THE AVENGERS WAS F#*&ing AWESOME!!! Now that we got that fanboy hype out of the way…let’s be real. The Avengers was pretty good, delivered what it needed to on the big screen; but, it wasn’t stellar. I was actually pretty underwhelmed. The action scenes were great, the visuals were stunning, and the Joss Whedon-esque script had a ton of humor. Comic fans will love it and movie fans will be entertained but after a week or so, most people will forget what it was even about – nothing. It’s the perfect start to this summer’s mindless inventory of blockbuster popcorn movies. in 3D.
Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) are The Avengers. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen most of them in various Marvel movies already. It’s ingenious how well-organized Marvel has been in setting up all the origin stories and bringing all the movies together for this massive production of The Avengers. On top of that, they secured all of the A-List actors to play their roles in this ensemble movie (and replaced another for their one failed movie franchise – The Hulk). How long can that last? Not long if the rumors are true about Robert Downey Jr. who single-handily upheld the second act of this movie.
Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), and Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders)
Let’s get to my main beef of this movie: the build-up. Combining six very unique superheroes into one 2 hour+ movie is an insanely difficult thing to do. Zak Penn and Joss Whedon did a pretty remarkable job handling this by introducing the lesser known characters first and having them play instrumental parts in the plot so that the audience wouldn’t ignore them. I’m talking about Hawkeye and Black Widow…the only two who didn’t get their own movies (yet). Then, the filmmakers did the typical cuts from one story to another reminding us who each of the main characters were. However, if you’re not a fan of the comics or haven’t seen some of the previous movies – you’re going to be a little lost…and you’ll just have to go with it. The Avengers if f#*&ing awesome, remember!? Just go with it. We’re introduced to the villain nobody really cares about with his “glowstick of destiny” (Loki played by Tom Hiddleston) and then shown the main plot that’s ridiculously generic and on par with most other action movies: bad guy stole thing, wait, who’s really the bad guy?, whatever, get the thing back. There’s a lot of dull time and waiting for the real action to start.
Captain America with Hawkeye and Black Widow
As mentioned before, RDJ saved the movie with the great humor and smart dialogue we’ve been groomed to expect from Iron Man. There’s a lot of jokes comic fans are going to geek over – I know I did. Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) plays our inner geek onscreen as he gushes over Captain America with his vintage trading cards. It was great to see the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents actually act this time as they obviously have a bigger role in assembling the team. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is a bad ass as usual. Still, therein lies more of the problem: there’s just too much to fit in. Everybody wants to see the superheroes brawl but we have to sit through these agents talking to shadowy people in a shadowy room setting up the back story that holds down the movie. But does the ending fix all these problems and avenge the movie itself? For most, it seems yes. The ending is A-mazing and we get to see all these A-mazing characters battle it out with each other. The fighting and action sequences are top notch and eye-opening. They will make you smile with a wide open mouth and hit your friends next to you while saying, “Did you see that!?”
YEAH!!
Comic fans will have a blast, there’s a lot in there to love but after the smoke clears and the hype dies down, will you want to watch it again? When you have all the videos of comic book movies at your disposal, you probably won’t reach for The Avengers again and if you do, you’ll fast forward to The Hulk scenes or some of your other favorite parts. I couldn’t imagine sitting through that entire movie again just to see the ending. I would, however, love to see The Hulk again – he’s finally redeemed! Or should I say, avenged! Black Widow is a powerful and cunning female lead which was great to see and Iron Man is Iron Man…levels above every other character. All together, they made a really fun movie but as a movie itself, there was a lot missing. Basically, the movie is a mad lib template where you can fill the blanks with The Avengers or Transformers or X-Men or…
“At least I have the courage to lose for what is right!” You realize there’s a lot more meaning in that quote after watching Chris Evans play Mike Weiss in the docudrama Puncture which is based on a true story. Puncture is about safety needles and the uphill battle that had to be waged against big “health” corporations in America mixed with the downhill life of the injury lawyer who backed the case. The movie isn’t really that good and you have to keep reminding yourself to pay attention to this indie but the story is worth knowing. The movie tries to escalate the case with the drug-infused world of the attorney and then throw in a larger social commentary about AIDS in Africa but after the initial introduction to the various stories, there isn’t much left to keep you entertained.
