tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post8183483864616607229..comments2024-03-27T00:27:04.726-04:00Comments on Net-flixation: Review: Captain America: The Winter SoldierThaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-66951072237891911172014-04-12T10:03:24.468-04:002014-04-12T10:03:24.468-04:00I understand where you're coming from, Doc! Wh...I understand where you're coming from, Doc! When I think back to why I liked IM so much, it's the amount of, well, "heart" that they managed to pack into the story. It was the distinct feeling that I want X character to live/die/do something fun because I had feelings about the character.<br /><br />Now, I haven't seen this film, tho I found Cap 1 to be forgettable and Thor to be a decent cotton candy experience. People say Thor 2 works, yet it also sounds kind of thin. But GotG will probably be too flip to be comparable. Maybe DJ can speak up about this better than I?...Thaddeushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-26665424093053541332014-04-11T05:05:47.280-04:002014-04-11T05:05:47.280-04:00I think the fact that the plot was mostly a delive...I think the fact that the plot was mostly a delivery vehicle for action set pieces is why I didn't enjoy this movie as much as I expected to (especially following all the good reviews). I mean, I didn't walk away unhappy, but it felt lighter and more based around spectacle that I was expecting even for a superhero action movie. I'd have actually happily left much of the action on the cutting room floor- not because it wasn't well executed, because it was, but because I started to get action/spectacle fatigue. The thing that saves it from being like, say, Pacific Rim (a movie that many loved but that I walked away deeply dissatisfied with) is that I do really like these characters, they do a good job of introducing them and humanizing them and hinting at inner lives and back stories that make them interesting and relatable. I want to spend more time with these characters, so the film doesn't feel quite as empty as it might otherwise. But I still walk away feeling like I've the aspertame/HFCS version of something when I really wanted the full-fat and sugar verison. <br /><br />I also have been thinking that it feels like every new Marvel movie moves further away from characters and drama and deeper into spectacle. When I think back to Iron Man, there's really only the giant punch up at the end that meets the same level of giant action set piece (rather than the smaller and briefer escaping from the cave scene, and the scene with the village and the fighter jets, which while action-y, didn't become these giant complicated fireworks of action and managed to remain more focused on the characters). Dr Livingstonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-78655113767368081122014-04-08T11:55:58.090-04:002014-04-08T11:55:58.090-04:00The first Thor was more a proof of concept than a ...The first Thor was more a proof of concept than a real movie--the idea of the Norse mythos being real and a blonde thunder god flying around with a big-ass hammer was probably the toughest sell in the original Avengers lineup. What the movie needed to do was to establish the setting and characters in a credible fashion (and establish Chris Hemsworth, who was close to an unknown when he was cast in the role). In that sense, the film was a huge success, even though as a movie in its own right--rather than a character introduction--it didn't work terribly well.<br /><br />Incredible Hulk is an incredibly hard movie to grade, because it got swamped by outside factors: it can't avoid comparisons to Ang Lee's brilliant-but-failed Hulk, and the film came prepackaged with the stench of failure because Ed Norton feuded with the producers over scenes that were edited out and an uncredited rewrite that he did. It was an OK film, but nothing special.<br /><br />Kevin Feige--Marvel's Cinematic bossman--agrees with you about Hulk, there are apparently no plans for another solo Hulk movie (and this is a guy who supposedly has the Marvel Cinematic schedule planned out through 2028). There's no real reason why Hulk couldn't carry his own franchise. Despite the brilliant supporting turn Ruffalo gave in Avengers, Hulk's actually a bad pick for a supporting player in the solo movies because the character isn't supposed to be social. I can't see him being more than a deus ex machina if used that way.DJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10901649394069002585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-11716821057456396312014-04-05T17:02:29.065-04:002014-04-05T17:02:29.065-04:00Great review, DJ! The movie sounds very exciting a...Great review, DJ! The movie sounds very exciting and a lot of fun. I'm really glad you had such a good time watching it.<br /><br />While I never saw the second Hulk film, I have been very mixed on the Marvel movies. A meringue - a trifle - sounds about right. Iron Man 2 was poor, muddled, repetitive, and Iron Man 3 left me feeling weird, and you've stated above how I felt about Cap 1.<br /><br />I never felt any need to see Thor, until I was sick and it was offered for streaming on Netflix (same way I saw Cap 1). And Thor was a real even mix of "oh, this is surprisingly nice" and "oh, I have to do all the work of caring here because they haven't made me care." For all its nice points, Thor felt made for the sake of making it, for putting another linchpin in the Marvel movie universe.<br /><br />So what I've been left with was feeling terribly impressed by Iron Man and The Avengers and being able to skip the rest - unless I'm deathly ill. It's good that Evans is getting a nice spotlight, and that this movie sounds put together so well.<br /><br />The next step, I guess, is deciding what to do with the Hulk. I have no doubt Ruffalo can ace it, but they need to get one hell of a good story and a solid writer to create it - because the Hulk is such a problematic character, for anything outside of a comic book context... or perhaps guest appearances on a cartoon.<br /><br />Maybe that will be the proper way to utilize him? As a co-star in films for the other Marvel mainstay roles?Thaddeushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com