Rewatch Review: Captain America The Winter Soldier

Captain America: Civil War springs into theaters tomorrow. In honor of the Captain's third solo MCU outing, I decided to go back and rewatch his previous two films and see how they hold up or if I feel any differently about them from multiple viewings. Today's movie is Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014).

In my last rewatch review, I talked about how I never saw Captain America: TFA in theaters. That was not the case for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I was so hyped that I saw the movie in a Thursday night preview screening. I even wrote a short review for the film on this site. Here is an excerpt:

"Last night the Informers got together to see the premire of Captain America :The Winter Soldier. Wow, was it great.  The group had a lot of praise for Cap's second outing and trust us that the universal acclaim is deserved."

I went on to list ten aspects I loved about the film and then two I did not. I didn't go into extensive detail on any of the 12 points (I'm a lazy bastard sometimes) so it's kind of funny to look back and try to remember what I was thinking. Here are those lists: 

What we loved

• Awesome fight sequences
• Great balance of action and comedy
• Very current themes
• BLACK WIDOW!
• The Cap and Falcon bromance
• Nick Fury's action sequence
• Mid Credits Scenes
• Winter Soldier's knife skills 
• HAIL HYDRA!!
• Cap and Widow at the mall

What we didn't like

• No Hawkeye
• Maria Hill's portrayal

Now after rewatching this movie again, I can tell you I still agree will a lot of my initial thoughts, but I really question what I was thinking when I picked out what I didn't like about it. So here is what I thought about the film this time around.

• The Winter Soldier upped the ante on action. We get to see Cap mow down countless bad guys in many different environments. The best part about it was Cap was not just running and jumping around like he was in TFA, this time he was beating ass in every way he could. He also gets a lot more use of his shield this time around. It's hard to pinpoint my favorite actions sequence so I'm gonna give you my top three fights. Each of one of these is a masterpiece:

1. Elevator Brawl

2. Knife Fight in the street against the Winter Soldier

3. The opening ship siege sequence

Solange vs Jay Z: Part 2

• Captain America's allies are a lot more interesting than his last movie. Look back at my last review and notice I do not mention the Howling Commandos once. That's because besides Bucky they are interchangeable and the movie never gives you a reason to give a shit about them. Now Cap has a different team in place for this outing. He gets to hang out old Avengers favorites like Black Widow and Nick Fury, while also being introduced to a new ally in Sam Wilson/Falcon. I really enjoyed the dynamics between all of these characters. Especially the comradery between Cap and Falcon. They are the kind of guys you would wanna grab a beer with.
• "Hail Hydra" is an amazing catchphrase (even though it basically confirms you are a Neo-Nazi). Shout out to the late great Gary Shandling playing a Hyrda supporting Senator. Here are some of the my favorite Hail Hydra memes.

• As every person who has reviewed this film has already pointed out, this movie is a 70's political thriller. It's just as much a spy movie as it is a superhero one. The opening ship siege is very reminiscent of a James Bond cold opening.
• Loved the scene with Zola as a computer. Gave the audience answers in a cool way while also giving a nod to Zola's comic book counterpart.
• Hydra's infiltration of SHEILD was an interesting path for this movie to take. It also helps fuel Cap's motivations for Civil War.
• The culmination of Hydra's plan leads to the end fight scene aboard the 3 giant death ships. It has solid action, but I find it less memorable than those 3 sequences that I listed earlier. Although Falcon's air acrobatics are pretty stunning. Actually fuck what I said, this scene kicks ass too.
• The only real problem (if you even want to call it that) is that this movie lacks a big comic book villain such as the Joker or Loki. Alexander Pierce is essentially the bad guy, but he is kind of barely in the movie. So the brunt of the evil workload is handed off to Pierce's muscle, the Winter Soldier. Now while The Winter Soldier certainly makes for an tough physical opponent for Cap and his crew the real nitpick I have is that I prefer a villain whose motivation is more than just that he is brainwashed and being told what to do. That being said he was still a cool presence throughout.
• Lastly, I have two questions about my dislikes from my old review. 

