Wonder Woman

It’s here, it’s finally here, Wonder Woman’s first live action feature debut. You may be worried that the latest entry into the DC Extended Universe would follow the trend of their less than great previous films, but worry no more, Wonder Woman is the superhero film the studio needs right now, but more importantly it’s film the world needs right now! Read on and find out why.

This film tells us the origins of Wonder Woman, a long time before the events of Batman V Superman, during WW1, when a pilot crashes on the mysterious island, Themiscyra, he tells the young warrior who saves him, Diana, of the war to end all wars and without hesitating she joins him to help bring an end to the fighting.

In the wide range of superhero films on offer today, Wonder Woman is kind of generic, it’s a good mix of Thor and Captain America but is able to stand on its own two feet. Its main strength lies in the films message, this is what makes it stand above the rest, delivering a solid superhero origin story that commentates and criticises our world, views and values. When Diana first ventures from her island, it’s her first interaction with ‘man’s’ world. She’s naïve and obviously there is comedy to go with that but there is also a fresh look on the way we do things, which in her eyes isn’t all that good and throughout the film she begins to learn that men aren’t all bad but they’re also not all good. Diana’s arc throughout this period of realisation is one that insights hope and joy within the viewer and that’s what brings this film home, elevating the formulaic superhero film into something more special.  

Playing the icon is Gal Gadot and boy does she bring her A game. She truly carries this film and breathes life into Diana, making the character her own and diminishing any doubts audiences may have had about her taking on the role. She owns Wonder Woman. Everybody in this film does a great job, even with the little amount that some characters get. Up there with Gadot though is Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, the two have amazing chemistry and together they steal the film, creating real emotional connections between the two characters in the space of a couple of hours, you care about these characters and what happens to them.

My favourite element of this film is the action. The action is so badass, it’s so cool, it looks beautiful with great cinematography and sounds awesome with an excellent score. The theme we heard first in BvS is truly earned in this film and when it arrives, it really does deliver. Wonder Woman in full costume, in all her glory, taking out bad guys is a moment to be experienced on the big screen, it gave me goosebumps and I have read barely any Wonder Woman comics.

No matter how much I’ve raved about this film, it’s not perfect. It’s a tad too long for a start and the CGI does not always hold up, which is shame considering previous DC films have been pretty good with this element to date. And as I’ve stated before, it’s a bit generic, it doesn’t take many risks or feel much different from previous superhero films, but also as I’ve mentioned, because it works the tropes so well and has a message worth spreading, it is still able to stand above many that have come before it. Talking of other DC films, if you liked the grim tone and serious nature of this films predecessors then you may not like where they take this one, this one has jokes, is uplifting and is a film where the hero is heroic.  

Patty Jenkins, the director, should be applauded for bringing Wonder Woman to the big screen in such glorious fashion, a job I’m sure brought a lot of pressure on getting it right. Finally, we have a female led superhero film that is great and will hopefully usher in a new era of equality within the genre. This truly is a film and a hero the world needs right now, not flawless but still great, a solid 4/5. Go see Wonder Woman now!

I'm actually a little excited for Justice League now, even if it is just to see Wonder Woman again!

What did you think of Wonder Woman? Have the DCEU taken a step forward or backwards, let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

Captain America: Civil War

I’ve finally seen it; I’ve finally seen Captain America: Civil War! Read on to find out my SPOILER FREE review of the latest Marvel film.

If you haven’t seen the film yet, then go in blind, it’s better that way. All you need to know is that The Avengers begin to learn that their actions have consequences, and how to deal with those consequences splits the group in two.

You know the cast by now but we do get two fresh faces in the limelight and they come in the form of Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa aka The Black Panther and Tom Holland as Peter Parker aka Spider-Man. They both do an amazing job in their roles and really are standout performances in the film.  We’ll get back to Spider-Man later though... My favourite performance of the whole film goes to Robert Downey Jr, he gives the best version of Tony Stark/Iron Man we have seen since his first solo outing. The Russo Brothers are great at directing actors, in The Winter Soldier they made Samuel L Jackson act in a role where beforehand he was just being himself and they do exactly the same here with RDJ who really breaks new ground and is more than just himself, he really sells that Stark is a man broken and defined by his experiences. The rest of the cast all do a great job as well, nobody stuck out as being bad or less than satisfactory.

My biggest worry with this film was that they were trying to fit too many characters into the story. Was I right to have that fear? Yes and no. This is definitely more of an Avengers film with a slight emphasis on Captain America. I mean it does follow on from The Winter Soldier and Cap is the most prominent role in the film however, there is just so much going on around him that it’s difficult to say that this was his solo film. If anything I would have just called this film Civil War and have it be a chapter within the Marvel Universe that shifted the status quo, because at the end of the day that is all this film does. It’s not a bad thing though, this film kind of proves all the good that can come from an extended and shared universe, this is the kind of film that us fans have been wanting to see from the start and although it takes a little while to get going, when it all kicks off it kicks off in spectacular fashion. That airport scene, oh boy that airport scene!

This isn’t Age of Ultron though, it isn’t just set up, there is a well thought out and interesting storyline here that does make you very invested. Instead of setting up later films, it instead introduces you to a different side of the MCU, mainly in the form of The Black Panther who I have been waiting to see for years and he does not disappoint.  It’s a lot more personal and smaller Avengers film that I think we all kind of wanted from Age of Ultron but didn’t get. The marketing made you choose a side and I was Team Cap throughout but in the film it’s really not that simple. By the end I was switching sides every 10 seconds, they worked the two sides of the argument so well that neither side was wrong, both made sense and you were fully invested in the outcomes, for the first time in a Marvel film there felt like there were real stakes involved. Nearly every character serves a purpose here and they all get their chance to shine, there are a lot of fist pumping moments. However the highlight character of the film for me was also the one who served the least purpose to the plot...

Spider-Man. You all know by now that I am a huge Spider-Man fan so I was very excited and little bit nervous to see him enter the MCU in this film. My Spider-Man has always been older than the high school version that everybody seems to be shipping recently. Maybe it was because when I read/watched Spider-Man he was always older than me and now in Civil War he’s younger than me, either way, I do respect where they were going when they cast really young, it makes sense and it contrasts the rest of the heroes very well. Tom Holland sold it as Peter Parker for me and even more so as Spider-Man, he cool, he’s funny, he’s annoying and even though he’s out of his league he holds his own.  Basically Marvel have made Spider-Man the way he should be. He brings some much needed humour to a film that isn’t as comedy centric as some other Marvel outings. His involvement in the film is purely down to the fact that Marvel and Sony have made a deal, he doesn’t do anything to serve the plot apart from bring a while load of joy and big smile to my face. It’s too early to say if he can top Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker or Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man as he has had barely any screen time, but the signs are looking very good. I cannot wait for Spider-Man: Homecoming next year!

In terms of cinematography, the film looks like an action film, there isn’t much inspiring here, the action scenes are cool and gritty like in Winter Soldier, but it’s pretty standard in terms of the look of the film. The music as well doesn’t add much, maybe it was my cinema showing but I really didn’t feel it was loud enough to emphasise anything. When I was re-watching The Avengers recently the score really emphasised how epic the film was, it worked so well and I feel we haven’t had something like it since.

Another thing that hasn’t been as good since The Avengers has been the CGI. It’s not awful but there are some moments that have the characters (especially Black Panther) looking a bit rubbery. It’s a shame because Black Panther really kicks ass when he doesn’t look like a computer animated rag doll. Most of it looks great though, there was just the odd moment that caught my eye.

I don’t think this was my favourite Marvel film but it definitely is one of their better ones. It’s a lot of fun and really works in terms of emotional investment and character stakes. I wish it had been renamed though as this wasn’t really the third solo Cap film I was hoping for, however it definitely was the Avengers film I was looking for last year. The film is a celebration of a shared universe and really shows off the potential in storytelling you can have with one. It’s not perfect but it’s definitely the best superhero film we have had this year. I am rating Captain America: Civil War a rating of 4/5.

What did you think? Best Marvel film to date? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

The Post 9/11 Captain America

Last year, one of my last projects at University was to write a Dissertation on a subject in Film. I decided to write about the effect 9/11 had on superhero films, the official title being 'With Great Powers Comes Great Responsibility: Approaching and Reflecting 9/11 in Superhero Films'. (Yes I am a massive nerd.) One of the chapters in my dissertation was a study on 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' where I analysed it and compared it to a previous post 9/11 themed superhero film, 'The Dark Knight'. As we are mere days away from the release of 'Civil War' I thought it would be interesting post this chapter on my blog for you guys to see. Now remember, this was written a year ago and it is just one section of a larger piece of work however, it should be an enjoyable read by itself. It isn't perfect, academic writing wasn't always my strongest suit and if you read it all the way through you will see some of my own personal fanboy opinion seep through the cracks. It's something different and for those of you who do read it all, thank you and I hope you enjoy it! 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier follows Steve Rogers - a superhero named Captain America from 1940’s who was frozen and then defrosted in the present day - as he adjusts to modern day living whilst working for a government agency whose ideals do not fully match up with his own. The film looks at the ideologies of the world security company S.H.I.E.L.D (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), whose defences have had to be reassessed after realising the world is a lot bigger than they thought and now have to deal with the possibility of an extra-terrestrial attack after the events of the previous film in the franchise, Avengers Assemble. As with Man of Steel, the people of Earth in the Marvel universe have had a recent attack from a different life form, which has changed their world and their views forever. In their world, super powered people exist and what was once mythology and legend with the likes of Thor and his kind, are now a reality that they must accept. They have had their 9/11 like event and must now deal with the aftermath. The Winter Soldier does this in a way that sums up the main question raised post 9/11, should society sacrifice its freedom for security? The security company S.H.I.E.L.D propose a plan to use a computer algorithm that determines a person’s background and to have them eliminated if they pose a threat to society, even before they commit a crime.

It just so happens that S.H.I.E.L.D has been infiltrated by an old German Nazi division named Hydra, who believe that eliminating all these threats will be the way forward for a better society, but under their control.  Although this is a film with a heightened sense of reality, it is one that very much offers a critical response to the types of security innovations, which have started coming up in Western society post 9/11. Innovations such as the increase in CCTV cameras, the approval of the government to listen in to our conversations and also the ability track our whereabouts through our mobile devices. After Edward Snowden released documents to the press, it was found that the American government could even do some of these acts without a warrant, as reported by The Guardian: ‘The National Security Agency has a secret backdoor into its vast databases under a legal authority enabling it to search for US citizens’ email and phone calls without a warrant,’ (BALL & ACKERMAN, 2013).

            Captain America is a hero who is out of his own time. After crashing into an icy landscape during World War Two, he is discovered frozen, brought back to life and introduced back into modern time. His ideals are old fashioned, what some would refer to ‘the good old days’ when it was believed there were clear distinction between good and evil with no grey area, though his are even more heightened due to his sense of morality and his character being enforced as the epitome of good and what is right by the writers. This is represented in the first film Captain America: The First Avenger (JOHNSTON 2011) when he is asked ‘Do you want to kill Nazis?’ and replies ‘I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t like bullies; I don’t care where they’re from.’ In the sequel, after S.H.I.E.L.D lets Captain America know what they have in store with their plans, assessing who could be a threat and taking them out before they commit a crime,  he replies ‘I thought the punishment usually comes after the crime?’ He represents the side of the argument which feels that freedom should not be sacrificed for our security, should Western society be taking out possible threats before they have actually committed crime, is this not infringing on their freedom to make a different a more moral decision. As Captain Americas states in the films; ‘This isn’t freedom, this is fear.’

This is not the first post 9/11 film to represent this argument. In 2005, Christopher Nolan released his gritty and grounded in realism version of Batman with Batman Begins (Nolan 2005). This new and contemporary adaptation of the Batman story, saw the hero training with the Middle Eastern terrorist organisation ‘The League of Shadows’, before leaving and then having to fight off their leader, Ra’s al Ghul, who attempts to poison Gotham’s city’s water supply in order to cleanse the city of its scum and in turn, its crime. An ideology that’s not too dissimilar from Batman’s own of stopping crime but with a more brutal and lethal approach that does not go with Batman’s moralistic stance. Batman’s ideology is similar to the way Captain America would not hesitate to stop the bad guys but not at the cost of his country’s freedom. Like Batman, Captain America uses violent techniques to subdue his enemies. In one of the opening action sequences of The Winter Soldier, the Captain jumps aboard a hijacked ship before stealthily killing the criminals who have taken his fellow S.H.I.E.L.D colleagues prisoner. This kind of brutality shows that Steve Rogers is someone who will do what it takes to protect his country and its values; he has a different moralistic stance to Batman who does not kill under any circumstance, even for his country or for Gotham, but instead does whatever it takes to apprehend the threat. Superman is much like Batman in the sense that he does not want to kill - although he is pushed to do so in Man of Steel – In the comic his values are more like Captain America’s; ‘Superman represents not only an ideal of transcendent moral and physical perfection, but also a harmonious and ordered universe with clear distinctions between right and wrong.’ (HASSLER-FOREST, 2012: 38).

In the second instalment of the Batman franchise, The Dark Knight, our hero must face the embodiment of post 9/11 fear, The Joker, a terrorist who has no other apparent motive but to cause chaos. His only goal is to push Batman so far as to make him kill him. Only then will The Joker feel he has won. In many ways, The Joker embodies terrorist organisations like Al Qaeda who launch their attacks in order to get a response and retaliation from the Western world, which would then turn more people against the West. John Ip says ‘The Joker himself presents as a terrorist figure who intimidates, threatens and inflicts violence and mayhem upon a civilian population in furtherance of his anarchic ideological purpose.’ (2011). The Dark Knight is very obvious in its political portrayal of a world post 9/11 and a lot of the imagery used in the film complements the themes, as discussed by Will Brooker:

The explicit description of Joker as a terrorist, and visual motifs such as the poster’s image of a burning skyscraper and the slow camera glide into the side of a building, punctuated by an explosion, that starts the film (2012: 200).

Unlike The Joker who represents fear and destruction. John Ip believes that Batman himself, throughout The Dark Knight, offers a commentary on the Bush administration after the events of 9/11, most particularly in a scene where Batman tortures The Joker in order to get information out of him. However, Ip argues that the ineffectiveness of the torture itself does not endorse the administration but instead criticises it:

The Bush Administration’s authorization of the use of torture and coercion during the war on terrorism, despite legal prohibitions both at the domestic and international level was perhaps the starkest indicator of the paradigm shift that occurred after 9/11... The Dark Knight’s depiction of the effectiveness of torture and coercive interrogation is therefore sceptical: at no point does it lead to the divulging of any useful information. Therefore the film is plainly not an endorsement of the Bush Administrations war on terror. Indeed, it is better seen as a critique (2011).

