Captain America: The First Avenger

Another superhero movie, coincidence? I think so.

Captain America is the story of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) an American in the 40's whose ailments prevents him from joining the army and defending his country. A scientist (Stanley Tucci) sees potential in the scrawny idealist and helps him to enlist in a secret program that turns him into a superhero. Also starring Tommy Lee Jones, Dominic Cooper, and Agent Smith from The Matrix. If you've been reading my blog at all then I won't have to say how much I enjoyed the fact that this movie takes place during World War II, but I will anyways. I do enjoy period pieces. Countries tried some crazy shit in the hopes of gaining the upper hand in WWII (Hiroshima, anyone?) and genetic mutation to create super-humans isn't really that far-fetched (using some magic power-of-the-gods stuff to achieve that though, maybe (but I wouldn't put it past the Nazis)). So the moral of the story is that I liked the basis for the plot and setting.

I also liked Chris Evans as Captain America. I found Ryan Reynolds to be distractingly good-looking in Green Lantern, and Evans seemed to be just the right amount of good-looking. He has this all-American quality to him, which is probably appropriate considering the movie. This movie also used some super technology to make Evans look really scrawny for the first bit, and it was so believable that it makes his character really likeable throughout, Captain America is truly a decent guy, even with a six-pack. I really liked Tommy Lee Jones, even though his character is pretty generic, he has that balance of hard-ass and softie that plays well for military characters. Stanly Tucci does a quality German accent and adds a bit of depth to all his roles, regardless of how small. Dominic Cooper (Sky from Mamma Mia) could have been played by anyone but I like the tie-in to Iron Man (he plays Tony Stark's father). Hayley Atwell played the love interest, they never explained why she was British (unless I missed it) and it bothered me how she didn't wear a helmet in combat (presumably because it would mess up her hair and be unlady-like) but her character was likeable enough.

This brings us now to the villain - Schmidt/Red Skull, played by Hugo Weaving. I just didn't find him very scary or intimidating, and the fact that the serum turned his face red was kind of random. I don't know if the writers were hoping that a Nazi as a villain would be enough, because Nazi's are the worst kind of people, and that should speak for itself? I also had issue with Captain America's costume/uniform (I can't think of the word), it's kind of dirty and boring. And other than being stronger and faster than he was before (and brave to begin with) what, exactly, are his super-powers? It seems like a lot of his awesomeness comes from that shield, and well, that's just a shield. The ending was also kind of a let-down, clearly it's setting up for The Avengers movie, which is all well and fine, but darn it, he had a date with Peggy for next week, and what ever happened to that?!

All in all though, I did enjoy this movie. The casting was great, skinny Chris Evans was cool, and the retro 40's thing was appealing. I also thought it was really neat how they used actual recruitment/propaganda posters during the ending credits - clever and visually stimulating. I rate this movie better than Green Lantern, but not as good as X-Men: First Class.

Bad Teacher

I assumed this movie was going to piss me off. I am a qualified teacher with no teaching job, and there are thousands of us, and I figured that a movie about a person not appreciating having a coveted teaching job would make me mad. It actually didn't though. Cameron Diaz's character was so ridiculous that the whole thing was pretty unbelievable. It was also, however, entertaining. Bad Teacher has no moral and Diaz's character has little redeeming qualities, even at the end. Her character is just plain mean and barely likable. It's always interesting to see Justin Timberlake act, but he doesn't add much, and the random hook-up between Diaz and Jason Segel at the end is exactly that - random. What propels this movie is the sheer outrageousness of how Diaz's character acts, you kind of root for her to get caught, and I was actually happy when Ms. Squirrel gets JT. Bad Teacher is not necessarily a bad movie, like I said before, it's entertaining, but School of Rock did this genre waaay better.

