Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy is easily Marvel Studios' riskiest venture to date. Everyone says the company took a chance on the first Iron Man film, which featured a non-mutant/wall crawling protagonist and whose star was best remembered for stints in jail at the time, but Guardians was a gamble of gargantuan proportions. Say what you will about the popularity of Iron Man (or Thor or Cap) pre-MCU, there's no denying that the Avengers' roster is far more recognizable to the average person than the C-tier characters in Guardians. The fact that Marvel transformed this, The Bad News Bears/Little Giants of super hero squads into such an awesome sci-fi film is astounding.

This is technically a super hero, "comic book," movie, but Guardians of the Galaxy feels akin to a light hearted Star Wars, more western/space opera than sermonizing caped crusaders. The film follows a bunch of scruffy looking thieves, bounty hunters, assassins ( nerf herders?) and a giant tree /Wookie, who reluctantly band together in order to stop an intergalactic zealot called Ronan The Accuser, from acquiring an infinity stone and using it to ethnic cleanse an entire planet. At first, Lonestar is only in it for the space bucks but overtime, he slowly starts to care for Princess Vespa and the rest of the gang. By the time they join forces with Star Command and engage Zurg's TIE fighters in an epic aerial dog fight on Naboo, they've become a fully functional and kick ass team.

Yes, it's all a hodgepodge of older sci-fi themes and plot devices Frankenstein-ed together...who cares. From the moment the movie's insane 1970's pop rock soundtrack kicks in, you know you're in for one wild, and thoroughly entertaining ride. Guardians of the Galaxy has so much irreverent humor and face peeling action sequences it will leave even the most ardent popcorn junkie in awe. Aside from the infinity stone connection and an appearance from a certain mega evil villain, Guardians has nothing to do with the rest of the MCU films. What it does have however, is a talking raccoon brandishing a machine gun and a shit ton of laughs. Honestly, I feel like this is the best action-comedy since Rush Hour. There's explosions and CGI critters doing all sorts of fantastical stuff, but there's also copious amounts of lolz and yuk yuk moments that had me rolling in my seat. Most of the laughs are shared by Chris Pratt's dopey Star Lord and Bradley Cooper's rambunctious Rocket Raccoon. They're like Abott & Costello in space. WWE superstar turned actor, Batista, and current Na'vi & USS Enterprise crew member Zoe Saldana both deliver some unexpected laughs ["pelvic wizardry" has now entered the pop culture lexicon] while Vin Diesel's Swamp-Thing with a heart of gold character Groot turns in one of the most touching performances of the entire movie....and he's a talking CGI tree that says about three words.

Sound ridiculous? It is...but it's damn entertaining. The sweeping score (plus 70's pop rock), Rocket's lifelike CGI, the costumes and wide array of bright, trippy colors onscreen, the entire cast's great performances and superb dialogue, not to mention all the geeky Marvel Comics references thrown in for fanboys [NOTE: never in a million years did I think anyone other than fellow dorks would learn about The Kree Empire, the Nova Corps. or fucking Celestials...but here they are in the number one movie in the country. Excuse me while my brain explodes], director James Gunn has crafted one of Marvel's best films and puts on a veritable masterclass in summer action/blockbuster filmmaking. I simply can't recommend Guardians of the Galaxy enough.

Movie Review: X-Men- Days of Future Past

Ok. Here it comes. I've decided to break this post into two parts. First, is my review of X-Men: Days of Future Past, the film. Second...my geek rant about the X-Men films troubled continuity. Read at your own risk.

The Review:

X-Men: Days of Future Past is a thoroughly entertaining summer action flick. This epic time travel extravaganza features gnarly battle sequences with members from both the original and First Class casts, in two different timelines. Director Bryan Singer finally introduces some large scale, CGI rendered carnage into the X-Men cinematic universe while maintaining his amazing knack for intense, character driven drama. Best of all, the Back To The Future-ish time travel paradoxes that take place in this film successfully undo all the godawful damage that X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine did to the franchise which is really all the hardcore fans cared about in the first place.

Days of Future Past doesn't take too long setting up the back story to catch any casual viewers up to speed. The film assumes you're already well versed in Singer's first two X-films and Matthew Vaughn's 2011 reboot, X-Men: First Class, and kind of ignores Bret Ratner's disastrous film and the last two solo Wolverine flicks (and rightfully so). Giant mutant hunting robots called Sentinels have turned on their human creators and all but taken over the world in a bleak Terminator-esqe dystopian future. A group of mutant rebels led by some former X-Men decide to send one of their team some 50 years back in time to stop a certain assassination from occurring that would erase their dismal reality and bloody war with Sentinels from existence. Of course Wolverine gets sent back because his healing factor...he already lived during that time...because he's Hugh Jackman and they need their best/most bankable star in the movie. Same deal with Mystique, Jennifer Lawrence becomes a huge Academy Award winning star and all of a sudden her character becomes the linchpin to the film's plot. It's okay though, Lawrence and Jackman are great in their roles, but the real draws are James McAvoy as young Professor X and my homie Michael Fassbender as young Magneto. The chemistry between these two is just insane and their performances are the film's biggest draw. The anguish in McAvoy's face in his strung out, Lt. Dan 1970's version of Xavier was an unexpected surprise but finally seeing Fassbender in full on Magneto regalia was the absolute highlight of the film.

Yeah, there are some odd plot holes that stick out like a sore thumb (Kitty Pryde's phasing powers relate to time traveling how? When did Wolverine get his adamantium claws back?) and the middle act sort of drags for a bit before the dual timeline Sentinel battle kicks off into overdrive in the end, but overall this is the best X-Men film since X-2 and the big pay off rests in the film's epilogue where all the damage from The Last Stand is wiped clean.



The Rant (warning- SPOILERS-):

Next to The Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past is considered the holy grail of classic X-Men comic book stories. Since Brett Ratner famously dropped the ball with Phoenix in *shudders* X-Men: The Last Stand, many felt like this Days of Future Past flick would be the last chance to get a legit X-Men story adapted to the big screen (before the original cast who've been doing these films since the Clinton Administration get too old and/or die). Well, sad news for you dudes because Days of Future Past is not a successful comic book adaptation ala  The Avengers or any one of Marvel Studios' recent films. No, X-Men: Days of Future Past doesn't have the luxury of telling it's own unique and vibrant story, instead this film had one job and one job only: to retcon the fucked beyond fucked continuity of the X-Men franchise. Thankfully Bryan Singer's new mutant fest sweeps up most of the mess us fans have been crying over for the past decade but even Days of Future Past and it's magical back from the grave epilogue (Cyclops and Jean are back, suck it Ratner) can't fix the myriad of problems with the X-Men films.


First, the series is just old. As much as we like fooling ourselves into thinking otherwise, time waits for no man. X-Men came out FOURTEEN YEARS AGO. That's pre- 9/11, back when Hollywood was still jocking The Matrix (black leather uniforms anyone?). Although Singer did a good job depicting the X-Men's Civil Right's like drama to the big screen (bigotry, discrimination, fear, etc), the man is simply not cut out for sprawling action set pieces. Now that he's taken the reigns of the X-universe once again, Days of Future Past still feels grounded in the same small framed early millennium shackles of the first film. Not that the action in this movie is bad, it's just that by now, after the barrage of Marvel Studio's films of recent memory, we've all seen better.

Also, as great as Singer is with character development and fleshing out great performances from his actors, he's still "meh" on respecting the comic book source material and thus, the very spirit of the X-Men characters. Take Quicksilver for example. Despite his asinine costume, the dude provides some great comic relief and steals the first half of the film. Too bad he's nothing like his comic counterpart and Singer's decision to throw Quicksilver into the fray now (as a teen in the 1970's) only further messes with the continuity he's tasked with restoring (he's shown with a younger sister who is clearly NOT his twin, The Scarlet Witch, and his dad Magneto must have had him when he was about 17 years old himself, before the events in First Class...wut?).

It's an endless cycle of WTF-ism that just boggle the mind (Apparently Beast develops a serum that blocks mutant powers making them human in the 1970's but he doesn't seem to remember this in the 2000's when that "mutant cure" drug is the focal point of Last Stand. Isn't Wolverine supposed to be in Vietnam with his bro Sabretooth during the early 70's? How is Trask's character played by Peter Dinklage when he's played by Bill Duke in the first trilogy?). Days of Future Past does an adequate job of straightening most of the mess up, but the damage is just too problematic and the film suffers as a result of it. Maybe X-Men: Apocalypse will be the film we've all been waiting for? Finally free to move beyond the Xavier/Magneto ideological battle we've seen since 2000.

Movie Review: Captain America- The Winter Soldier

Marvel Studios has done the impossible. Not only have they transformed a B-tier, one dimensional character like Captain America into a total badass, but they've made a sequel that surpasses the original and elevates the entire genre into higher plane (think The Empire Strikes Back or The Dark Knight). In summary, Captain America: The Winter Soldier shattered all of my expectations, had me giggling like a school girl and reaffirmed my undying loyalty to the Marvel brand.

S.H.I.E.L.D./Big Brother...is watching,

Captain America's first movie was pretty cool, even if it was a glorified placeholder for The Avengers. I loved the vintage, period piece atmosphere and didn't mind the dozen or so montages that rushed the film into the current MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe for the non-geeks). Cap's new film, The Winter Soldier, although intertwined with the rest of the MCU, stands on it's own two feet as a legit action/thriller extravaganza. Seriously, you could take away the comic book elements from this film and you'd still have a wildly entertaining action flick. Since Captain America doesn't have high tech armor or an enchanted space hammer, he's just a dude jacked to the extreme pinnacle of human perfection, his movie is bit more grounded than the usual Marvel films. Yeah, he's doing back flips off planes and punching holes in walls, but it's still less crazy than space portals and robot wrestling. Instead we see Cap laying the smack down on dozens of random goons in total 80's action mode. The fight scenes in this movie are beyond glorious. The elevator beat down sequence was easily one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life (next to Thor Vs Hulk in Avengers). I don't know what I enjoyed more, watching Cap finally go full super soldier, or the subtle barely there extras, like him bouncing off walls and falling off freeways; the crazy physics stuff that was always implied off panel in the comics but brought to light on the big screen.

Geek stuff aside, this is just a really well made flick. The Winter Soldier is a political leaning thriller, with topical references ripped right from the headlines. Nick Fury and his bros at S.H.I.E.L.D. have developed some new mega spy/drone weapons to weed out threats before they occur. It's some Orwellian/G.W. Bush/NSA stuff that our boy Captain America wants no part of (he's a 95 year old WWII vet for crying out loud). Everyone in the cast deliverers great performances, from Frank Grillo and the low level henchmen types to Scarlet Johansson who finally owns her Black Widow character. Of course all praises due to Chris Evans, the dude is the perfect Captain America. He handles the action and emotional aspects of the character remarkably well. His speech during the beginning of the third act was inspiring in all the ways Warner's godawful Man of Steel was not, and "end of the line" remark during the finale battle scene with the actual Winter Soldier had my heartstrings all twisted much like the now iconic, "...I had a date," phrase from the first film.

Kudos to the Russo brothers for directing such a sharp and ass kicking thriller. If you're into fast paced action flicks like the Bourne films, you'll love this. Next to The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Solider is easily Marvel's best film to date, and also one of the best comic movies of all time (up there with Spider-Man 2, The Dark Knight, etc). Go see this.

Movie Review: Thor- The Dark World

Christmas came early folks. Thor: The Dark World is everything my inner seven year old wanted to see and more. If you didn't already know, Thor Odinson has been my favorite comic book character for the last two decades. Watching the first Thor movie on the big screen was surreal. Sure, he spent half the film trapped in mortal form on Earth, but the Asgard scenes and the finale on the rainbow bridge were exquisite. Also, the fight between Thor and Hulk in Avengers remains the greatest thing I've ever experienced in life. srs bro.

So Thor 2 has more of Thor being Thor. He's learned from his experiences in Marvel's phase one films and is no longer seeking his father's approval and trying to earn his stripes. No, from the first moments of The Dark World he's established as Asgard's #1 ass kicker extraordinaire. He controls the elements, flys with mjolnir at breakneck speeds, dukes it out with super strong baddies, woos the ladies and lays the smack down across the nine realms. It's glorious.

Speaking of glorious. Loki is back. Yes, the coolest villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Thor's pesky brother (albeit, adopted) returns and once again, almost steals the entire film with his nefarious grin and treacherous schemes. He's like Hannibal Lecter and Health Ledger's Joker combined, but with better hair. Lady Sif has a slightly larger role than in the first film which is good because Jamie Alexander is gorgeous and I'd love to see them explore the love triangle between her, Jane and ol' Goldilocks himself, but alas, she had to go and damn near break her break back while filming the movie. I'm sure that nasty accident put a damper on her screen time. The Dark Elves are worthy successors in terms of villains but are still a bit underwhelming.They're as menacing as the Frost Giants from the first film, but seem more like disposable enemies ala the Putty Patrol from Power Rangers.

I guess my only gripe with Thor 2 is that it's not all that original. Some of the Dark Elf tech looks straight out of Prometheus, even their leader Malekith looks like an Engineer with a ponytail. Also, many of the films gags (and there are tons of them) although hilarious, feel a bit recycled. I'm guessing the Marvel/Disney overlords decided to play it safe with this one and expand upon the safest elements of Thor's mythos. There's more special effects, more interplay between the realms, more action, more comedy, more (February 2012 Female Obsession honoree) Natalie Portman & Kat Dennings, more more more of everything.

Deep down, I was hoping Thor: The Dark World didn't suck, because the last thing I wanted to do was sacrifice my cinephile street cred for my knee jerk comic book fanboy love at first sight reaction to Thor wrecking shit with his hammer. I mean, I saw how pathetic those Man of Steel defenders looked trying to vouch for such a horrible film. I didn't want to be that guy. Thankfully, Thor 2 is a wickedly fun movie. No it's not perfect and suffers from pacing issues as well as something I like to call, CGI overload, but overall it's a good action/adventure/comic book movie. It's the type of summer blockbuster we should have got earlier in the year. I mean, how serious can a film about a caped god who swings a magic hammer really be? Thor: The Dark World knows exactly what it is and continues the awesome intergalactic soap opera that is the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe....duh) in fine fashion. For Asgard!

Stan Lee's Comikaze 2013

Even though I was stuck working on Halloween, the stars aligned for me in other ways last week, attending two awesome concerts, seeing what may well be the best film of the year, and attending the final day of Comikaze 2013 at the LA Convention Center. For those of you who don't know, Comikaze is the brain child of Stan "The Man" Lee, (cultural icon, national treasure and, ya know.. creator of just about every important Marvel Comics character ever) a geek culture convention that aims at capturing the pulse of the comic book/video game/sci-fi realms, unlike San Diego Comic Con which has become overrun by Twilight fans and corporate Hollywood types. *shakes fist*

Here's a visual rundown of Comikaze 2013: Day 3.
WARNING: Lots of awesome cosplay ahead:

Movie Review: The Wolverine

Fear not, the latest film in Fox's godforsaken X-Men franchise isn't all that bad. I mean, it's still pretty crappy overall, especially when compared to Marvel's phase one films, but it's not as horrible as the train wreck that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Of course when the bar is set so ridiculously low as that...

Before we begin, it must be said that continuity between Fox's X-Men films is completely fucked. You'd need a PhD in bullshit studies if you want to decipher the madness that Fox has unleashed upon us (or you could check out this handy dandy X-Men film study guide). So anyways, this new Wolverine film is a direct sequel to the also heinous, X-Men: The Last Stand, not like Origins or X-Men: First Class which were prequels, and see's Wolverine moping around in the wilderness all emo because he killed Jean Grey like five years earlier. Anyways, he's summoned to Japan to take care of some loose ends from his past and ends up kinda losing his powers (healing factor: not claws) and kinda falling in love with some smoking hot Japanese babe. He eventually comes to terms with what it means to be a hero, after battling his animal urges for like several centuries, and learns that at the end of the day the mutant powers don't make the man. That, and he finally puts that Jean Grey guilt trip behind him cause his new girl is like really cute. The end.

