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!

Rewatch Review: Captain America The First Avenger

In anticipation of Captain America: Civil War I decided to go back and rewatch some old Marvel Cinematic Universe movies to see how they hold up. Leading off this parade through the MCU is Joe Johntson's 2011 Captain America: The First Avenger.

Captain America: The First Avenger is the one MCU movie that I didn't get to see in the theater. In fact I didn't watch it until after I saw Joss Whedon's The Avengers in 2012. My college friends and I were so jazzed up about Marvel after watching The Avengers that we started talking about all the solo movies that came before it. What we quickly discovered though was that none of us had seen Captain America: The First Avenger. So without much hesitation I loaded the movie up my TV and we were off. 

Now I'm gonna tell you the truth. The first time I watched this movie I didn't like it. In fact all of my friends and I spent the majority of this film shitting on it. Now in retrospect that is probably because all of us had just seen The Avengers and we looking forward to this film being akin to that. 

In the 4 years that have passed since my first viewing I have seen (and loved) this movie's  sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier and enjoyed another great Cap outing in Avengers: Age of Ultron. I have also read some Captain America comics and grown more fond of the character every time I've see him. In fact he is my favorite character on Marvel Studios roster now and I'm riding the #TeamCap train right into my Civil War screening tomorrow. So I think the combination of tempered expectations and more fondness of the character lead me to enjoying this movie a lot more in my second viewing. The first time I watched it I would have given it a D. Here is what I thought about it this time.

My Thoughts

• The movie is very much a character piece. It is fully focused on showing it's audience how Steve Rogers is a great guy and hero at heart. Overall it's a great intro to the character.
• Most of the action beats are solid though out, but full use of Caps fighting abilities (like kicking fuckers off boats and using his shield to take down a helicopter) are better showcased in The Winter Solider. This movie seems to be really focused on telling us that Cap can run fast and jump high. Now if this was a movie about how a shrimpy dude used a super soldier program to cheat his way into the Olympics then I would be fine with it. The problem is that this is a superhero flick and not The Ringer.

Watch Cap run and jump through the streets

• A criticism for the MCU as a whole has been that there are no good villains besides Loki. Red Skull continues that trend by being the very one note evil German guy. In his defense though his makeup looks amazing.
• Thorin Oakensheild, Margery Tyrell, and Damien Darhk are in this? That's cool. Also did anyone notice both of the announcers from the Hunger Games are competing German scientists? Coincidence I think not!

Hyrdra?

• Most of this movie is great set up. Setting up Cap for the Avengers. Setting up Zola for his return in The Winter Soldier. Setting up Hydra and their utter awesomeness (I do not like Nazis I just like saying Hail Hydra!). Through all this set up is one crucial mistake. That is the mishandling of Bucky's death. He falls off a train and is never talked about again.They Han Soloed him. It was like in The Force Awakens how Leia hugged Rey and not Chewie. There is never a moment of Steve morning or saying anything about his best friend for the rest of the movie. Because Bucky's death was so unmemorable, The Winter Soldier has to drill what happened into the viewers head over and over for it's big twist to work.
• The movie is poorly paced. So much exposition in the beginning then the end feels like a clip show of action moments. Don't get me wrong I liked a lot of the action and a lot of the exposition, it just felt like they were clustered together at the beginning and at the end.
• I totally forgot about Cap's budding movie career. The old movie within a movie. 

Final Grade: Overall Captain America: The First Avenger is more enjoyable than I remember. It has great character moments and does a good job introducing the Captain we all know and love.

I'm giving my rewatch of CA:TFA a B-

What do you think of Captain America: The first Avenger? Was there to much running and not enough punching? Sound of in the comments and make sure to follow me @cstrand73 on Twitter for all my takes on superhero stuff.

Cannot wait for tomorrow 

New Suicide Squad Trailer Teases More Action, Humor, And Most Importantly More Batfleck

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice certainly did not get the beloved reception Warner Bros was hoping for. So who is gonna come to save the DCEU's future? Why DC Comics' myriad of amazing villains of course! The newest trailer for David Ayer's bad guy team up flick first appeared online after the airing of MTV's Movie Awards. So far it's receiving a lot of praise online just like it's two previous teasers. Check it out!

My TOP 5 Takeaways

1. MARGOT ROBBIE is a force in every clip I've seen from this movie so far. Her line about "being vexing" was so classic Harley it hurts. Also seeing Harley putting her shirt on was a touch too ;).

2. I love how us the audience has no idea how the Joker is involved in this story. That was a major problem with Batman V Superman. Even before the Doomsday reveal in the second trailer, the audience knew that the big two would fight, makeup, become pals, then take down an enemy, and the credits would roll. Suicide Squad however, much like the Joker, is completely unpredictable. All we know is that Waller forms a team and shit goes down. Also Leto's Joker reminds me more of Mark Hamill's than Heath Ledger's. His scene where he threatens a dude who is "chit-chatting" reminded me of this:

3. El Diablo isn't a super famous or beloved DC comic character. So it was cool to see him get a funny character moment along with Will Smith's Deadshot. I'm excited to see how the team utilizes his flame powers.

