The First Avenger: Captain America

Marvel Studios was very wise in deciding to create a movie of The Avengers. A movie of the Avengers team could have the potential to be extremely successful financially and artistically. It will most likely end up an over-enhanced, CG mess. However, I can still dream of quality actors in a well-made movie portraying the best of the Marvel Universe.

The Avengers is officially verified for summer of 2012, the team is set up as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America. Other characters such as Black Widow, War Machine, and of course Nick Fury will be involved also. News is still coming in for this movie because there are movies that need to lead up. Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America, will all be made before the release of the Avengers. Iron Man 2 is set for a summer 2010 release, while the other two will be summer of 2011. There is also a possibility of a third Hulk movie, but Marvel does have their hands full here. While there is tons of casting news for Thor and Iron Man 2 has enough hype to spare, Captain America has had very little news.

This is very disheartening for me, because I am a big Captain America fan. He is my favorite superhero by far. There is some news to speak of. With the date set for the later part of summer 2011 there is pressure on the studio to produce. So far they have picked writers a director, Joe Johnston.

Most might not recognize his name, but they will certainly recognize his work. He was heavily involved in the visual effects department for the early Star Wars movies. Then he went on to direct Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, October Sky, Jurassic Park III, Hidalgo, and the upcoming remake The Wolfman. This resume is pretty hit and miss, these are his most notable directorial efforts. October Sky is a great inspirational story, one of those hidden gem movies from the ‘90s. Most of his other works are effects oriented; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a great family film with good effects, Jumanji is as well. However, the true test for Johnston will be The Wolfman. This looks to be a great movie, the transformation effects look great and the film in general looks to have a great dark tone. That is the key though, it looks great, but that is not for certain. The movie has had some big troubles, but it looks like it will be released February 10, 2010 as scheduled.

Hopefully Johnston can lend some of that look to Captain America. The trend to make all superhero movies more dark and realistic is a very good thing for Captain America. His story needs a good grittiness to it. Reportedly, the minds at Marvel will not be wasting anytime trying to dream up some scenario for Cap, they’ll use his original story line, he will be able to fight Hitler once again! This story line will put the Captain at his origins as failed foot soldier Steve Rogers during World War II. He is deemed unfit for service in the army because he is too weak, and he subsequently volunteers for a government experiment to produce a super soldier.

There are very few details besides that. The rumor that Matthew McConaughey will be putting on the Cap’s suit is false, thank the lord, and there is no news besides that. It is very likely that this movie will be watchable, but not great. Unlike the Thor movie, which has a great potential to be epic, I have a lot of faith Kenneth Branagh. When this movie comes out I will probably watch it at midnight with my Captain America tee shirt and hat.

Review: Boondock Saint's II: All Saint's Day

This review is a little late in coming, I realize this, and I do not care that much. I went to New York City to see Boondock Saint's II: All Saint's Day. This was the first time that I had seen a movie in this large a setting, and this large a theater (Regal Cinemas in the Mall now has showings). It certainly enhanced the movie viewing experience, there was great applause for various parts of the movie. So with that in mind, here is my review.

Boondock Saints II: All Saint's Day was an enjoyable movie. I went in to the theater with lowered expectations, I told myself that it would probably not be as much fun as the original. I was pleasantly surprised. It was better, and more enjoyable than I expected.

The story begins with the MacManus family in their homeland of Ireland. The father Noah (Billy Connolly) and his two sons Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) are in hiding, their rowdy past long behind them. They become called back to America after the murder of a priest was made to look like their work. On the boat ride over they meet a Mexican fighter by the name of Romeo (Clifton Collins Jr.) who joins the brothers in their cause. Meanwhile, Detectives Greenly, Duffy, and Dolly return to investigate the murder or the priest and the murders that follow. They are joined by Eunice Bloom (Julie Benz) who is the protege of Paul Smecker. The story unfolds revealing that someone is trying to lure the boys and their father out from hiding. The mystery of who is really behind this keeps everyone guessing. There are several surprises at the end. Fans will definitely love the ways it ends.

This movie behaves a lot like a typical sequel. It borrows more from the original, instead of building off of the original. The camera gimmicks and tricks are still really cool, but they're not very original anymore. The story had a very similar flow to the original. Side characters were introduced at similar points, certain events played out the same way. For all of that though this movie did some good things. The comedy was very good. It had some very funny moments; Clifton Collins Jr. was hilarious and the Detectives had some good scenes too. The action was good, but it didn't do anything different from the original. The movie feels new because of some new characters and a new situation. Overall, it could have been done better. The story was a little flimsy and the pacing felt slightly rushed.

With all that aside, I enjoyed it a lot. It was Boondock Saints. The action was there, with the investigators playing a part in the slow motion recap of a mini-massacre. Even if it's not original, it was still cool. The comedy was great, the dialogue was clever and quick. The brothers bicker, the detectives worry, the federal investigator outwits them all, and Billy Connolly is still awesome. The big twist at the end solidified it for me, as a fan of the original. I will definitely be buying it on DVD. Will I watch it as many times as I did the original? No, but I will still enjoy it.

As it's own movie, Boondock Saints II: All Saint's Day has very little, but as a sequel it does a pretty good job.

2.5/5