Mariko = best thing about the movie

Of course none of that crap matters. What does matter is this laundry list of complaints. Warning....nerd rant ahead. *SPOILERS*

• Wolverine loses his healing factor (sort of), so every time he pops his claws out he should be screaming in agony and bleeding profusely. That, and he'd be exhausted from lugging around several hundred pounds of adamantium all day.
• Why don't Wolverine's adamantium claws go through those ninja swords like a hot knife through butter?
• If Wolverine's memory is scrambled from his Weapon X days, how the hell would he remember the old dude he saved from Nagasaki?
• WTF is up with that Viper chick? Really. She feels like something out of Origins or Last Stand.

• The giant Silver Samurai/ Iron Man rip off is almost hilarious. Also, what's the deal with Wolverine's bone claws regrowing after the Samurai chops his adamantium one's off? His skeleton is laced with adamantium, how the fuck is bone going to push through and form new claws?

Sorry. That stuff just really bugged the crap out of me. So yeah, the new Wolverine flick is enjoyable if you turn off your brain and try to ignore all the horrible continuity flaws. Jackman is good, blah blah. At this point, these X-Men flicks are beyond saving. The after credits Days of Future Past tie in is supposed to get everyone pumped and redeem the franchise...but I've learned not to get my hopes up anymore. Please Disney, make nice with Fox and buy back the X-Men rights so Marvel can do these films right. Pleeeeeeease.

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

The original Iron Man was Marvel's first stab at franchise launching and they kept things nice and grounded. Well, as grounded as a film about a dude in a mechanical suit who shoots jets out of the sky could be. There was some smidgen of "realism" to that flick. Iron Man 2 was a cringe worthy two hour infomercial for The Avengers.  Now we have Iron Man 3, a totally different beast than any of the previous films in this series. It's fun. These comic book movies, they're meant to be fun remember? Keep that in mind.

So, Iron Man 3. Written and directed by 80's action icon Shane Black. This film stresses the MAN in Iron Man. Following the shenanigans that took place in The Avengers film (Norse gods, a gnarly green rage monster, clandestine government agencies running wild, alien invasions and intergalactic worm holes, you know...) this film had no choice but to scale things down a notch. Just like in the comics world, not every Marvel film can be OMG end of the world important. Iron Man has to deal with Iron Man problems. Now that the cosmic cat is out of the bag in the Marvel cinematic universe, any hopes of instilling that grounded sense of realism from the original into Iron Man 3 is gone. So what did Shane Black do? He made an 80's action style buddy cop picture.

This film is a total tongue and cheek homage to the action flicks of yore. We find Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., duh) suffering from debilitating panic/anxiety attacks after all the crazy shit he endured in The Avengers. So he's a mess, his personal relationships are going down the toilet and he's slowly but surely losing his mind. He also incurs the wrath of an international terrorist call The Mandarin who royally fucks his shit up, ie, destroys his home and most of his Iron Man gear. Most of the movie is Tony Stark, the man, interacting with other humans, using his whits and bare hands to survive. This might be frustrating for people who expect lots of Iron Man action, but have patience, Black rewards the geek faithful with a full blown Iron Man bonanza at the end.

So here's a full count of all the 80's action motifs I loved in Iron Man 3:

Old school violence:
-Tony's house and Iron Man tech get demolished by helicopter gun ships firing a shit ton of ordinance.
-Lot's of random people die. Some are innocent civilians but most are faceless enemy goons/drones.
-Tony and Rhodes sneak into the enemy hideout (by the docks, naturally) armed with handguns. Lethal Weapon anyone?

Buddy Cop:
- Like I said before, Tony and Rhodes are the Riggs and Murtaugh of the Marvel Universe.
- Tony and some smart ass little kid have a cool love/hate/mostly love comedic relationship.

Sexy Ladies & Femme Fatales:
-Every cute woman Tony locks eyes with wants him dead.
- The Mandarin and his cadre of strippers.
- Even Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is in her sports bra and dripping sweat/sexiness by film's end.

Half baked political jargon:(80's action films were infamous for their Reagan-era pro American themes)
- Gotta save the President.
- The war of terror.

- Shady business men and politicians are a match made in heaven.

Hell, Shane Black even cast William Sadler (Die Hard 2)and Miguel Ferrer (RoboCop) in the film!