Lars and the Real Girl

Starring Ryan Gosling and Patricia Clarkson, Lars (Gosling) has trouble connecting with people, he lives alone and avoids his brother and sister-in-law as much as he can. He finds the girl of his dreams in a life-sized doll named Bianca that he ordered off the internet. This movie definitely reminded me of The Beaver, that I reviewed previously. Both involved men struggling with mental illness and use an inanimate object to deal with their lack of connecting with the world.

Lars and the Real Girl is a sweet and oftentimes funny movie. Ryan Gosling is perfect as Lars, he is subtle and likable and makes this movie honest instead of a farce. The supporting cast is all what they need to be as well, the quirky and patient coworker, the struggling brother, the kind and compassionate sister-in-law. But what really makes this movie way more than about a man who falls in love with a sex doll, is the community. Lars' family fears that everyone is going to make fun of Lars (and them too), but instead (after initial hesitation) they embrace the positive change that Bianca is making in Lars' life. I found myself often wondering how I would act if faced with a similar situation, which can speak to how relatable this seemingly outrageous storyline is.

I enjoyed this film, I liked how patient it was in developing the relationship between Lars and Bianca, and between Lars and pretty much everyone else. I liked the message, I liked the subject matter. I do wish that we would have been privy to more of Lars' thought process when he decided to order the doll. Many things are not said in the movie, you have to infer often, and gather the moral for yourself, which is part of the subtly that I liked, but there were some parts where I would have liked more.

Green Lantern

This movie was strange. Maybe, like I am Number 4, I did not expect it to be so science fictiony. The last two superhero movies I've watched, if I can remember correctly, was X-Men and The Green Hornet. In both of these movies, the superheros are human, and everything takes place on Earth. Well, Green Lantern has a huge inter-galactic back story that I wasn't really expecting and I had a hard time buying into it. I don't expect the movie to be believable, but most of this one felt like a cartoon, and I had some The Mask flashbacks with all the green.

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Tim Robbins, Green Lantern is about a team of green superheroes trying to save the galaxy from a fear-thriving rogue alien. A green ring chooses Reynolds to be one of the Green Lantern, and Lively is the love interest. There's no denying that Reynolds is a good-looking guy, but there's just something about his face that seems hyperbolic, and is hard for me to take seriously as a superhero. Blake played one of the girls in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and I've liked her ever since, she is a beautiful girl with an interesting voice. Peter Skarsgaard plays Hector, the disappointment of a son to Tim Robbin's Senator character. Hector could have been an interesting character, but the way things play out, he ends up being kind of pointless.

There are definitely some plot holes and this movie asks you to suspend belief in reality, but it isn't a bad movie, just strange.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Like the majority of the movies I watch, I didn't watch the newest installment of Pirates all in one sitting. It's a long one, and I watch movies at night usually, and turn them off to sleep. Anyways, the point is, is that this is the first movie in awhile that I seriously considered not finishing. Lucky for you (?) I didn't have much else to watch, so I did finish it, and here's my review!

Starring Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruze, on this episode of Pirates of the Caribbean everyone is looking for the fountain of youth. And that's about it. The first hour is full of silly fights and typical adventure music, but nothing much happens. To be honest here, I can't remember if I've seen all the Pirates movies (though I do remember seeing one at the theatre - maybe Dead Man's Chest?), I couldn't even tell you how many there are, but the first hour felt like all the past ones. Johnny Depp being tricky and silly, people chasing after him, etc. etc. My general thought was "This is lame". Luckily, Penelope has an enchanting accent, and like I said before, I had nothing else to watch.

The second half was moderately better, the mermaid thing was pretty cool and the missionary was cute, and ok, blackbeard was kind of cool too, but this movie just felt really half-assed plot-wise. Everything was overacted and over done. It sounds like Johnny's going to keep making these movies as long as the money is there, but the franchise has gone stale if this movie is any indication for the movies to follow.