1. Was Hawkeye not in this movie because he was busy working on his farm that we saw in Avengers: Age Of Ultron? Seriously he is a high level SHEILD agent and he didn't show up when his place of work was being destroyed because he was too busy fixing a tractor? I call bullshit. Do your job Clint!

2. Who gives a shit about Maria Hill? Why did I care about Maria Hill's portrayal? I didn't create the character. She was utilized fine in the movie. Why did I give shit? That is an answer I would like to know.

I love this kick.

In the end I loved this movie two years ago and I still do. I nitpicked more than I did before, but in spite of that I'm going to give it a higher score than I did two years ago. My rematch of Captain America: The Winter Soldier gets an A

What did you think of Cap's second solo outing? Did you like the first one better? Do you Hail Hydra? Sound off and the comments and make sure to follow me @cstrand73 on Twitter and Instagram for all my superhero insights.

Today is the Day!

2nd Annual Capey TV Nominations!

The 2nd Annual Capeys:

TV Nominations

As I said yesterday the Capey's are now divided into 3 separate categories: Movies, TV, and Comic Books. Today the boob tube gets it's due. Comic book TV shows have taken over everyone's DVR schedules this year. Whether it's old favorites like Arrow and The Walking Dead or newbies like The Flash and Gotham everyone is watching something comic related. So with so many shows, expect the winners to have fought vicious battles in order to come out the victor. People saying winning a Capey means you have really made it. So get in the spirit of Award season by voting for your favorite show in the comments section or on Twitter. Good luck to all the candidates.

Time to reveal the nominees!

Comic TV Show Of The Year

Arrow (CW)

Gotham (Fox)

The Flash (CW)

Agents Of S.H.E.L.D. (ABC)

Constantine (NBC)

The Walking Dead (AMC)

Best Sci-fi/Fantasy Show

Supernatural (CW)

Game of Thrones (HBO)

Orphan Black (BBC)

Sherlock (BBC)

Black Mirror (BBC)

Best Lead

Oliver Queen/Arrow (Steve Amell)

Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin)

Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg)

Jim Gordon (Ben Mckenzie)

John Constantine (Matt Ryan)

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln)

Best Supporting

Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus)

Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards)

Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanaugh)

Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue)

Skye "Daisy" Johnson (Chloe Bennet)

Best Villain

Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor)

Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (Manu Bennett)

Lenard Snart/Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller)

Those Terminus Pussies

Reverse Flash (Yet To Be Revealed)

Best Episode of 2014

Unthinkable (Arrow)

Man in The Yellow Suit (The Flash)

The Grove (The Walking Dead)

Turn, Turn, Turn (Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Flash vs. Arrow (The Flash)

Best Animated Show

Ultimate Spiderman (Disney XD)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Nickelodeon)

Beware the Batman (Cartoon Network)

Teen Titans Go! (Cartoon Network)

Star Wars Rebels (Disney XD)

The Worst of the Worst (The Gotham Award)*

Fish Mooney

Edward Nygma's Terrible Riddles

Destroying The Rogue's Gallery

Barbara Kean's Infidelity/Annoyingness

The Spirit of the Goat (Worst Episode of TV ever)

Most Exciting Future Show

Supergirl (CBS)

Daredevil (Netflix)

Krypton (Syfy)

Titans (TNT)

The Atom (CW)

What Deserves A Show

Moon Knight

Green Lantern

Suicide Squad

Nightwing

The Punisher

The awards will be given out on our podcast later this week. Thanks for reading and congratulations to all the nominees. Tweet at @Caped_Informers or tweet me @cstrand73 to tell us who should win what or sound off in the comments.

*Our apologies if you love Gotham, it's just not our cup of tea. So be prepared for us shitting on it in our podcast. Because truly we have nothing better to do and Gotham sucks.

UPDATE!: As I wrote this Gotham got renewed for it's second season. In short fuck me.

What commonly happens after you win a Capey

This blog is getting sexual and I love it

The 2nd Annual Capey Movie Nominations Are Here!

