Review: Captain America: The First Avenger

Being a fan of comic books and Captain America, I had to see this film. 'Nuff said.

Captain America: The First Avenger (CA:TFA) follows Steve Rogers from scrawny solider wannabe to a timeless national hero.  Thats pretty much it.

Likes - I enjoyed this film a whole lot.  I went into this film knowing they wouldn't get everything right.  Honestly, they never do with these comic films.  With this film though, you can tell they worked really hard to craft a story as close to the original as possible.  More so, they wanted to keep the characters the same at heart.  And they did that.  For all that Chris Evans has done, this is by far the best role I've seen him play.  You believe he is Steve Rogers.  That's saying a lot!  Bucky and the Howling Commandos are on par too.  With CA:TFA, despite Captain America being such a lone figure, he really is made by the people that support him.  Hugo Weaving also was a great pick as Red Skull.  He gives off the right amount of creepy and fear.  I even liked how they had a nice easter egg during the Expo scene.  

Dislikes -  Nothing in particular sticks out that I didn't like.  Mind you I saw CA:TFA on sunday and it's about Thursday.

Overall - I think it was a good film.  Great film even.  We really saw the trails that helped build the Captain America mythos.  The film really shows how Steve Rogers, not Captain America, is a true American hero!

Four and Half Stars out of Five.

Review: Forbidden Planet

I had added this classic sci-fi film to my queue a long time ago.  I feel if I am going to be any kind of movie buff, I need to see all the classics, this one included.  I must say, I was very pleased and impressed by this classic cinema.

Forbidden Planet follows a spaceship crew and their rescue mission.  They come to Altair 4 where they meet Dr. Morbius and his gorgeous, but naive, daughter Altaira. The brilliant doctor informs the crew about his time spent on the planet and the ordeals he had to endure to survive.  All done in the name of science and progress.  Eventually, we learn the true threat on the planet isn't what it appears to be.

Likes - I really enjoyed this film, much to my surprise.  My mind's eye had imagined this film is unimaginative, poorly conceived, and full of gimmicky scenes.  Instead, I was treated to a well developed story that delves into human nature.  I was really impressed how they tied things together.  I was also impressed with the sets and special effects.  A few scenes had me scratching my head, asking "How did they do that?"  Too often films simply phone it in with the CGI.  The mystery and awe inspired by this film is lost in so much of today's CGI fare.  Forbidden Planet is worth watching over again, just to figure out how they managed some of the special effects. The real star in this film though is the plot.  It really shows how our humanity will always remain, despite all our intellectual advancements.  I was impressed by the high brow story, how it didn't pander to the audience.  Instead it treated us as intelligent adults, something rarely found and felt today.

Dislikes - My only complaint about this film is the pace of the plot.  I felt like they could have skipped some dialogue, enough to shave 10 minutes off.  Thats it though.

Overall - Do yourself a favor and watch this film.  Despite it's age and campy reputation, it is a solid, thoughtful, well-crafted film.  I really enjoyed this film. 4 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Kill the Irishman

My friend Jaysen highly recommended this film.  I took his advice and was very pleased I did.

Kill the Irishman follows the story of real life thug Danny Greene.  Greene was avid reader and a hard worker.  He begin his career in crime but muscling his way into being the union president of this factory, trying to stand up for the people who work in the massive death trap.  His way of getting what he wanted, for himself and his crewmen, made him much loved and respected.  This wasn't enough for Greene though.  He continued down the path of power, greed, and respect

Like - I really like this film.  Much more then I was expecting.  Knowing the film is based on true life events makes it that much more interesting.  The acting is very strong with these B-listers.  I was really pleased.  The plot though ultimately drives this film.  In a strange way, it reminds me of Walk the Line, but for crime, not music.  Overall great.  I liked this film so much that I'm making sure to write about it, despite having seen it 2 weeks ago.

Dislikes - There wasn't anything overt that I disliked.  This was a solid film - solid plot solid acting solid cinematography.  But it lacks that certain edge that makes it amazing.

Overall - Great film.  For fans of Godfather, Scarface, or anything crime/mob film, you have to see this.  For those who are indifferent to the genre, still watch this because it's well enough to stand on it's own.  4 out of 5 stars

Review: Super 8

It's the 4th of July and I had nothing to do.  I decided to venture out into public for my usual movie fix instead of simply staying in.  I heard alot of good things about this one and it already had peaked my interest.  I'm glad I went but I wouldn't have missed out much if I didn't

Super 8 follows a group of kids.  We see them trying to film their entry into the local film festival.  They end up catching a train derailment in their small Ohio town.  Things spiral out into a massive conspiracy trying to cover up a discovery that would change the course of humanity.

Likes - I liked this film a fair amount.  The kids that comprise the main cast are cute and endearing.  I think it was a good choice to have the middle schoolers be our eyes and ears, witnessing the insanity that would unfold in this film.  I like the later half of this film a good amount.  A lot of the plot elements were finally coming together.  I also liked seeing how a small town became a massive war zone.  I also enjoyed how the lack of screen time for a key element gave the film a much more intense feeling

Dislikes - I didn't like how long it took for the movie to really evolve into the kind of movie it was meant to be.  I appreciated the effort to make a Sci-fi movie more human but I think a lot of the Sci-fi feel was lacking in the early part.  I know some might argue that its a sliding scale, as it became more Sci-fi it became less about the kids.  Still though, I think they could've done a bit more.

Overall - I enjoyed this film.  It's definitely one I wanted to see, whether in the theatre or on DVD.  I think I could've waited though.  I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars