossed out by it, and that was exactly what the film makers were going for, so I think that was successful.

 I don't want to spoil its creepiness for anyone. Here is a penguin instead.

4. The Ending

All good things must come to an end, and this includes the Harry Potter film series. I have to say though, for a conclusion, I was expecting a little more. I don't really know what exactly, but a little more "Umph". This was a pretty good movie, and had a lot going for it as I've mentioned, but it didn't necessarily seem like a finale that took seven other films to get to. Voldemort's death is pretty uneventful, for being the Uber-boss he was built up to be. I've played video games where the final boss's defeat had more of an impact on me. I think after all the torment this great evil put the world through, they could have had him go out more spectacularly than crumbling as his henchman/body Quirrel did in the first film. 

And he wouldn't look at the explosion either.

I was also frustrated by Harry's decision to destroy the Elder Wand at the very end. I understand why this was done though. The in-story explanation has to do with it being such a curse and a burden for people to constantly be challenging you for possession of it. From a structure standpoint, they couldn't have Harry keep the series' Ultima weapon. If Rowling ever wanted to do a follow-up series, they couldn't make the same uber-weapon that easily accessible. Little Albus Potter can't come running in and go "Dad! Some new evil threat is chasing me! Use the unstoppable weapon to kill it!" "Okay, son!" The End. 

"And home in time for bangers and mash!"

So she had to get rid of it somehow, while giving it enough closure so that there aren't a thousand fans out there asking "When new evil creature shows up, why didn't Harry just use the super duper wand?" It'd be like if you started out every Zelda game with the Master Sword and all your gear from the previous dozen or so installments. It takes the quest portion away.

"We could go through 8 dungeons, or we can just use the stuff we have already, and kill Gannon."

What did I think of the "19 Years Later" epilogue? I'm not sure exactly. The aging effects they used on the actors was alright. It was certainly better than the de-aging effects from X-Men: The Last Stand and Wolverine. I don't think they really looked nineteen years older though. Harry was a little scruffier, that was about it. Ginny and Ron looked the same. They did give Hermione some crow's feet, which made sense, given her age, and stress she probably put herself through constantly. Malfoy was going bald which I think matched his age well. There were some issues with eye color between all the Potter's that some of my movie-going party found distracting, given the repeated use of the line telling Harry he has his mother's eyes, despite him not. I didn't notice it, but yeah, they probably should have given that some thought, given its relevance.

But EYE wasn't bothered by it! ZING!

So overall, yes Harry Potter #8 was a movie worth seeing. If you enjoyed the other films this one won't disappoint you. At the very least, you should be satisfied and entertained. Its clearly the second part of a whole movie though, so I'd recommend watching Part One right before you go to the theater.




Bonus Section: The Experience

This is the fourth Harry Potter I have gone to a midnight event for, if I recall correctly, and as much as I enjoy the films and enjoy midnight showings, the Harry Potter fan base is a bit too much for me. I understand nerds, obviously, and I'm already prepped to wear my Captain America shirt to that movie next Thursday, but between the giant Styrofoam snake, the impromptu trivia contest, and the squealing games of electronic "20 Questions", it was a very childish audience. I'm pretty sure there were some people whose lives peaked last night. The five or six hours in line I had to spend near these people was bad enough, but their responses during certain parts of the movie were quite frustrating. I was totally understanding of the bawling at sad portions of the film, but some of them also laughed at somber moments. There were a few people who laughed every time Professor Slughorn was on screen. Even when it was during the epic final battle, or in between the fights when they were mourning their dead. There was just a lot of awkward inappropriate behavior from this overcrowded theater. Not enough that it ruined the experience or anything, and yes, it could have been much worse, but I'm ready for the more adult nerds I'm anticipating at Cap next week. I have higher expectations from my branch of nerd.

Super Hero Movies: Harmful to the Comics?

Every time a new super hero movie comes out, the respective comic companies want to capitalize on the film as much as possible. The problem is many comic book movies are origin stories, from stories that may have happened decades ago in the comic. The problem is then how does Joe Moviegoer understand the newest issue of Iron Man, going just by the movie he just saw. Well, a good writer will usually start a new storyline about then, which will be both a continuation of the current development of the series, but also accessible to new readers. Matt Fraction's renumbered Iron Man series in 2008 was an excellent example of this.