            As explicitly as his name suggests, Captain America is the symbol of the American way for a global audience to witness. Jason Dittmer argues this point and that Captain America represents nationalism at its finest:

Significant to this role is Captain America’s ability to connect the political projects of American nationalism, internal order, and foreign policy (all formulated at the national or global scale) with the scale of the individual, or the body. The character of Captain America connects these scales by literally embodying American identity, presenting for readers a hero both of, and for, the nation. (2005)

Dittmer goes on to argue, that characters like Captain America and other influential pop culture heroes, take events from our society and create ‘geopolitical’ scripts surrounding them, that; ‘mold common perceptions of political events, [to create a] key to a full understanding of both national identities [both American and foreign]’ (2005). This comes relates to Adorno and Horkeimer’s ‘Culture Industry’ theory, that films and other pop culture are no longer works of art, but cogs in a machine to throw out the ideologies of its creators to mass audiences in order to shape their understanding. Marvel Studios are a household name now, and though their comics have only reached a limited amount of people, their films have had global success (Box Office Mojo). Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a political piece; it’s addressing what it means to be a patriotic citizen of the U.S.A in a time when the country’s values and freedoms are being redesigned under the pretext of improving security but at the expense of freedom, after such events as 9/11. The heroes of the film are the people who stand up and oppose Hydra’s ideology, not just the spy agents of the company but the small everyday manual workers, even though the consequence of this may mean death. This is shown in one scene where a S.H.I.E.L.D operator has a gun held at his head by a Hydra agent, demanding him to start the algorithm that will decide who poses a threat to society and then kill them. Even with a gun held to his head, this worker refuses, knowing that he will be shot, because he believes in Captain America and the American way, he says ‘I’m not going to launch those ships, Captain’s orders.’.

            As in Man of Steel, there is also 9/11 like destruction in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This destruction comes in the form of three Hellicarriers – similar to flying versions of aircraft landing ships – that crash over Washington, two into each other before falling into the sea, and one straight into a building. Unlike Man of Steel, this destruction has purpose; it’s the only way that Captain America and his allies can stop a lot more people being killed. It is also a representation of the downfall of a terrorist ideology that has infiltrated American security company S.H.IE.L.D. The Hellicarrier that crashes into the building, crashes into the main headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D, the organisation that has been hijacked, that was the main defence in global security. As with 9/11, this event shakes the world, without this security who will protect the world from threats beyond the Earth’s arsenal? Man of Steel uses destruction as a spectacle and even though in The Winter Soldier it is also something which looks great on the big screen, the special effects are on a smaller scale and characters relationships are the moving force of the action rather than big explosions, they are used as a means to an end. The people involved have been explored, from the S.H.I.E.L.D workers who have had their friends and colleagues turn on them, to the Winter Soldier himself, an old friend of Steve’s brainwashed into carrying out Hydra’s demands, to main villain, Alexander Pierce the conductor of the event, so convinced by his own ideologies that he sees no other way to save the world. The film shows random workers stand up for their country, they are not merely cannon fodder but innocents trapped by Hydra. Most get out, but for those who don’t, the audience is moved by their situation, there are real perils at stake when it comes to watching the destruction play out on screen.

            As discussed in the first chapter, Captain America has always been a piece of propaganda, from his first issue to his latest; he has always worn the flag as his costume in one form or another. It can be argued that, in The Winter Soldier, he is not as blatant a piece of propaganda. His costume is less bright, no longer wearing the colours of the flag, this could represent how America has lost its way and doesn’t stand for what it should anymore. He is faced with many obstacles throughout the film, but none of them deter him from being any different a person by the end of the film. He has no character arc and other than he cannot be changed, and that is what makes Captain America special. Even though his views are old fashioned, and this gets in the way of him dealing with 21^st century life, this also means he offers a historical perspective on the war on terror, one that sees his country’s freedom being sacrificed, and this is not okay with him. The directors discuss how they made a conscious decision to make this an integral part of the film:

We were all reading the articles that were coming out questioning drone strikes, pre-emptive strikes, civil liberties—Obama talking about who they would kill, y'know? We wanted to put all of that into the film because it would be a contrast to Cap's greatest-generation [way of thinking]. (RUSSO, 2014)

The Winter Soldier is not your standard superhero film; in fact it is more a political thriller than anything else. It is about change and what is the right and moral thing to do during that change. Many things changed whilst Captain America was frozen, but he still sees a society of good people who have been through a lot. He symbolises a time when his countries values were considered at their best and America truly was fighting the good fight against evil, his character being in the present day and struggling to deal with fact that this has changed represents that America is no longer good and walks the line between good and bad. This is what he stands up for, to keep society level headed like it was 1940’s. This may mean that he stands for a Western society that makes him a form of propaganda, but that does not mean that he is necessarily a negative piece of propaganda. Because he stands for good and what is right, he is a good character that we should all aspire to be like, he wears the American flag as his costume because that’s what he wore in the 1940’s, his change from a dark blue and then back to his classic costume by the end of The Winter Soldier shows that he is not happy with the change in society during his time away and that things should revert back to his generations way of thinking.