Cocaine. Marijuana. Heroine. Tattoos. Sex. Mike Weiss does it all. Chris Evans plays a druggie playboy who is portrayed as a genius. He’s a partner in his own law firm that he started with his childhood friend in Houston, Texas. Throughout the entire film, it’s funny to see just how heavy a user this character was while dealing with client, in court, talking to Senators or just living life. I can’t tell if the movie exaggerated this concept at all but it doesn’t look like it. It definitely didn’t exaggerate the problem with being stuck by needles that thousands if not millions of people are still dealing with today.
Chris Evans and director/actor Mark Kassen in Puncture
The movie brings light to the fact that hospitals are not using the products that are safest but instead using the most economically favorable option from GPOs (Group Purchasing Organizations). It goes through the loops to show you how incredibly impossible it is to get your foot in the door in the industry and how monopolistic it is. Anyone in the health care industry (that isn’t tied to these organizations) will fully understand the problem and champion this film for trying to get something done about it. “I don’t want you showing any of my nurses your needles because they’ll want it and they can’t have it.”
It's my dick in a box!
Puncture was directed by indie-filmmaker brothers Adam Kassen and Mark Kassen. Mark actually acts as Mike’s longtime friend and law partner, Paul Danziger as well. They do a good job throwing in as much entertaining drug-related scenes to balance out the boring law-heavy scenes. However, the direction and shots are pretty boring for this low budget project. There are a few camera tricks but Puncture plays more as a documentary than a big screen hit. I would wait for this to stream online if you’re interested in health care but if you’re a Chris Evans fan, go check this out in theaters as you get to see more range from him and get to see what he’d look like with tattoos or if he decided to go as Justin Timberlake doing the Dick in a Box routine from SNL. That mustache/beard was ridiculous.
Have you heard about the star spangled man? Chris Evans is Captain America and Marvel has worked its magic once again to produce a great, fun comic book adaptation. As they gear up for their epic Avengers movie next summer, Marvel keeps treating audiences to the origin stories of the Avenger’s members. This time we follow scrawny Steve Rogers as he gets transformed into America’s greatest weapon against The Third Reich and other enemies of the country. It’s jam packed with action, adventure, amazement and of course…American propaganda! It’s not much of a surprise with what you get but it’s a great addition on the road to Avengers.
Captain America: The First Avenger is about determination. Steve is just a little scrappy guy who wants to enlist in the United States Army to do his part. He doesn’t have anything to prove per say and doesn’t really want to kill anybody…he just doesn’t like bullies. The army doesn’t let him in until a mysterious German doctor from Queens played by Stanley Tucci gives him a chance. This scientist, Dr. Abraham Erskine, is in fact the lead of an experiment to make a super soldier…one guess on who that super solider will be.
Let's here it for the little guys!
The pace of the movie is great as it goes from the computer generated 90 pound asthmatic Steve to the tall chiseled Captain America. Once the transformation happens, you may think he gets thrown right into action kicking ass and taking names but in fact, he goes on tour for the American propaganda machine. It’s bright, campy and ridiculous…really fun. You get to see Evan’s charm here.
Chris Evans...for the ladeis
One thing that I didn’t expect at all were the amazing side characters and supporting cast. Tommy Lee Jones, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Hugo Weaving, etc etc. While the focus is obviously on the Captain, these side characters add a lot of personality and relief to the main story. Tommy Lee Jones was the standout for me delivering his perfect stubborn command-giving performance. Hayley Atwell was cute then fiesty making the obvious romcom element enjoyable.