The 2nd Annual Capeys: 

Movie Nominations

This year's Capey will be divided into three separate categories: Movies, TV, and Comic Books. Each category will receive it's winners via separate podcasts that the Informers will put out later this week. So get in the spirit of Award season by telling us who should win in the comments section or on Twitter. Good luck to all the candidates. 

It's time to reveal the nominees!

Comic Movie of The Year
Amazing Spiderman 2
Captain America: The Winter Solider
Guardians of The Galaxy
TMNT
X-Men: Days Of Future Past

Best Sci-Fi Movie of The Year
Dawn of The Planet of The Apes
Edge of Tomorrow (Live, Die, Repeat)
Godzilla
Interstellar
Snowpiercer

Best Lead Hero
Captain America (Chris Evans)
Spiderman (Andrew Garfield)
Star Lord (Chris Pratt)
Wolverine (Hugh Jackman)
Caesar (Andy Serkis)

Best Supporting Hero
Black Widow (Scar Jo)
Falcon (Anthony Mackie)
Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper)
Professor X (James McAvoy)
Groot (Vin Disel)

Best Villain
The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan)
Ronan (Lee Pace)
HYDRA
Magneto (Michael Fassbender)
Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford)

The Grab Bag Award
Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone)
Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence)
Quicksilver (Evan Peters)
Drax (Bautista)
Gamora (Zoe Saldana)

Best Director
Russo Bros. (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
James Gunn (Guardians of Galaxy)
Brian Singer (X-Men: DOFP)
Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)
Chris Nolan (Interstellar)

Best Movie Fight
Cap 2 Fighting WS on the Highway
TMNT vs. Shredder
GOTG Prison Break
X-Men Against Future Sentinels
Spidey vs. Gobby

Funniest Movie Scene
Quicksilver Saves the Day
Groot Murder a Few Guys
Drax Steals a Dude's Knife
Rocket Needs that Guy's Leg
Captain America Goes to the Apple Store

Best Elevator Scene
Professor X Punching Magneto
Gwen Stacy Meeting Max Dillon/Harry Osborn
Cap Critically Injures about 15 Guys
The Turtles Jam on the elevator

Worst Movie Villain (The Aldrin Killan Award)
Electro
Ronan
The Rhino
Green Goblin
The Shredder + Eric Sacks

Biggest Disappointment
Amazing Spiderman 2
TMNT
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

You Need To Be Replaced Award
Marc Webb (Director of TASM 2)
Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec (Writers of TMNT)

Jonathan Liebesman (Director TMNT)

Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach (Producers of TASM 2)

Megan Fox (Actress in TMNT)

Best Sexually Charged Moment

Hipster Cap and Black Widow make out on an escalator

Peter stalks Gwen as Spiderman

Gamora does not succumb to Star Lord's pelvic sorcery

Wolverine's ass shot

Best Animated Movie

Justice League: War

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis

Batman: Assault on Arkham

Son of Batman

Lego Movie

Best Movie Trailer/Teaser

Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Guardians of The Galaxy

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens

Ant-Man

The awards will be given out on our podcast later this week. Thanks for reading and congratulations to all the nominees. Tweet at @Caped_Informers or tweet me @cstrand73 to tell us who should win what or sound off in the comments.

It's already Capey Season again?

I really like True Detective in case you couldn't tell.

The Walking Dead "Self Help" Review

This week instead of slumming it with Beth we get to hang out with Abraham and his crew on a all new The Walking Dead. (MILD SPOILERS!!)

Synopsis: Abraham was intent on leaving the church to head to D.C., and it looks like he encounters trouble along the way. Glenn doesn't appear to be in top form either. The group will have to push through to survive the challenges they face and each other.