Bibliography

ADORNO, Theodor W. and HORKHEIMER, Max. 1944. Dialectic of Enlightenment. New York: Social Studies Association Inc.

BALL, James and ACKERMAN, Spencer. 2013. ‘NSA loophole allows warrantless search for US citizens’ emails and phone calls’ The Guardian. [online] Available at <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/09/nsa-loophole-warrantless-searches-email-calls> [accessed 15^th April 2015].

BOX OFFICE MOJO. 2015. Marvel Cinematic Universe. Box Office Mojo [online]. Available at: <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=avengers.htm > [accessed 11^th May 2015].

BROOKER, Will. 2012. Hunting the Dark Knight: Twenty-First Century Batman.  London: I.B Tauris & Co.

DITTMER, Jason. 2005.  ‘Captain America's Empire: Reflections on Identity, Popular Culture, and Post-9/11 Geopolitics’ in Annals of the Association of American Geographers. [online] 95(3). Available through: Falmouth University Library Website <http://library.fxplus.ac.uk/ > [accessed on 10^th March 2015].

HASSLER-FOREST, Dan. 2012. Capitalist Superheroes: Caped Crusaders in the Neoliberal Age. Croydon: Zero Books.

RUSSO, Anthony. 2014. ‘Soldier showdown: Joe and Anthony Russo take the helm of Captain America franchise’ in Film Journal. [online] Available at: <http://www.filmjournal.com/content/soldier-showdown-joe-and-anthony-russo-take-helm-%E2%80%98captain-america%E2%80%99-franchise> [accessed on 2^nd May 2015].

Filmography

JOHNSTON, Joe. 2011. Captain America: The First Avenger [Film].

NOLAN, Christopher. 2005. Batman Begins [Film].

NOLAN, Christopher. 2008. The Dark Knight [Film].

PYUN, Albert. 1990. Captain America [Film].

RUSSO, Joe and Anthony. 2014. Captain America: The Winter Soldier [Film].

SNYDER, Zack. 2013. Man of Steel [Film].

If you made it this far then well done! I hope you enjoyed this post and if you did let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger is here and Marvel have finally turned what many people consider to be a 'lame' superhero into a total badass! I did enjoy the first film but felt that the final act was a bit rushed in order to get Cap to where he should be in The Avengers, the film that made him cool, but it is The Winter Soldier that proves Captain America isn't lame in the slightest! Read on to find out my verdict on the film as a whole, and as usual this review will be SPOILER FREE.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier revolves around Steve Rodgers struggling to embrace his new role in the world and who he can trust in it. At the same time he also faces a new threat from old history, a soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier.

The action is one of the best things about this film and it kicks off pretty quickly. Cap has a new style of fighting and it is brutal but also very, very cool. His iconic shield is used a lot more, and his strength is shown off a lot more during the film proving the fact that he is in fact a superhero and not just a slightly stronger guy. His new suit is also very cool and the whole design of the characters, old and new like The Falcon, is pretty much perfect in this modern day re-imagining of the comic books.

The acting is all solid and Chris Evans owns it as Steve Rodgers, along with Scarlett Johansson who surprisingly did not annoy me at all with her portrayal of Black Widow, unlike with previous appearances of her character that I have not always enjoyed. Samuel L Jackson IS Nick Fury,there is no denying it and newcomers Robert Redford and Anthony Mackie are also great additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

A change of directors for this film, The Winter Soldier was directed by Joe and Anthony Russo. They have done a perfect job of turning the film into an interesting and intriguing action flick that juggles around an ensemble of characters, almost perfectly, into new territory tonally and thematically for Phase 2 of the Marvel Universe. The writing is also great and has the best balance of seriousness and comedy since The Avengers. The only problem with it being that there were a lot of cliched 'saved at the last second' moments and the biggest flaw of any Marvel film, that there never seems to be too much peril. As I have mentioned before though, I think this is something that could definitely change in Age of Ultron.

My biggest gripe of the film would be the amount of screen time that the Winter Soldier character actually gets. If you have ever been interested in comics then you most likely know who the soviet agent is and know that it creates a pretty powerful storyline. Now there is no denying that he is a more memorable villain then Malekith was in Thor: The Dark World but I would have liked to have seen a lot more of him! My other gripe is with Maria Hill who occasionally just pops up in this film, I have come to terms that she most likely will never be exactly like her character in the comics, but I would have either cut her from this film or given her more to do thnn what she was given.