Captain America (Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell)
Hugo Weaving plays our enemy: Red Skull. While Adolph Hitler uses fantasy to inspire, Johann Schmidt (Red Skull) believes in the fantasy. He tries to harness the power of a paranormal cube to takeover the world! He actually is injected with the same stuff that made Captain America but it makes good great and bad even worse. So who will prevail in this battle between good vs evil? Or is it America vs evil?
Red Skull and his wicked whip!
The 3D was bearable in this one. It was actually cool to see Captain America’s shield flying at you. The visuals were pretty interesting as a mix of live-action and rocketeer/captain tomorrow type CG. The shield fighting was exactly what you’d imagine and I think they put in the perfect amount…not too much or too little. This is yet another comic book origin story but it didn’t fail to entertain. It did lull a bit in the end of this 2 hour 4 minute picture but for the most part, I liked it.
Captain America plotting with his team
Comic-Con is the leading comic book convention in the world. Over the years, it has become a platform for movie studios to debut exclusive information and footage from their upcoming films. Visit Comic-Con’s Official Website
So I was at the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World panel at Comic-Con and Edgar Wright was moderating his own film with twelve members of the cast along with the creator of story, Bryan Lee O’Malley. The panel was hilarious and they gave out these little buttons to the crowd. At the end of the panel, Edgar Wright asked if we would like it if he screened the movie to fans tonight (after he asked us if we liked chocolate). Obviously, the crowd went crazy, but only people who got white buttons could see the screening tonight. I had a white button .
The movie was AMAZING. It’s a fresh and different feel of film for a unique and wacky story. If you like any alternative culture like comics, video games, or rock music…you’ll love this movie. It combines all three together to make a movie that you’ve been wanting to make with your childhood friends forever. The movie where you would say, “wouldn’t it be cool if when you punched something it would show the sounds in words like in a comic,” or “when people got into a fight it would like it was a Tekken match,” or even “when i played my bass, you could see the music waves.” Well this movie has all of that fun stuff and more!
Scott Pilgrim dealing with one of Ramona Flowers's exs
The story follows a 22 year-old guy living in Toronto with his gay roommate. This guy has a dream about a girl and then suddenly sees his dream girl in real life. There’s one problem however…well seven problems. In order to date her, he must fight her seven evil exs. What!? Yup, that’s the storyline…and it’s AWESOME. The movie moves so fast cutting from scene to scene that you kind of feel whiplashed and that you should be confused…but it does this so well and so funny that you’re going along with it and getting all the back-story you need to understand what’s going on in the movie in record speed. When other movies would bore you with the particulars and mundane scenes like calling a girl on the phone, Scott Pilgrim mixes in outrageous humor and non-stop scene shifting to move you through the story. It’s shot as if it were a video game itself, so as Scott progresses through the exs, we’re all progressing through the levels of the movie with him…it’s brilliant!
The Seven Evil Exs
I mentioned the comic book pizazz, video game fights, and banging music right? The way this movie is shot makes you feel like you’re in the graphic novel without being a cheesy gimmick like we’re used to seeing. It actually creates its own medium which just hasn’t been done like this before. The fight and action scenes are spot on with great visual effects and jaw-breaking stunts. You won’t believe your eyes when you see Michael Cera do some of the things he does. Each of the 7 exs have their own fighting styles as well so you’re not bored with the same repeated fighting style. It moves from mythical bollywood, to skateboarding, to music battles, weapons (like a big ass hammer and glowing swords), and straight hand to hand combat…a little bit of everything to please your violent side.
Michael Cera kicking ass and taking names with a special sword
The style of writing and lingo used in the script is spot on. Anyone from middle school age to late thirties is going to be cracking up and repeating the lines for months to come. You’ll hear things like “hasbian”, “earholes”, and phrases like “you kicked my heart’s ass”, and “I lesbian you”, and stuff. The writing is just half the credit. All the actors were great in each of their roles. They not only delivered their lines but delivered on their personas. The movie is very quirky and needed quirky actors to do it justice and do it right.
