Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
You can’t see it right now, what with the computers in the way, but I am saluting the flag. I feel an overwhelming swell of patriotism growing inside me, having taken in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This is a damn fine country and it produces some damn fine movies about damn fine superheroes. How many does this make for Marvel? How many amazing action movies have they produced so far? The Avengers was one of the biggest movies of all time, and all three superhero follow-ups have been dynamite, with Captain America 2 probably the best of the bunch. This movie has everything. This movie is everything.
It makes me proud to be an American.
Movie Rating: 9/10 – Great.
Not that American patriotism is the driving factor of The Winter Soldier, I just needed a good opening. This movie is actually about SHIELD and the secrets it keeps, and how Steve Rogers may be the only honest man left who can get to the bottom of the mysteries that lie at the heart of the organization. SHIELD has been the glue that binds all of the Marvel movies so far. Heck, Marvel went ahead and based a whole TV show around them. But something inside SHIELD is starting to crack, and Captain America is just the sort of hero we need to save the day. He’s not flashy like Iron Man or Thor. He’s not at war with himself like the Hulk. Steve Rogers is just a man, for the most part. He’s determined and honest, and a lot tougher than most. But he’s a man who wants to do the right thing, and has the strength to stick with it when the odds seem overwhelming.
Plus he’s brought along a bunch of neat friends. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is almost as much of an ensemble film as The Avengers, and it works just as good.
In terms of sheer spectacle and excitement, The Avengers is still the best. But The Winter Soldier is of the same caliber and quality. The action and danger are very real, with ties to both The Avengers and Captain America’s first film. The characters are true to themselves, and grow beyond what we’ve seen before. And, as always, that signature Marvel wit just saturates the film. The dialogue is delightful, the banter is beautiful, and the film knows exactly when to sprinkle in the humor.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is everything we’ve come to expect from the Marvel Movie Machine. Once again, Marvel raises the bar for action movies and superhero movies everywhere.
Join me after the jump for the full review. I’m going to try to keep SPOILERS to a minimum.
Everything Wrong with the Honest Trailer of Captain America: The First Avenger!
I’m going to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier at the theater tonight, so to celebrate, I cobbled together all of my favorite movie critiquing Internet videos for you to enjoy! We’ve got Honest Trailers and Everything Wrong With, both of which came out in the past week. Plus I dug out the How It Should Have Ended as well, because I love you guys.
Let’s start with EWW by Cinema Sins!
Then we’ve got the Honest Trailer by the Screen Junkies!
And finally, How It Should Have Ended!
Hopefully I”ll have my review of The Winter Soldier up tomorrow morning!
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Getting Caught Up With Game of Thrones!
We’re less than a week away from the new season of Game of Thrones! Get caught up with this handy, dandy Honest Trailer!
I love comedy. This Honest Trailer was spot on! That Faceless Assassin really is awesome! I hope we see him again real soon. All of the trailers so far seem to indicate that Season 4 might be the best one yet! I am definitely looking forward to Sunday. Thanks to the Screen Junkies for delivering their usual awesomeness.
6 Things I Hate That Everybody Else Loves
A couple months ago, I wrote a List of Six about things I love that everybody else seems to hate. A few of you suggested in the comments that I do the reverse list, so here we are. But this list was much harder to put together. ‘Hate’ is a much stronger word than ‘Love’, and I’m just not a hateful guy. I’m mostly apathetic to things I don’t like, especially when it comes to pop culture. Sure there are things in this world that I hate, like having to scrape off my car windshield on an icy morning or when my Internet connection dies.
Or peas, I absolutely hate peas. Worst food in the world!
Just looking at this picture makes me gag
But this is a pop culture blog, and I want to keep it that way. So I racked my brain and tried to think of six things in pop culture that I hate but everybody else seems to love. And it can’t just be things that are popular or successful that I hate. I despise the cult of celebrity that surrounds the Kardashians, but they remain popular – but they’re only popular to that certain cult of people. Most of us would readily agree that the Kardashians are terrible. So they don’t count.
I think I’ve got a solid list. Here are 6 things that I hate that most people, especially my fellow geeks, seem to love.
I apologize in advance if I start going on some vicious rants. And as always, please feel free to share some of your own hates in the comments!
Take Us Home, Frog!
I saved the best for last. I hope this day has been as enjoyable for the rest of you as it was for me! Tune in tomorrow for our regularly henchman schedule.
Henchman-4-Hire 