I have seen a lot of people criticise this film for a lack of character arc for Captain America, but I believe that if you were to change any part of what the super soldier is all about then he is no longer Captain America, that's the whole point of his character, he is and always will be a good man.

The film is a lot of fun and has a lot of great moments and very cool set pieces. The story sets up some big changes to the Marvel Universe and it is great being able to see big events from the comics be brought to life on the big screen. There are twists and turns galore, some predictable, others not as much and thankfully nothing as infuriating Iron Man 3. Keep an eye/ear out for all references including one of the best ever to Pulp Fiction, and as always make sure you stay for the post credits stinger! Captain America: The Winter Soldier is not just the best of phase 2 so far but is also one of Marvel's best films to date. I am giving it a rating of 4/5.

What did you think of the film? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Trailer

Ok so it just came out and I thought I would give you my views on the trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. So first of all, here it is:


I just want to start by saying that since The Avengers trailer, no trailer has really gotten me super pumped for a film... until now. That's not saying I didn't enjoy the ones for Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World, but they didn't make nerd out like I just did.

Now this trailer is awesome, for a teaser it's a got a little bit of everything and even hints that The Winter Soldier may not be the only trouble for Cap. Nope, looks like S.H.I.E.L.D is militarising itself as we saw multiple helicarriers in the trailer and Cap beating up some of the agents in an elevator. Could Robert Redford be the big bad of the whole piece?

We got our first look at Cap's new suit and although it wasn't in this trailer, the teaser for this trailer also had him in his WW2 costume. Why could that be? We also got our first look at Falcon who looks awesome and also seems to be in some trouble with S.H.I.E.L.D as one of the Quinjets was firing at him.

Though S.H.I.E.L.D look to be antagonists of this piece I've got a feeling it will be Redford's character that's corrupt rather then Nick Fury who I reckon will stick at Cap's side along with Black Widow and Falcon.

Anyway i'm going to go watch it again because my god is it cool!

What did you guys think of the trailer? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

Check back soon for my review of Thor: The Dark World. I'm so hoping it will be good because with average Iron Man 3 and pretty awful Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Marvel need to pull something out of the bag quickly!

The Avengers Review

Finally the review of one of the most anticipated superhero movies of all time, The Avengers or Avengers Assemble if you are from the UK like me. We luckily got to see the film before those living in the U.S.A and we got an extra word! Though unfortunately they get an extra post credits scene, but don't worry I won't go into detail about that, as this review is spoiler free!

So after a long weekend at Sundance London and a frustratingly delayed train journey back, I finally got to see the film I have been waiting years for! Never have I been so excited for a film! But was it going to live up to my expectations? Thank you lord it did! I have never had so much fun at the cinema before and I doubt I will ever again!

The film follows a group of superheroes; Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Hulk who are assembled by head honcho of S.H.I.E.L.D, Nick Fury. He has no superpowers apart from being Samuel L Jackson! Other members of the group who are not 'super' but rather kick ass include Black Widow, Hawkeye, Maria Hill and the incredible Agent 'Phil' Coulson. The team are assembled as The Avengers and together they must face an army brought to Earth by the god of mischief, Loki.

For those who believed that Mark Ruffalo would not make a good Hulk you are so wrong! Although Edward Norton was brilliant, Ruffalo just completely blows him out of the park! He is also the first actor to play the Hulk via motion capture. Unlike previous representations of the gamma monster, this Bruce Banner is not as tortured by the man inside but has learnt to keep him away for as long as possible. How you ask? Well you will have to watch the film! Robert Downey Jr once gain captures Tony Stark perfectly but does not steal the show. The Hulk does that, he provides moments of great action and humour.

In fact the whole film does that! Joss Whedon really has created a film that contains everything we love from previous Marvel movies and amps it up a notch! His direction and writing is spot on and the film visually looks beautiful. Not just the special effects but cinematography also! The best bits about the film are the conflicting relationships between The Avengers, don't worry they all fight each other at least once, Hulk vs Thor being a highlight. But the two characters that don't fight are Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Their relationship is brilliant, being two geniuses they instantly connect and the constant push from Stark to try and get Banner angry is brilliant! I would be happy if the next Marvel project was a Iron Man & Hulk movie!

Another thing that makes this movie great is that Captain America is actually quite cool. Although he does need to back down a bit and stop being so over confident when he wants to fight Iron Man, a fight he will so obviously lose. No Cap, just no. But apart from that, Captain America feels like a superhero who isn't just a do good whining soldier. There is a very cool moment where he knocks a grenade back to his enemy using his bare hands. Thank you once again Joss Whedon for making the Captain America we all want to see. Thor is pretty awesome also, but he already was pretty cool. And like in Thor he gets to say some pretty amusing lines.

My down point of the film is that the phrase 'Avengers Assemble!' is not used and neither is 'I say thee nay!' used by Thor. These little things would have made me nerd out even more but never mind. Apart from that The Avengers is pretty much flawless as a superhero movie. Those who compare it to The Dark Knight should give up. Yes they are both superhero film but they are in completely different categories when it come to style!