Scott Pilgrim with some of his friends
My favorite element of the film is the sound effects. They really set each scene with the music and/or sound effects that were used. You’ll hear sound effects from video games like Tekken, Sonic, and Final Fantasy as well as a segment with the Seinfeld theme and backtrack (you know when you hear the audience laughing and clapping). There are a few running gags thrown in to make you laugh even more as well as some great cameos! This movie really does have it all and I hope you go see it because more movies like this should be made and only you purchasing a ticket will get that done!
Comic-Con is the leading comic book convention in the world. Over the years, it has become a platform for movie studios to debut exclusive information and footage from their upcoming films. Visit Comic-Con’s Official Website
It seems like we’re in a comic book craze that never ends. The latest addition to this category is The Losers, a comic by Andy Diggle and Jock. It’s about a group of ex military types who are burned by their handler, Max who has influence over the CIA, US government, and other organizations. The team consists of Clay (Jeffery Dean Morgan) who is the leader of the bunch, Roque (Idris Elba) who’s second in command and looks out for himself, Jensen (Chris Evans) – the hacker techie guy and communications expert who can’t stop communicating aka talking his mouth off, Pooch (Columbus Short) who handles pretty much all of the transportation, and Cougar (Oscar Jaenada) who’s the sharp shooter/sniper.
The Losers is your classic revenge story and it’s very predictable so you probably already know how it ends. Trust me, you do. It’s your typical action comedy so you’re going to be entertained and have a few good laughs…but it’s not up to the level that we’re used to seeing these days. It doesn’t add anything you get from other comic book movies or action/comedy films except, of course, for the gorgeous Zoe Saldana. I don’t understand how she got more beautiful from scene to scene, but somehow she did…her outfits, poses, and just about everything were stunning. More on her later…
Even though the whole movie is supposed to chock full of laughs, the only scenes that I noticed myself laughing at were scenes with Chris Evans in them. Chris’ character is the eccentric one out of the group with random comedic remarks and pop culture references. He fit this role perfectly.
The other actors played their parts really well too, but Chris stood out. Jeffery Dean Morgan and Idris Elba were both what you would expect from military guys…hard attitudes and not much emotion. Columbus Short was kind of funny at times but under the shadow of Chris Evans. In many of his films, Short seems to be “that other guy” which sucks because he’s pretty talented…can’t wait to see him in a role where he can stand out himself. Oscar’s character is the silent type which is coincidently what Oscar is like in real life, so that worked out for him…but for the film, he was just an extra character on the team. Jason Patric played the movie’s villain, Max, who is your crazy “I can do anything I feel like” bad guy. The way he portrayed Max was annoying at first but then you just accepted the quirkiness for what it was because hey, Max can kill you if he felt like it.
The movie had its fair share of slow scenes which dragged the movie along but then the movie would pick up and you’re back in the action. The Losers has many unbelievable scenes, both good and bad. Some scenes were unbelievably cool, hot, and awesome while other scenes were just unbelievable. There are a few parts with guns, grenades, and other fun stuff in pure daylight and you wonder how nobody sees or hears anything or how they get away with some things…but hey, it’s a movie…based on a comic book so I guess you just have to go with it.
Did I mention Zoe Saldana is in this movie? She is a mystery character who comes into the picture after the incident in Bolivia. She bankrolls the guys and helps them back to the States where they can get their revenge (and hers) on Max. We’re seeing the beginnings of an amazing career from a new leading lady of Hollywood. From Drumline and Pirates to The Terminal and After Sex to Star Trek and Avatar to this, we’re going to be seeing a lot of Zoe and I’m not complaining one bit…I’ll watch her in any film especially if it has steamy scenes like this one. But don’t go in expecting too much, you see most of the good stuff in the trailers.