X-Men: First Class

So we finally find out Magneto and Professor X's back story. I liked this movie, I would go as far to say that I really liked it. The history fan in me loved how real life events fit around the plot. For example, Magneto was Polish, and in a concentration camp during WWII. This aspect is carried through the movie, and why he has no sympathy for "men who are following orders". Later on, with the Cuban Missile Crisis, mutants are responsible for it starting it, and for resolving it. (Wouldn't it be cool if that was the truth?) Anyways, my review here is a little jumbled, I should have more of a plot, I'll find a synopsis from somewhere, hold on...

IMDB says: In 1962, the United States government enlists the help of Mutants with superhuman abilities to stop a malicious dictator who is determined to start world war III.

That doesn't really say all I want you to know about it though. Let's try Rotten Tomatoes: X-Men: First Class unveils the epic beginning of the X-Men saga - and a secret history of the Cold War and our world at the brink of nuclear Armageddon. As the first class discovers, harnesses, and comes to terms with their formidable powers, alliances are formed that will shape the eternal war between the heroes and villains of the X-Men universe.

Between the two, I guess that'll do. I would like to add that this dictator/ nuclear Armageddon thing is a guy named Shaw, played by Kevin Bacon. Shaw is a mutant, I won't reveal his power, it's pretty cool though. Shaw just also happens to be the guy that killed Magneto's mom in the camp. I have some issue with the fact that both the government and Magneto have the same enemy, it seems like a lazy effort to keep the plot neat and tidy. And as much as I like Kevin Bacon, he just didn't seem right for the role. On that note, I will talk about the acting...

James McAvoy, I am generally a fan of, I loved him in Atonement and Wanted, but wasn't really fussy on him in this one. His character (Professor X) isn't that likeable, and the touching the temple thing to use his power comes off weird. Michael Fassbender plays Magneto/Erik, he was Lt. Hicox in Inglourious Basterds, but to be honest, I didn't give his character much thought, he was kind of a tool, and didn't last long. But oh sweet Jesus was he good in First Class, he is my new celebrity crush, that accent, those eyes, the strong chin, the intense gaze, the subtle smile, swoon. Delicious. His acting was good too. Jennifer Lawrence was Mystique, she seems like a solid actress in what I've seen her in. January Jones was pretty frigid and didn't add much. And I'm always happy to see Oliver Platt.

In regards to comparing this one to the other X-Men Movies, I've seen them, but it was a long time ago, so I don't really remember anything. I will mention though that I thought the naming of the mutants was kind of trivial, Raven just kind of decides on "Magneto", "Professor X", and "Mystique" without any deep meaning, and the cameos by Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman and Rebecca "Mystique" Romijn were kind of gimmicky.

All in all, this was a great superhero movie, I liked how the historical events were weaved in, I liked the mutants finding each other and harnessing their powers, I liked Magneto's beautiful, beautiful face.

The Romantics

College friends come together when two of their own are getting married, but the groom may still have a thing for a past love ...I'm kind of impressed that I summarized this movie so easily, I guess that speaks to how complicated this movie was. Starring Josh Duhamel, Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin, Adam Brody, and Murphy Brown.

I bought this movie pretty much just because Anna Paquin was in it. My guy really likes her in True Blood, so I figured her presence in this movie would be enough to make him want to watch it. It wasn't. I watched it alone, which I am actually happy about. We don't watch many movies together, and it would have been disappointing to waste the rare one on this silly movie.

After watching, I read a couple reviews, because whenever I think a movie is kind of bad I like to get some back-up. I always think "maybe I missed something, or just didn't get it". I found out that this movie was based on a book, and considering what the reviewer said about the book and how the movie was lacking, I could definitely see how this story could be a good book, but I'm sure a lot was lost in translation. This movie doesn't say much, it doesn't go anywhere, and nothing is solved. I don't know enough about the characters to care much about them, and they act in ways that I would prefer them not to. Plus is has that indie movie feel where some shots are a little fuzzy, and the camera pans instead of moving to the next shot, etc. The music, when there was some, was good though.