2012 is already so much better then last year! If you are going to see any films this Summer, this looks like the one to go to! Bring on The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises! I'm giving The Avengers a rating of 5/5.

Thanks for reading and remember to stay until the end of the credits so you can nerd out just a little bit more!

Assembling The Avengers

Two weeks from now I will be coming back from Sundance London and my first stop will be at my local cinema. The film I will be going to see is Avengers Assemble or for those is the U.S.A The Avengers.

It all started back in 2008 after the release of Iron Man. A film that was an unexpected success at the box office. It is also one of my favourite films and I can never get bored of Robert Downey Jr. We are also introduced to Samuel L Jackson's kick ass Nick Fury! So 4 years and 5 films later, we are almost here, the moment every fan boy in the world has been waiting for, Earth's Mightiest Heroes uniting to face off an army sent by the mischievous Loki.

After Iron Man was released then saw the next stage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Incredible Hulk. This time played by Edward Norton who did a very good job at it. Unfortunately Norton was a pain in the ass and therefore the studio decided to pick Mark Ruffalo as the Bruce Banner of The Avengers.

Iron Man 2 was next. It delivered a good post Avengers film but never really hit the heights of the original. A good movie never the less. Although I am saddened that Jon Favreau won't be returning for the threequel I am happy that Shane Black will be directing as I loved his previous film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Then came Thor. My least favourite of the group but a suprisingly good film that delivered well and created a well made backdrop of Asgard that I hope will not be underused in The Avengers.

Then came 'The First Avenger' Captain America. Another great film that helped secure the origins of Cap before (SPOILER) gets frozen and wakes up modern day ready to assemble! the film was good though the second act felt a bit rushed. Personally if any film Marvel film could have benefited from a sequel it would have been this one rather then Iron Man as I would have loved to see more WW2 footage that had been less rushed.

Now we are here, a week and a bit away from being able to see it. Some lucky people already have!! And first responses have been positive which just helps the nerding out even more! Lots of comments from people saying they 'won't spoil it' so does that mean there is more then meets the eye? My bet is on another villain from the Marvel Universe rather then just Loki and has army. Either way I cannot freakin wait!

Thanks for reading! In 2 weeks time my review of Avenger Assemble will be online and that thought just makes me giddy!

Easter Reviews Part 1

So over the Easter holidays so far, I have watched a lot of films and I am most likely to watch a lot more! So for this post I am going to write short reviews for all of the films I have seen so far. Then next week I will review the rest of the films I am most likely to watch in the coming days. So please enjoy!

Paranormal Activity 3
I was a big fan of the documentary Catfish which the directors of this film previously worked on. So I was hoping that they would do this franchise some good. I liked the first film, due to its originality in the horror genre, but I wasn't a big fan of the second as its seems they just copied what had happened in the previous instalment. The third, although having the same sort of rhythm to it, was actually my personal favourite of the series! I thought that it pushed the boundaries of the previous film and delivered some pretty creative scares. If you were put off by the second film then don't turn this one down as it might regain your faith. But I must ask how much life the series has left in it?

Martha Marcy May Marlene
I reviewed this in previous post but I thought I would still give a short verdict; If you are a fan of films which have interesting plots but don't actually go anywhere with it, then this is the film for you. Unfortunately this is not the film for me.

Sunshine
Danny Boyle has no boundaries! He can take any genre and make his own brilliant film within it. Sunshine is a great film and stars some great actors including the new Captain America. A great film that felt almost like a new take on the Alien films. Some great story telling done here and it was actually quite scary in places. My only criticism is that the ending was a little bit crazy and a points I was unsure as to what was actually happening.

Reservoir Dogs
This is the first time I have seen this Tarantino masterpiece. It was a great film which had me glued to my seat throughout. A proper classic and if you haven't seen it, you need too! This really is Tarantino at his best and I don't think I have seen a bad film from the director yet. I cannot wait for Django Unchained!

We Need To Talk About Kevin
I really enjoyed this film and thought that the subject area of which it is based on was handled well. My only problem with this film is that they try to hard. They try to establish this bad relationship between a mother and her soon to be mass killer son. The director obviously wanted the audience to question whether his actions could have been prevented by better parenting. The director also wanted us to think whether the mother is just as bad as her son. The only problem is, is that they focus to hard on making the character of Kevin come across as an evil delusional child. He needed therapy and he needed to be told off by his mum every once and a while for his terrible behaviour! A good film but it could be better.

Red State
This film has been heavily slated by audiences and critics. So I didn't watch this film expecting anything special. But actually it was a good fun watch and I enjoyed it very much. It is sold as a horror but actually isn't that scary. It's more of a fun thriller that makes fun of 'America's Most Hated Family' the Phelps family. The OTT Christians that goes to soldiers funerals with banners saying 'God Hates Fags'. Great way of spreading Gods love?? The family in the film now actually catch these sinners and kill them. The whole film turns into a massive shoot up between them and the police. John Goodman steals the show as usual but Michael Parks was not far behind. Some great acting and a good film which unlike many, i recommend.