High Points

• Finally a focus on Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene
• Flashbacks to Abraham's past
• Intense look at walker killing from Eugene's POV
• Some Cable Nudity (SEX!)
• Eugene is a perv and no one is surprises
• Zombies are really bad at wet t-shirt contests
• The truth comes out
• Great performances from Cudlitz (Abraham) and McDermitt (Eugene)
• Fantastic comic book parallels

Abraham is no Keanu Reeves

Low Points

• A slug would make it to DC faster than "The Group" will
• The scenes at night were so dark that it was hard to see what was happening
• Kind of slow

Verdict: Abraham and his crew have been on The Walking Dead for almost a full season  now. They have had very little focus upon who they are or how they came to join Rick's group. So it was great that this week saw that crew so well represented. Abraham's personality and history are spot on with his comic counterparts as are Eugene and Rosita's characterizations. With the focus upon them this was really an emotional episode for Abraham. The ep did a fantastic job at splicing in Abraham's flashbacks into the current story to make the biggest emotional jab land beautifully. Reminded me a lot of Michonne's flashback episode last season. Overall I give "Self Help" a 8.0 out of 10. It didn't move the story along a lot, but it did drop one long awaited comic book bombshell. Also had SEX!

Gotta love Cable

Wytches Issue #1 Review/Thoughts

Image launched a new horror comic this week by the legendary team behind Batman: The Black Mirror Scott Snyder and Jock and boy did it deliver! SPOILERS AHEAD!

Synopsis: Scott Snyder (Batman, Superman Unchained, SEVERED) and Jock (Batman, Wolverine, SNAPSHOT) will team up for a new horror comic known as Wytches. The comic will challenge everything we have come to learn about monsters through pop-culture and bring an interesting new twist to horror comics and American folklore. the comic centers around a young girl named Sail who has witnessed the killing of the local bully at the hands of the wytches, though Sail is believed by many to have been the killer. Sail also seems to have some strange connection to the wytches.

High Points:

• This comic was dark as shit

• The concept of Snyder's new and different wytches is interesting and draws you in fast

• The idea of pledging people to the wytches in exchange for wishes is going to make this series as a whole real interesting

• The little kid bashing his mother's face in with a rock after she'd been pledged to the wytches was a great way to set the tone for this book and series

• Loved watching the bitch who bullied Sailor get messed up by the witches

• Jock's art was unreal and even elevated Snyder's writing.

• Love the cliff hanger ending

• Scott's essay at the end was such a testament to his character

Low Points

• Sail's bully asking her to masturbate with the handle of a knife was a little much for me

• The scene with the deer throwing up all kinds of blood Sail's families rug in front of her parent was a tad cliche.....Scott's better than that

• Some of the banter with Sail's parents is a little boring

Verdict: 

This is a great horror comic, it's a new and very different twist on the basic witch story. Snyder starts a great tale that is dark and extremely compelling. I'm not one normally scared by books or even movies but while reading the two death scenes in this comic I was actually frightened. Scott is not afraid to go over the the top and just write what he wants which is great because that where he comes up with these overly graphic and dark scenes, like when the boy bashes his mothers face in with a rock rather than trying to help her escape from the wytches. Jock also does a great job bringing Scott's writing to life and making the scary moments in this comic twice as scary. I can't wait to see this story line develop more, its gonna be unreal. THIS IS A MUST READ!

P.S. Scott's essay at the end was balls to the walls bad ass and shows that this guy writes out of passion and love for his work.......ALL HAIL SCOTT SNYDER

Side Note: Wytches just got optioned for a movie by New Regency to be produced by Scott Snyder and Jock, long story short this is further proof how much ass this comic kicks. Great work boys!

Throwback Thursday 6/26/14

Super Smash Brothers

With the new Super Smash Brothers game coming out for both the 3DS and the WiiU in the up coming fall and winter respectively, I thought it was best to do a look back at our favorite games as kids. There's only a few games in this series, but it's a game that everyone loves and cares for and, of course, fights over with friends and family.

A quick synopsis of the series, these games take our favorite video game characters from all our favorite Nintendo games and pits them against each other in either a single player mode or with your friends in a co-op mode. Each character has attacks that are related to them from their other games, such as Pikachu's thunder bolt or Mario's fire ball. And for each game, there are secret characters in the game that can be unlocked meeting certain criteria. Each match is held in an area that matches one of the character's home turf and during these matches, items can fall from the sky that the players can use to aid them in their fight.

Super Smash Bros.