Iron Man 4: Lethal Weapons

So there it is. The film takes a while to find it's legs, I'd go as far as saying the first 1/3 flat out drags. But once it gets going, it's an old school thrill ride. Lots of laughs, lots of action and really fine performances from the entire cast. Don Cheadle actually does things of value in this one, and Guy Pierce is just awesome in everything.  Since Avengers 2 and the upcoming Thor sequel will undoubtedly have CGI effects up the ass, I'm glad Shane Black decided to take a low key approach to this, probably the final Iron Man film. Low key, until the epic Iron Man Royal Rumble sequence at the end. That was just crazy.

X-MEN #1: 20th Anniversary

...And Time Begins

I was six years old when X-MEN #1 launched in the Fall of 1991. I remember having multiple copies of this issue and reading it constantly just about everywhere I went. 20 years later, my recollection of the story arch is vague (something about Magneto up to no good on Asteroid M) but the images from this issue are forever burned into my memory. Jim Lee's artwork is what did it. I had never seen anything this rad in my entire life. Sure, I was six, but man I simply could not wait for the next month's issue of X-MEN. Viewing Jim Lee's art was like a drug.

The X-MEN animated series began airing the next year.

My favorite comic book became my favorite cartoon show. I collected it all during this point. For the next 8 years I was an avid X-MEN fiend. I read both monthly X titles religiously, bought all the action figures (re: TOYS) and dropped whatever I was doing to watch the cartoon every time it was on TV. Lets not forget about the stacks of trading cards also. I eventually expanded beyond strictly X titles, exploring more of the Marvel Universe and a few DC and Image comics as well.

The early to mid-90's were fun times for young comic fans. There were a lot of us also, in fact, a little too many. See, I was apart of the comic book speculation crash of 1993. People forgot that old comics were valuable because they were rare. That X-MEN #1 sold over 8 million copies. Yes, MILLION. Needless to say, most of my X-MEN comics from the early to mid 90's are worthless. That is to say, monetarily worthless. There's nothing more valuable than getting a young child's imagination going.

94' Flair X-MEN cards. so much WIN

My girlfriend works with special ed. kids. They may have learning disabilities but these kids still love music, video games and yes, comic book superheroes. I gave her a box of at least 1,000 old Marvel trading cards to distribute amongst her classroom. She says the kids LOVE them. I'm also in the process of trying to donate a large (and damn heavy) box of comics to a local middle school's after school reading program. Reading comics as a kid helped expand my vocabulary/comprehension skills and undoubtedly made me a brighter student. Not to mention all the good guys VS. bad guys story lines subversively crafted a clear distinction between right and wrong in my head. I hope these kids get as much out of them as I did.

Of course I'm not getting rid of all my old comic books. Hell, I still have a box of 1st appearances & crossover/event issues from the 70's and 80's that are worth a few grand and I plan on holding on to those ones for a while longer! Then again, I didn't get into collecting comics for the money. I was 6 years old folks. No, I got into comic books because Jim Lee's damn amazing artwork and the insane fantasy world it sparked in my head.

90's attitude

So while X-MEN #1 is now 20 years old and essentially worthless (with copies available in quarter bins across the country) Marvel knows a good thing when it sees one and will commemorate the anniversary of this iconic book by reissuing X-MEN #1 with modern computer ink/coloring updates. I haven't bought a comic book in years...but I'm getting this!

X-MEN #1 2.0

Movie Review: Captain America- The First Avenger

And the streak continues! Another great comic book film from Marvel Studios. I guess the old adage "if you want some thing done right..." comes to mind here. Marvel faced a few problems regarding this project. First, Captain America is fucking boring. Yeah I said it. He's the ultimate boy scout and is as one dimensional as vanilla ice cream. Second, he isn't all that "super." Lacking any real super powers, Cap could have easily been upstaged by the Thor/X-Men/Green Lantern type flicks that feature awesome CGI bursts of energy darting across the screen. Luckily, director Joe Johnston and Marvel managed to side step these issues and craft a nifty little summer action romp.