Thanks for reading!

Review of 2011

So 2012 (the ultimate year) is here and 2011 has passed away into the past. But was it a good year for films? Ask me this time last year I would have said yes but ask me now and I would say it wasn't as good as predicted but still pretty awesome. Here is my review of the year for all media types not just film but TV and music also. So since this is film blog we will start with my top 10 films of the year first!

10. Thor
The god of thunder strikes in at number 10! The first of two Marvel movies last year and personally the least favourite of the two. Don't get me wrong it was a good film but lacked some of the brilliance of Captain America. But still got me super excited for The Avengers! And Chris Hemsworth is an awesome Thor! I must say it was hard decision between this and Rise of the Planet of the Apes which was also awesome!

9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Personally not my favourite of the franchise but a pretty action packed finale. The whole world is now suffering from post Potter stress and for me I think it will kick in more this year when we don't get another one.

8. Captain America - The First Avenger
The star spangled man is number 8! Great film that works better then I thought it would, yes it's a bit cheesy but it's called Captain America! Though the the second half of the film feels a bit rushed it's still a great film!

7. Hugo
Yes it was a bit slow! And yes it probably wasn't a film that kids would rush to see but film buffs like myself loved Martin Scorsese's latest film! After all it revolves around the creation of film! And my god was the 3D incredible! Personally for me it was better then Avatar's 3D.

6. Source Code
Duncan Jones has done it again, the who made Moon has made another brilliant film! When I first heard of the film I didn't rush out to see it but when I finally saw it, it blew me away. Probably my most recommended film of the year! Everyone must see it!

5. Submarine
A film  I really wanted to see as soon as I heard about it. Funny man Richard Ayoadem directorial debut and what a cracker it was! Craig Roberts is a brilliant actor and the films wierdness and originality really makes it one of the best of the year! And the soundtrack is the best of the year also!

4. Crazy Stupid Love
One of the suprise hits of the year! Crazy Stupid Love is one of the funniest and heart felt movies of the year. Brilliant film with great acting from babe Ryan Gosling and funnyman Steve Carell.

3. 50/50
Who knew a comedy about cancer could be so heartfelt and emotional. A tough film to sell but there was no way it couldn't make it on this list! I'm still backing Joseph Gordon-Levitt for an Oscar!

2. X-Men First Class
I love superheroes and this is one of the best superhero films I have seen! The best of the series and Micheal Fassbender is one of the best actors around at the moment! So many 'YES!' moments it's unbelieveable!

1. Super 8

What can I say about this film? Truly an incredible experience that brought back to life the classic hits of E.T and Close Encounters and mashed them up into a new original movie! J.J Abrhams is making his name as one of Hollywoods greatest even more clear. What a Director! What a film! And the child acting was some of the best I have seen!

So that concludes my film list of 2011! But What about TV I hear you ask? Well actually thats my next list!

5. Bored to Death
This show is a smart comedy about the life of private detective Jonathon Ames. It is very funny and suprisingly emotional in places. Unfortuantly the show has recently been cancelled which make me very sad indeed.

4. Phsychoville
Not everyone will get this comedy as it is very wierd but for me it is extremely funny! Again it is one of those comedys that can be very on the edge but also quite emotional in places.

3. Boardwalk Empire

What a show. I love period gangstar movies and this is a show that mixes the best of them into one. It is very smart and very powerfull. Now nearing the end of its second season it truly is an epic!

2. Being Human
Another mixture of comedy and drama. One of the best shows on telly. Though I must add I am talking about the original UK version rather then the remake US one. Really is am ust see show that doesnt get enough attention. Not all vampires are vegieterians and glow in the sun! The show is returning this year for its 4th series though I ma optomistic as most of the main cast are leaving. I hope it still is great!

1. The Walking Dead
I didn't think I would be a fan of this show as I am not a big fan of the genre. But now after getting to the mid season finale of the second season it truly is one of the best shows ever made. Not so much about the zombies but more about the people and their journey in this harsh new reality. Very very powerful. The latest episode almost had me in tears!


So thats TV over and now for my faviroute music albums of 2011!

3. Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
 A good album from one of the biggest bands around. Better then their last which I did not enjoy that much. Great album!

2. JAY Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne
The collaberation album from heaven. Truly awesome as the rappers produce some of their best music yet. Not as good as Kanye's last album My Dark Twisted Fantasy but still very cool!

1. The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
A great first album for the band which has some great songs with some quite funny lyrics at times. My fav of the year! Check it out!

And that concludes my review of 2011. A good year for film! A great year for TV! An ok year for music! And as you know I already think 2012 will be the most awesome year yet and I hope I am not wrong! Keep following my blog as hopefully this year it will just get bigger and better! And remember With Great Powers Comes Great Responsibility!
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