The first game in the series is the self titled Super Smash Bros. It was made for the N64 and was originally only going to be released in Japan. The first game of its type, it has ruined many friendships but it has become one of the best games to still play with friends even today. This game starts off if several characters that we all know from their own games, including Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Pikachu, and Fox as well as the four secret characters; Jigglypuff, Captain Falcon, Luigi, and Ness.

In this game, only the main characters (the original eight) have stages that correspond with their games. There are a total of 9 stages, one of which is unlocked during game play. Each stage has different features on them to give the players more to think about when they are playing, but overall they are all around the same size in this game.

The single player in this game had the player fight through a set amount of matches against computer players throughout almost all of the stages. The player can pick from Very Easy to Very Hard difficulty and can pick from 1 to 5 lives. When the player beats all of the computer players, as well as the bonus stages, they go against the Master Hand. He is the final boss throughout the entire series and once the player beats him, they win the chance to unlock a character or the Mushroom Kingdom stage.

A few things that some people don't know about this game, there were a couple of intended characters for this game that didn't show up but showed up in the other games. These characters include Mewtwo, King DeDeDe, and Bowser, all big power house characters in the later games. It is believed that they weren't added into the game because the movement was harder to make for these characters and it would have taken a longer time to release, but the actual reason is unknown.

Super Smash Bros Melee

The second installment in the series is personally my favorite of all of the games, mainly because it included some of my favorite characters from my favorite series, Roy and Marth from the Fire Emblem series. This game includes all of the characters from the previous game and a few of the stages that can be unlocked during game play. This game was made for the GameCube and became one of the most popular games for this system, aka if you didn't have this game, you shouldn't have a GameCube. It added a lot more stages and characters and a bunch of new single player game play and other extra features.

The game starts with 14 playable characters, already almost double the entire cast of the previous game, and comes with a total of 25 playable characters. All of the characters from the old game are in this one, including a few stages as well. Newly added to this game are Bowser, Peach, Zelda/Sheik, Ice Climbers, Dr. Mario, Young Link, Ganondorf, Falco, Pichu, Mewtwo, Marth, Roy, and Mr. Game & Watch. Even some of the new characters come with their own stages when they are unlocked, such as Mr. Game and Watch and its Flat Zone. The new stages now vary in size and shape from the very large Hyrule Temple to the much smaller Yoshi's Island and come with a few added surprises.

This game includes the same single player mode as the previous game, called Classic Mode, but also includes an Adventure more and an All-Star mode as well. The Adventure Mode takes the player throughout a multitude of stages where the player either walks around to complete the stage, kind of like the original Super Mario Brothers games, or fights an enemy or two. Each stage compliments one of the starters for this game, going through 12 stages and a final boss of Giant Bowser. A bonus boss, unlocked if this mode is beaten under 18 minutes on Normal or harder without using a continue, is Giga Bowser. Giga Bowser is about 3 times harder to kill than Giant Bowser; trust me, I only played against him once but it was the hardest thing I have ever done. The other single player mode is All-Star Mode, This mode is unlocked once the player clears Classic Mode and Adventure Mode with all characters, including the secret characters. This is the hardest mode in the game, where the player goes against every character in the game, finishing off with a team of 25 Mr. Game and Watches, and the damage from each battle is carried over.

Some added features to this game are Trophies, Events, Home-run Contest, Multi-man Melee, and Target testing. Trophies are collectables in the game that are unlocked doing random events/matches. Events are set matches that have certain rules that the player must abide to pass and can lead to unlocking trophies, stages, or even characters. The rest are kind of self explanatory so if you don't understand them, oh well.

Super Smash Bros Brawl

This game was a highly anticipated game for the Wii, due to the success of the earlier games, but in my opinion, it is not as good as Super Smash Bros Melee. A good amount of characters got the cut from Melee, but they were quickly replaced with some new up-and-comers. The characters that got cut were Dr. Mario, Mewtwo, Pichu, Roy, and Young Link. The added characters include Pokemon Trainer (with Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard), Diddy Kong, Ike, King Dedede, Lucario, Meta Knight, Olimar, Pit, R.O.B, Snake, Sonic, Toon Link, Wario, and Zero Suit Samus (like Sheik to Zelda, its a transforming character with Samus).