So, after all that, should you watch The Losers? Only if you were planning on it or you’re a fan of the comic book or any of the stars in the movie. It’s a fun movie but nothing out of the ordinary.
Warner Bros didn’t tell anybody who or what they were talking about at WonderCon until their panel started. They let us know that we’d get to hear about The Losers, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and a little known movie called Splice. For the first 2 films, many of the cast showed up to answer questions and for Splice and a surprise at the end, Inception, the directors came out to talk about the projects. Warner Brothers also gave everybody in the audience a swag bag which contained a Losers bag, Nightmare on Elm Street shirt and key chain, Splice t-shirt, and Inception t shirt and top. Let’s get on to what I saw….
The Losers You may not know a lot about The Losers yet, but you will. The footage that they showed looked great and for me, Zoe Saldana sells the movie on her own. I guess for women, they have Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Chris Evans. They showed us a fight scene between Aisha and Clay, Zoe and Jeffrey’s characters which have a love/hate, intimate/cautious relationship. The director, Sylvain White said that he believed it was a new benchmark in boy girl fight scenes and I agree with him. Not only was it action packed, it was hot and steamy. There are very funny scenes and great visuals to accompany them: think big guns and bad asses carrying them. Jeffrey Dean Morgan commented that it’s like a throwback to the Die Hards and Lethal Weapons…good comedic action.
I hope the back and forth dialogue during the panel gives a glimpse of what to expect from the movie because it was awesome. The group of actors they pooled together seemed to have great chemistry. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was the leader, taking charge. Zoe was the badass hot chick and commented He (Jeffrey) wears a suit; I don’t wear much of anything. When asked how she felt about being the only female in the main cast she said that she feels very comfortable around men. Chris Evans is the Hacker/IT Guy with a high IQ and he’s surely solidifying his spot in the comic book era of movies. Columbus is the heart of the group and kept referring to his character as the black MacGyver. Oscar is cougar who is the silent quit guy who is just like him in real life. Columbus said his new nickname was Juanny Depp. Sylvain said they were a crazy group of kids and fun to film and it really looks like it – from the panel and the footage they showed.
The Losers attack on April 23, 2010.
A Nightmare on Elm Street A Nightmare on Elm Street may be the first actually scary movie in quite some time. It’s obviously a remake of the classic horror film which sequels have fallen to the wayside. However, the remake is said to be more dark and serious like the first film. The biggest story in this film is that Jackie Earle Haley is replacing Robert England as the iconic Freddy Krueger. Jackie said that he tried not to incorporate the last Freddy but tried to find a way to play the character where there’s still something familiar for the fans but where he was also able to call it his own. He tried to get into the mind of Freddy Krueger by studying serial killers and realized he was beginning to watch slasher films. He had to stop because Freddy isn’t a serial killer he’s a boogie man…so that’s what you’re going to see in the film. Thomas Dekker, who plays Jesse in the movie, said that remakes and reboots are a tricky subject but Jackie replied that with the visual effects and technology of today, they can show us things that we haven’t seen yet.
A Nightmare on Elm Street dreams come true on April 30 2010.
Splice You probably haven’t heard of this film but if you’re into sci-fi…especially genetics, you will. Splice is about two scientists who decide to take genetics a step further and mix together human DNA with animal DNA to create a new organism. It’s a creature film with social commentary which will go into touchy subjects we haven’t been exposed to yet. The scientists get too attached to the science and once the creature becomes its own…things begin go terribly terribly wrong. It stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as the scientists and the story begins with them in the lab. They escape with the create to a home where they take it as their own child acting as parental figures until the creature, dren (nerd backwards), escapes. The film was made completely independent and took about twelve years. Vincenzo Natali, the writer and director, started writing the film back when Dolly was cloned and then began filming with they made the embryo in the UK so science has been catching up and evolving with the films vision which is kind of scary.
Splice busts out the lab on June 4, 2010.