So the entire movie is a flashback/origin story for Steve Rogers, the scrawny young reject who oh so desperately wants to serve his country during World War II and signs up for a top secret government project turning him into not just a super solider, but Captain America, the world's first Avenger (See what I did there? Marvel, call me). Chris Evans does a wonderful job as Steve Rogers. I'll call him Steve Rogers because, even after he gets all yoked out and dons the red, white and blues, Evans always retains the human/underdog qualities that make the otherwise boring boyscout that is Captain America worth watching. In fact there are scenes in the film that show just how uncomfortable Rogers is dressed up as a "hero" and always retains a true sense of himself throughout.

At first I was like...but then I was like...

Yeah, the movie is kind of cheesy. There are way too many montage sequences that defy the golden rule of storytelling 101 (show don't tell the audience what's going on, but hey, it IS a comic book movie after all) and there isn't a whole lot of action. That being said, the action that is covered is pretty rad. Watching Steve Rogers make mince meat of random Hydra bad guys never gets old. Hugo Weaving does an adequate job as the Red Skull, menacing but not over the top....which says a lot for a dude rocking a giant red fucking skull. Tommy Lee Jones plays the typical military hardass but he does it rather well. Major kudos to Hayley Atwell as well. At first I was afraid she was simply going to be eye candy but by the end of the flick I was totally sold on her performance.

must.salute.officer...

Speaking of the ending. It sucks. Not in a bad way but in a sad way. Like I suddenly realized I how emotionally invested I had become in these characters and was surprisingly upset about the inevitable end that as a comic geek, I already KNEW was coming. So yeah, Captain America: The First Avenger is a solid summer flick and a really good example of how to pull off a comic book film (you taking notes DC comics?).

THOR

So I was walking into some Hawaiian BBQ  place for lunch last week when this older fellow (late 40's/early 50's perhaps) commented on my shirt as we crossed paths in the parking lot. He said, "Now THAT's a hero." That's the shirt I was wearing ^^^.

Yes, the mighty Thor, the Odinson himself. He's been my favorite comic character for, oh close to 20 years now. My little 7 year old mind was forever changed when my older cousin let me read Marvel Comic's short series, The Infinity Gauntlet back in the early 90's. For you non-geeks, a quick summary of the series is this: a purple faced villain named Thanos gathers the six infinity gems that control all aspects of the cosmos and becomes GOD. The Marvel Universe assembles and tries to stop him. Of all the Earth heroes (Wolverine, Spiderman, etc), Thor was regarded as the most badass. Of course there was no way in hell they could stop Thanos but that sure didn't stop Thor from trying.

I hunted down all kinds of Thor related comics after that. I came to realize that Thor was Marvel Comics equivalent of Superman only, without the lameness. He's the most powerful dude that everyone else relies when SHIT GETS REAL. Hulk went crazy again and just tore the Fantastic Four & Avengers to pieces? Someone better call Thor. Galactus is trying to eat Earth again? Where the hell is Thor?!

Thor is the Asgardian God of Thunder. He possesses superhuman strength and near invulnerability while his enchanted hammer Mjolnir allows him to control the weather (Thunder God, duh), open inter-dimensional portals, and fly. He's been kicking ass for thousands of years and he's arrogant as fuck. Not only because he's one badass mofo, but because his father is Odin, ruler of Asgard and one of the most powerful forces around. Perhaps Thor's greatest trait IMO is his ego. He will literally fight himself to death just to preserve his and his father's honor...no matter what the circumstance. Thor always reminded me of Doc Holiday from Tombstone, or Sonny from The Godfather. Sort of crazy but always ready to kick some ass when needed. I never seriously collected any of Thor's monthly comics, since I was a kid with no real income aside from birthday/Christmas money, but always rooted for him whenever he popped up in major cross over events. I stopped following the comics world sometime in the early 00's, but I've never lost my affinity for Marvel Comic's resident Asgardian ass kicker. Here are some of my favorite Thor related comic book covers:

Cool Fight Bro

AWESOMENESS

So now Thor is getting his own movie. How will the Hollywood rape machine portray my favorite comic character on the big screen? Here's the official trailer below. I must say, I'm not too horrified by this and am crossing my fingers the movie is more along the lines of Spider Man 2 and not the godawful Spider Man 3.