Captain America: Civil War (2016) - #Movie #Review

The epic battle between two great heroes!

Ok, so I have been a huge fan of the MCU since the beginning... And well, technically before the MCU became the, 'Marvel Cinematic Universe', what with Eric Bana (Star Trek) was the, 'Hulk' and when Fox was still the main front runner producing movies based on Marvel heroes! 

With that said though, I have to admit that I was pretty disappointed with, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)... I saw it again recently and have to say that I am pretty pleased with it now, but back then it was pretty disappointing, but since, 'Ultron', I have to say that the movies just seem to be getting better and better again! 

This one does take some getting used to.

What I mean by this is that, Ant-Man (2015) was a return to classic form for the individual heroes, and besides being absolutely hilarious, is actually a pretty awesome film! And the next movie, and the reason for this review: Captain America: Civil War (2016) Is freaking amazing! 

Definitely ranks up there as one of the best of the MCU!

Written by: Christopher Markus (Captain America: The First Avenger), Stephen McFeely (Captain America: Winter Soldier) & Directed by: Anthony Russo (You, Me And Dupree), Joe Russo (Community). Starring: Chris Evans (Avengers: Age Of Ultron), Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Scarlett Johansson (Lucy), Sebastian Stan (I'm Not Here), Anthony Mackie (Million Dollar Baby), Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanada) & Tom Holland (Locke). 

"Ok, Anybody on our side hiding any shocking, or fantastic abilities they'd like to disclose, I'm open to suggestions." - Iron Man/Tony Stark (A quote from the movie: Captain America: Civil War.) 

Ok, so first off what I am going to say, that I really enjoyed about this movie is the acting in this movie... I mean at this point, all of these guys have been at one time or another working together for the last 4 years, and you could tell how hard it was for them to have to split down the middle! 

Iron Man, Cap... Say it ain't so...

The next thing that I wanted to say that I really liked about this movie is the special FX, I mean it goes without saying that these movies have great special effects, but wholly cow! 

And then finally the story... This story is pretty awesome! What I mean by that is the fact that this story tells of how after a particularly disastrous mission, the worlds governments have decided to make the heroes register and come under the control of a world body (Basically like, 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' was before Hydra...) 

The disaster!

Anyway, this has the team divided on rather or not to actually sign them... 

At the signing accords, a ton of the worlds leaders are in attendance, when a bomb explodes disrupting the ceremony, and killing the Wakandan King!  It appears that the Winter Soldier (Played by: Sebastian Stan) came out of hiding, to do this... Or did he? 

Is Bucky still Bucky? Or is the, 'Winter Soldier' back? 

And now with the world on his tail, and some of the Avengers going after him as well, Bucky Barnes/Winter Solider will rely more on his old friend Captain America (Played by: Chris Evans) to not just protect him, but to also help him uncover who actually did it! 

And in doing so, may tear the team apart forever! 

Is this the end?

Great story right? Well the one thing I am going to say that I don't really like about this movie is that you can tell in the edges of the movie that the crew is starting to get a little lazy... (Watch Chris Evans closely and you will notice that at one point he has a slight gut, and is not muscular... And then it cuts immediately to him being ripped...) 

In the end though, this movie is pretty awesome and well worth watching! 

Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) - Movie Review

Art from: Avengers: Age Of Ultron!

One thing that I have noticed as time has gone on, that it seems like most production houses generally tend to require that their sequels be bigger, more explosions, more A-list actors, etc... That is a huge mistake!

The reason being is, like the old saying goes... "Bigger is not always better"... And that saying is still true today! What I mean by this in relation to sequels, is that something is always lost in the story line!

Marvel seems to almost always do this for some reason... For example: Iron Man (2008) was a fantastic movie that really helped jump start the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe,) but, Iron Man 2 (2010)... There was bigger special effects, and a bigger cast... But something was lost in the story, and ended up making the movie suck... Fortunately they made up for that in a major way with, Iron Man 3 (2013)!

Iron Man 2... A dud, only made right by, 'Iron Man 3'! 

And unfortunately a lot of that is the reason, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) was still fun... But not as good as the original Avengers was!

Written by: Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), and Directed by: Joss Whedon. Starring: Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Scarlett Johansson (Lucy), Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island), Jeremy Renner (Dahmer) & James Spader (Stargate).

"If he can wield the Hammer, he can keep the Stone." - Thor (Chris Hemsworth - A quote from: Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015).) 

This movie tells the story of how a more formed Avengers team, having reformed up after the battle of New York from the first movie are setting high on their laurels... S.H.I.E.L.D. maybe mostly gone, and Nick Fury maybe retired, but under Tony Stark (Played by: Robert Downey Jr.), the team (being aided by a group of robotic, 'Iron Men') are really kicking butt!

The Avengers kicking Hydra's butt! 

Well something interesting has happened... You see, after a grueling fight, in which the team had gone to war with Hydra, in an effort to reacquire Loki's scepter, Tony Stark (Played by: Robert Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Played by: Mark Ruffalo,) are working on creating a new AI (when will they ever learn... Am I right?)

Anyway, this AI (which goes by the name of, 'Ultron' (Voiced by: James Spader)) ends up coming online and decides his programming in an effort to help the planet, is to eradicate mankind and start fresh!