Inception To everybody’s surprise, Christopher Nolan showed up to present his next film: Inception. Not a lot is known about this film but he presented us with an extended trailer which gave us more hints to the plot. From what we saw and what Nolan said, Inception is a heist film where a group of individuals who can construct dreams access the subconscious and extract documents and sensitive information from people. It looks like an amazing and epic film…it’s sure to be this summer’s biggest blockbuster in my opinion. Even though the film was described to be more personal, it was filmed in seven countries and takes us on a journey both physical and mental. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and it looks like he will be training Ellen Page to join the company which infiltrates your dream. Look out for this film!
Inception comes out on July 16, 2010.
WonderCon is one of the country’s best comics conventions featuring guests and events for comics, movies, video games, and other popular media. This year, WonderCon had presentations by such Hollywood studios as Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, and Lionsgate. Visit WonderCon’s Official Website
THE AVENGERS WAS F#*&ing AWESOME!!! Now that we got that fanboy hype out of the way…let’s be real. The Avengers was pretty good, delivered what it needed to on the big screen; but, it wasn’t stellar. I was actually pretty underwhelmed. The action scenes were great, the visuals were stunning, and the Joss Whedon-esque script had a ton of humor. Comic fans will love it and movie fans will be entertained but after a week or so, most people will forget what it was even about – nothing. It’s the perfect start to this summer’s mindless inventory of blockbuster popcorn movies. in 3D.
“At least I have the courage to lose for what is right!” You realize there’s a lot more meaning in that quote after watching Chris Evans play Mike Weiss in the docudrama Puncture which is based on a true story. Puncture is about safety needles and the uphill battle that had to be waged against big “health” corporations in America mixed with the downhill life of the injury lawyer who backed the case. The movie isn’t really that good and you have to keep reminding yourself to pay attention to this indie but the story is worth knowing. The movie tries to escalate the case with the drug-infused world of the attorney and then throw in a larger social commentary about AIDS in Africa but after the initial introduction to the various stories, there isn’t much left to keep you entertained.
Have you heard about the star spangled man? Chris Evans is Captain America and Marvel has worked its magic once again to produce a great, fun comic book adaptation. As they gear up for their epic Avengers movie next summer, Marvel keeps treating audiences to the origin stories of the Avenger’s members. This time we follow scrawny Steve Rogers as he gets transformed into America’s greatest weapon against The Third Reich and other enemies of the country. It’s jam packed with action, adventure, amazement and of course…American propaganda! It’s not much of a surprise with what you get but it’s a great addition on the road to Avengers.
Comic-Con is the leading comic book convention in the world. Over the years, it has become a platform for movie studios to debut exclusive information and footage from their upcoming films.
So I was at the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World panel at Comic-Con and Edgar Wright was moderating his own film with twelve members of the cast along with the creator of story, Bryan Lee O’Malley. The panel was hilarious and they gave out these little buttons to the crowd. At the end of the panel, Edgar Wright asked if we would like it if he screened the movie to fans tonight (after he asked us if we liked chocolate). Obviously, the crowd went crazy, but only people who got white buttons could see the screening tonight. I had a white button 
.
It seems like we’re in a comic book craze that never ends. The latest addition to this category is The Losers, a comic by Andy Diggle and Jock. It’s about a group of ex military types who are burned by their handler, Max who has influence over the CIA, US government, and other organizations. The team consists of Clay (Jeffery Dean Morgan) who is the leader of the bunch, Roque (Idris Elba) who’s second in command and looks out for himself, Jensen (Chris Evans) – the hacker techie guy and communications expert who can’t stop communicating aka talking his mouth off, Pooch (Columbus Short) who handles pretty much all of the transportation, and Cougar (Oscar Jaenada) who’s the sharp shooter/sniper.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Splice
Inception
WonderCon is one of the country’s best comics conventions featuring guests and events for comics, movies, video games, and other popular media. This year, WonderCon had presentations by such Hollywood studios as Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, and Lionsgate.