In which Iron Man was somehow made likeable!

In the first volume, Tony Stark was still in his then-current role as commander of S.H.I.E.L.D.,  and had a somewhat hostile interaction with Spider-Man, which was in character based on what had gone down between the two of them. At the same time the story was also about Ezekial Stane, son of Obidiah Stane (the film's main villain) abusing Tony's technology for destructive purposes, as was a theme in the film. So, boom. Fans are happy, new readers aren't confused, the series goes on to win an award. Why do I bring this up now? This is why:

Little known fact: Time portals are always star shaped.

In case you're totally clueless, this is Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America. The Sentinel of Liberty. The First Avenger, as the new film calls him. I love Captain America. I think he's a great character, and the series for the past few years under Ed Brubaker has consistently been one of Marvel's best ongoing titles. The characters are phenomenal, and the development has been great. The characters all go through experiences that cause them to grow and change. The best example is the character of Bucky Barnes, Cap's former sidekick from World War II.

Off in the distance are the other two amigos.

Bucky had long been thought dead since the end of the war, but as it turns out he was a brainwashed Soviet assassin known as the Winter Soldier.

Kids grow up so fast.

Rogers managed to free Bucky from the brainwashing and he started getting his head on straight and pulling jobs for former S.H.I.E.L.D. head honcho, Nick Fury. Not too long after this, Steve Rogers, Captain America, is assassinated, and pronounced DEAD.

He died as he lived... with a mouth full of Starburst.

Following this, Bucky takes up the shield and becomes the new Captain America. He unravels the mystery behind Steve's death, forms bonds with Steve's former supporting cast, becomes an Avenger, and strikes up a relationship with old flame, the Black Widow. Bucky really comes into his own as a character, and isn't just a carbon copy of the original Cap. He doesn't have any sort of super soldier serum in him as Steve did, so Bucky relies on his own natural ability. His only unnatural physical advantage (besides his sidearm and Rogers' shield) is a bionic arm, making most of his feats more impressive than the steroid enhanced Rogers.

America! F*ck yeah!

Ultimately, its revealed that Steve Rogers is alive, and unstuck in time. Eventually, he is rescued and returned to the present. Steve witnessed a grim vision of the future however, and believes that in order for Bucky to stay alive, Bucky should remain Captain America. Bucky reluctantly agrees, and following a big crossover event, Steve becomes the new head of S.H.I.E.L.D., which I feel was the most sensible role for him. After the manipulative Nick Fury, the bureaucratic Tony Stark, and the flat out evil Norman Osborn, it made sense to finally have Marvel's golden boy in charge of the heroes and the country's best interests.

He was the STAR of his own series. Thank you! Try the veal!

So for the past year, Bucky has been Captain America, while Steve has been Captain Steve Rogers. But of course this is coming out next week:

Who is he avenging exactly? The Jews? Pearl Harbor? I guess the Jew Avenger might have trouble with international marketing...

The new Captain America film is about Steve Rogers' Captain America origin, so Joe Popcorn isn't going to leave that movie and go "I wonder what Bucky is doing in the comics right now?"  So, of course, they're making Steve into Captain America again. What perfect timing! I don't see how Steve can possibly be Cap and in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the same time. When Iron Man did it, he was flying around in a giant computer, it was feasible that he'd be able to take national security conference calls or make important split decisions on the fly. How is this going to run a global peacekeeping organization?

I HAVE A BUDGET MEETING AT 3, LET'S WRAP THIS UP!

And what about Bucky? What was the point of developing him into the new Captain America if you were going to toss him in the corner when Classic Cap needed to be rolled out for the movie. *Spoiler Alert* Bucky was recently killed off in this summer's crossover series Fear Itself, leading to Steve donning the uniform again prior to the new series relaunch. Wow, does that feel like a slap in the face. Not only does it slap anyone in the face whose been reading the book for the past 4 years or so, but this major character death doesn't even happen in the pages of the series that has had this ongoing character development for years? When Steve "died", it didn't happen in Civil War, it happened in CAPTAIN FREAKING AMERICA! I really hope Brubaker pulls some amazing writing out of his bag of tricks to save this turkey. Otherwise this book is going from the top of my stack to the bottom.

Yes, below the Jane Austen comics.