The Classic Mode and All-Star Mode are the same as before, but the Adventure mode was changed to the Subspace Emissary. This new mode has the chance of unlocking every character during one play through. It is a more expansive adventure mode with bosses every so often and the player goes through playing all of the characters. There are a lot more different stages in this game, some can be seen in the Subspace Emissary. These stages are more expansive and some can be systematically destroyed when playing them. The other mode in this game is the online play where the player can play against any other player online at the time through a WiFi connection, which is the first game of the series to be able to do so.

A new concept added in this game was called the 'Final Smash'. It is an item that can unlock a secret move that can instantly defeat an enemy. Each of these move are unique to each character with a few exceptions, like Link and Toon Link. This is one of the cooler features of the game that adds a whole new aspect to the fighting.

Super Smash Bros Wii U and 3DS

These upcoming titles are the games that are expected to bring Nintendo out of it's slump and perhaps save it from having another bad fiscal year. The game for each system is supposed to be exactly the same when it comes to players, but I believe that for online play, 3DS players can only play against other 3DS players and so on. The 3DS version of the game is also expected to be released much earlier than the WiiU version, with the 3DS version out by 10/3/2014 while the Wii U date is during the holidays of 2014.

There are also some exclusive stages for each system with only 3 stages that are found in both consoles. Each of the exclusive stages are mainly made after games found on those systems, such as for the 3DS, Arena Ferox found in Fire Emblem: Awakening and for the Wii U, Skyloft from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The main reason for the different stages for each system is due to the graphics of the consoles, with the Wii U being more advanced in the graphics department.

So far, the only confirmed returning characters are Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Yoshi, Link, Zelda, Sheik (confirmed being a separate character in this game), Toon Link, Samus, Zero Suit Samus (also confirmed separate), Kirby, King Dedede, Fox, Pikachu, Charizard (confirmed not a part of Pokemon trainer, as he wasn't confirmed), Lucario, Marth, Ike, Pit, Olimar, and Sonic. For newcomers, the following have been confirmed officially from the official site; Rosalina, Greninja, Palutena, Little Mac, Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, Megaman, you Mii, and Pac-Man.

From the looks of it, the game play on the 3DS does look like it will be a little bit harder, but overall these two games look like they will be the games to get this holiday season. From polygon features in the first game to 3D characters in the last, this game has certainly gone a long way. We can only hope that the financial issues with Nintendo don't hurt the company too much so we can continue to get this series in the future.

Final Trailer for 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'

Apes with machine guns + a distrustful Gary Oldman = INCREDIBLE SUMMER MOVIE. Dawn of the Planet Of the Apes opens in theaters July 11th.

They fight just like real people!

'Sin City: A Dame To Kill For' Second Trailer

A second trailer for Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For has hit the  web. Filled with a incredible ensemble cast, this movie looks like the dark horse candidate for best comic movie of the summer. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For comes out August 22nd.

I'm Not Directing 'Ant-Man'

Marvel Studios has officially announced Peyton Reed (The Break-Up) will direct Ant-Man. After a long search that included pretty much any director who has made a comedy film in the last ten years the studio went with the genius mind behind Yes Man. Well, all I can say is that I got fucked. Sure Reed has directed two movies that have grossed over 200 million dollars, but at the end of the day everyone knows those movies sucked. So now Marvel will have to pay this guy actually money to direct this steaming pile of crap. See I would have still have made a shit film, but at least I would have been cheap. Guess I should thank him for taking this gig off my resume. Maybe I'll have better luck if Scott Derrickson leaves Dr. Strange for creative differences. Ant-Man is still expected summer 2015.

You better watch your ass Reed. You take my job again, I won't be so kind.

Superhero Man Crush Monday: (6/2/14)

Man Crush: James McAvoy

James McAvoy most widely known for playing young Professor X in X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: First Class. With his break out role in Wanted , McAvoy was catapulted into the limelight and onto the list of rising Hollywood stars. He has really shown his acting chops in films like Filth and Trance. With his stylish accent and piercing blue eyes he is a downright heartthrob. Professor X can mind-meld with me anyway.

"Just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn't mean they can't be saved."