4. When the first picture of the Squad came out last year I kind of shat all over Killer Croc's look. Well consider this an apology Mr. Ayer cause your practical Croc has looked great on screen in all 3 trailers so far. I loved that shot of his lizard-like eyelids closing. Also the more and more I see of this Croc the more it reminds me of the old Batman The Animated Series one.

5. Last week everyone on the internet got their panties in a bunch because a report came out that reshoots for Suicide Squad were happening in order to add more humor. Well this trailer should refute those BS rumors. There seems to be plenty of humor in this film already. Squad stories have always had humor come from their interactions between their over the top villains and this trailer shows us a bunch of that.

BONUS: I need more Batfleck in everything. His Batman was the absolute highlight of BVS. So as you can imagine, I can't wait for him to come face to face with villains like Joker, Harley, and Croc. Also Zack Snyder has stated that Batman put most of the Squad members in prison. So these baddies have vendettas against the Bat. Seeing more of him in this trailer, especially when he is equipped with a Bat Breather no less, brings me absolute joy.

Also I love this nod to Greg Capullo's Endgame Joker. What a beautiful image!

Lastly, reshoots are not always a bad thing. All Marvel movies schedule them. This is not a Josh Trank situation where David Ayer has been fired and Zack Snyder is picking up the pieces. What these reshoots are is a chance to add more action and strengthen character arcs. The latter is definitely something BVS needed. 

Whose is pumped for Suicide Squad? What are your favorite moments of the trailers? Does anything worry you? Sound off in the comments and until next time...

What I Learned from Daredevil Season 2: Punisher Is God

Jon Bernthal deserves an Emmy. Jon Bernthal deserves his own Netflix series. Jon Bernthal doesn't just deserve one batch or two batches, he fucking deserves all the batches. He deserves the dime not the penny.

Do not watch unless you have finished Daredevil

Those have been just some of the thoughts running through my head while watching Daredevil Season 2. Jon Bernthal's Punisher is an incredible addition to the Marvel Universe. Ever since he was announced as joining the show the general feeling was that Bernthal would bring justice to the character of Punisher, who has a shit go of things in live action (Expect for Tom Jane in Dirty Laundry). He just nailed everything I wanted to see from Frank Castle. The philosophical divide between Punisher + Daredevil is handled beautifully. Frank's solution to crime is to eradicate it by any means necessary. Matt Murdock still believes in the justice system he serves and believes in redemption and second chances. This causes an epic collision of these two characters that makes people in Hell's Kitchen asking what really makes someone a hero. I have so much more to say but I'm gonna save it for my full season review.

What do you guys think of Jon Bernthal's Punisher? What about season 2 of Daredevil in general? Sound off in the comments.

Thomas Jane in Dirty Laundry

Batman V Superman Trailer #3 Is Here And It's Spectacular!

HOLY SHIT!!! HURRY UP MARCH!!!!

Captain America: Civil War Trailer is Here!

After months of anticipation it's here. The teams are set. ITS ABOUT TO GO DOWN
!

2016 is gonna be the greatest year for comic movies ever! What did you think of the trailer? Comment below or tweet at me @cstrand73. 

Jessica Jones Is Awesome

Forget the movies, Marvel's Netflix series (No Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. does not count) are by far their greatest accomplishment. Daredevil and Jessica Jones are both excellent character pieces told over 13 episodes. Their stakes are considerably smaller than the movies, but the tension feels much greater because these stories are much more personal. Basically I'm just saying I'm halfway through JJ and I know that I prefer these series to those sugar coated fairytales that Marvel puts out twice a year. I'd rather see Daredevil beat the shit out of child traffickers or Jessica Jones and Luke Cage "super-fuck" than to watch (SPOILER FOR INFINITY WAR) Tony Stark braid Thor's hair.

Also Vincent D'Onofrio as the Kingpin and David Tennant as the Purple Man are two of the three best villains in the MCU. The other is Loki. There is no debate.

Are you liking Jessica Jones? Which do you prefer: Marvel TV or Marvel Movies? Sound off in the comments.

A full review of Jessica Jones will be up this week. For all my thoughts on comics, TV, movies, and various other bs follow me on twitter @cstrand73.

Deadpool's Trailer is Here and It's Spectacular!

Check out the Merc With The Mouth work his magic in the first trailer for his feature length movie!

Goddamn beautiful! This movie is using it's R-rating to the fullest. This isn't your average mainstream superhero flick. It's a hard R action comedy with some crazy athletic sex scenes. Can't wait. Deadpool hits theaters in Feb. 2016.

Are you excited for Deadpool? Let us know in the comments or tweet at us @Caped_Informers or me @cstrand73. And make sure to tune in for our weekly Arrow, Flash, and Daredevil reviews.