-Adam

Character Crush: Nightwing

I love Dick, I mean Richard. Introduced as Batman's child sidekick Robin in 1940, Richard Grayson has come a long way since. He has left the Dark Knight's side to start his own superhero team the Teen Titians. He has dropped the Robin persona and adopted the new title Nightwing. Hell he has even spent some time as Batman, when Bruce Wayne went missing after battling Darkseid. I highly recommend Scott Snyder's The Black Mirror to any Dick lover out there. Dick is a completely different kind of Batman than Bruce and Snyder's grim tale captures their contrast entirely. That is what really makes Nightwing standout in the Bat-verse. He isn't the forever brooding paranoid vigilante like Bruce, but rather a more hopeful fighter of crime. He also is quite the ladies man in the DCU with a certain affinity for red heads. Keep feeling the aster, Dick!

"How come no one ever just feels whelmed"

Nightwing showing us once again that not having superpowers doesn't mean shit if your trained by Batman.

-Christian

Editorial: Ranking the X-Franchise

With X-Men: Days of Future Past dominating the box office, what better time than the present to evaluate the X-films from best to worst.

7. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Why?: This film takes the Weapon X storyline and wipes it's ass with it. With a boring plot, awful special effects, and characterizations that will make all X-fans cringe (WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO DEADPOOL!) X-Men Origins: Wolverine successfully creates a puke fest.

Worst of the Worst: Sewing The Merc with the Mouth's mouth shut.

6. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

Why?: Kelsey Grammar's Beast and Ellen Page's Kitty Pryde are nice additions to the ever expanding cast, but everything else in Brett Ratner's X-film is a huge disappointment. This movie unsuccessfully attempts to adapt The Dark Phoenix Saga. Ratner's lose vision and several pointless deaths hamper this third film. 

A Moment of Greatness: The Juggernaut!

5. X-Men (2000)

Why?: This is the film that showed the general public that comic book movies can be taken seriously. Bryan Singer's first trek into the X-verse is a fun time that gives the X-Men a proper movie adaption. Characters like Cyclops fall short, but X-Men is a fine introduction to everyone's favorite mutants.

Fight Night: Beat down in the Statue of Liberty.

4. The Wolverine (2013)

Why?: A great character piece that adequately adapts Claremont and Miller's Japan Saga. Hugh Jackman once again shines as Logan and Rila Fukushima as Yukio is just excellent. The climax scene with the Silver Samurai and the twist that everyone saw coming a mile away are downers in an otherwise great story.

Badass: Wolverine vs. Shingen!

3. X-Men: First Class (2011)

Why?: This movie re-envigorated the franchise. With a completely new cast and a 60's setting, Matt Vaughn was able to tell us the story of the beginning of the X-Men. The First class may not be exact the original five (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman, and Angel are the originals), but the main players for later films are there. Michael Fassbender especially stands out as Magneto while McAvoy, Lawrence, and Hoult were all welcome additions to the X-Men movie verse.

Holy Shit: Frankenstien's monster!

2. X2: X-Men United (2003)

Why?: The Raid on the X-Mansion. Nightcrawler in the Whitehouse. The Brotherhood and X-Men teaming up. This film is full of great moments. Brian Cox's Stryker is the most fleshed out villain of the series, besides Magneto of course. And this film excellently adapts the classic X-storyline God Loves, Man Kills.

BAMF: Nightcrawler assassination attempt!

1. X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

Why?: The newest installment of the franchise is just plain awesome. Stellar cast, direction, and story. Infusing the best of new cast and the best of the old cast led to cinema magic. Check out my review for further insights.

WOW!: This film is full of worthy moments. This is the only one I could find on Youtube.

I can't wait until X-Men: Apocalypse. So then we have this discussion all over again. For more X-Men coverage follow us on Twitter @Caped_Informers or follow me @cstrand73. What's your list look like? Sound off in the comments.

'X-Men: Days Of Future Past' Review/Thoughts

The mutants are back on the silver screen today. So the Informers went to an early show to check out X-Men: Days Of Future Past. Expect very mild spoilers.

What We Liked:

• Great infusion of new and old casts
• The film promotes the X-Men message
• The struggle of Mystique
• Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique character evolution since First Class
• Quicksilver's incredibly fun sequence
• Young Prof. X's character arc, Great acting from James McAvoy
• The always imposing Michael Fassbender's Magneto
• 70's Wolverine's Bone Claws
• Fun Rewrites of US History
• Inventive uses for mutant's abilities
• Excellent fight sequences in future + past
• The entire Paris Summit Sequence
• The 70's style vs. the bleak future
• Time Travel Humor
• The always evolving relationship of Prof. X and Magneto
• References to past X-films
• Design of the Sentinels in past + future
• Bobby Drake finally Ice sliding!
• Time Travel is not overly confusing

What We Didn't Like:

• Bolivar Trask's motivations were a little weak
• Continues the superhero movie trend of a need for "super blood" 
• Scenes with unneeded mutants like Havoc, Toad, and etc.
• No Doop

Review: X-Men: Days Of Future Past combines the best components of X-Men: First Class and Bryan Singer's X-Men trilogy to create the best X-Men movie to date. The film utilizes all of it's stellar cast to tell a story of Wolverine, the always fantastic Hugh Jackman, being sent back to the 70's to stop a bleak future from ever happening. Now while Wolverine often has gotten the most attention of any X-Man in all the films, Days of Future Past is able to more neatly balance it's other characters so it does not feel like a movie called "Wolverine and some other guys". Particularly we get a great character arc from younger Prof. X (James McAvoy) who has hit rock bottom after losing his legs and Raven/Mystique. Charles's relationship with Magneto (Michael Fassbender) is as interesting as ever as the two must unite to stop Mystique from committing an act that creates the dystopian future. While on the topic of Lawrence's Mystique, her character has evolved a lot since we last saw her. Lawrence is impressive in every sequence she is in as her actions drive much of the film's plot. Overall the newest X-Men installment is extremely satisfying on all levels. For it's incredible action, balance of humor + action + gravitas, and top notch performances the Informers give X-Men: Days of Future Past a 9.5 out of 10. The best superhero movie of the year so far and a must-see for all X-Men fans. Can't for X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016.

Check out our podcast that will be posted this weekend to hear more about the movie. Until then make sure to follow us on Twitter @Caped_Informers and or follow me @cstrand73 to stay up to date on all things comics. Thanks for reading! What did you think of the movie? Sound off in the comments.

Superhero Woman Crush Wednesday: (5/21/14)

Justice may have just dawned, but WCW has been around a long time. Let's crush on some beautiful ladies.

Woman Crush: Katrina Law

My WCW is Katrina Law who plays Nyssa Al Ghul on Arrow. She is the bad ass daughter of the Demon's head. She kicks ass and takes names. Not to mention she kissed Black Canary. It was the most sensual and beautiful moment of TV I have ever watched. I teared up a tiny bit. So for being a real bad ass bitch Katrina earns my woman crush.

"My father is the Demon's Head."

-Brady

Character Crush: Mystique

Mystique, Raven Darkholme, is the queen of shapeshifting and a prominent member of the Brotherhood of Mutants. She can transform into anything she pleases. Impersonating an important world leader or pretending to be a house cat is easy for Raven. What is really amazing about her though is that she is just as beautiful and deadly in her natural blue form as compared when she has shapeshifted. Mystique is an expert martial artist as well as a first rate seductress. She can go toe to toe with most any of the X-Men in a fight or manipulate any man to do what she desires of him. Under Magneto's guidance she has become proud of her natural blueness. This has led to her assassinating many anti-mutant figures to further the Brotherhood's goals. She is also the mother of Nightcrawler (My favorite X-Man). Every time Nightcrawler teleports a sound goes off "BAMF!". Every time the lovely Mystique shape shifts the noise should be "MILF!".  Keep fighting for the mutant cause Raven. Catch Mystique Friday in X-Men:Days of Future Past.

"This coffee tastes like someone wrung it out of the Blob's unitard." 

Check out this Mystique transformations super cut from the original X-Men Trilogy.

-Christian