So Ultron ends up taking over the Iron Men that Tony Stark had created, and as Ultron begins to build up his forces, it will be up to the Avengers to assemble again in an effort to save the world from a threat that one of their own created!

Ultron as he begins life as a broken, 'Iron Legion' unit! 

In the end, the truth is, is this movie is fun... Despite the frustrating over indulgence in to the special effects and what not and some of the loss in story line/quality of story... This movie does have some amazing battle scenes, and fun story arcs...

The other problems that I had with this movie is the fact that Black Widow and Bruce Banner keep whining about there stupid romance, and it seems like almost threatening the audience to run away together at the end of the world!

The last thing that I have to say is that having Quicksilver (Played by: Anthony Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Played by: Elizabeth Olsen) in this movie is wrong, for many reasons that fans of the comics will understand... But as for the movies... Well... I mean Quicksilver is already a part of the X-Men franchise and is played by some one else in that series!

I guess what I am saying is that it is certainly worth watching, but is just not as good as the first one! 

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) - Movie Review

Official Score = 4 Devils

Most people born before the 90s I imagine will remember Marvel not just for the movies that they have produced in the new millennium, but also for the amazing comics that they produced for decades! But at this point I suspect that more so then the comics that Marvel's movies are based on, these days people generally tend to associate Marvel with the action packed epic movies that are based on their comics!

A couple of examples of these are: X-Men (2000), a movie that was based on one of Marvel's most famous comic book series of the same name! Another examples being, The Avengers (2012) and all of it's individual movies that are based on the characters that make up the, 'Avengers'!

One such movie I just recently saw, and you know what? There is a movie that I just recently saw, that I found to be a breath of fresh air from it's sort of stale first entry... That movie being: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)!

An amazing action packed fun movie!

Joe Russo (Animal Practice). Starring: Chris Evans (Fantastic Four), Scarlett Johansson (Lucy), Sebastian Stan (Black Swan), Robert Redford (All The President's Men), Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained), Anthony Mackie (Reel Steel), Colbie Smulders (The Lego Movie) & Haley Atwell (The Sweeney).

Now this movie in my opinion is one of the few movies that I would say is not only better then the first movie, but is actually significantly better then the first one!

You see, in the first movie, it was essentially a small handful of men, with one suped up soldier going up against an entire army that is not only vastly superior physically, but is also vastly superior technological... Add in an element of fascism that the small squad is fighting against, and you get just about every bum Science Fiction movie to come out in the new millennium!

Captain America: The First Avenger... Kinda bland... Captain America: The Winter Soldier... Vastly superior!

As for the second one, well... There is some awesome special effects (to be expected from Marvel movies...) Some great talent (including seeing Scarlett Johansson reprising her role as, 'Black Widow' in this movie...) And the story... Dare I say it? AMAZING!

You see, this movie takes place after the, 'Battle Of New York' that took place in, The Avengers, during this time, Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), has gone to work for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) at S.H.I.E.L.D...

Now trying to face a new world using his old fashion ideas is proving not to be particularly easy, as he is learning to not only fit in to S.H.I.E.L.D., he also has to learn to fit in to a world that no longer believes in the same rules and morals that he does...

A frustrated Steve Rogers/Captain America in the modern world, ends up going to a museum that has an exhibit dedicated to him and his crew of the 1940s, and the few relics from that era that are still around...

But things quickly change, when Nick Fury, whom after warning him not to trust anyone, ends up being mysteriously assassinated by some one that is connected to Captain America in a way that will effect him very deeply... During this time, S.H.I.E.L.D. is being taken over by Captain America's old enemies, Hydra!

Well now that Captain America is no longer trusting anyone, and being branded a traitor by S.H.I.E.L.D., it will be up to him, a friend of his, and Black Widow to stop Hydra, and the threat it is creating, before they can put their nefarious plans in to action and start thinning out the human race... And to do this, Captain America may end up facing against some one from his past that he never thought he would see again!

Captain America is about to have a battle that he won't ever forget!

In the end, rather or not you liked the first one, this movie is a total blast, and as Marvel gets more and more involved in the process of making movies, they are making these movies better and better, and this one is a great example, so check it out, I think you guys might really like it... I did!

Lucy (2014) - Movie Review

Official Score = 1 1/2 Devils

Being a fan of movies since I was very young, I have seen all sorts and kinds of movies... Some truly amazing movies that are so good that they are memorable years, if not even decades after their initial release, movies that are just plain, 'AWESOME', and movies that go from being just, 'So-So' to just plain, 'AWEFUL'!

But one type of movie that I have found to be pretty rare, is a movie that is  set up to be very good, but in the end just fell short!

Unfortunately the most recent one that I have seen is: Lucy (2014):

Not great, but not bad...

Written & Directed by: Luc Besson (The Fifth Element). Starring: Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers), Min-sik Choi (Oldboy), Amr Waked (Syriana) & Morgan Freeman (Se7en).

Could I say that it was the cast and crew? No... Of course not! I mean the pairing between Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman & Luc Besson to name a few, you would think would make it an awesome movie (The truth is, is it did help...)

Morgan Freeman & Scarlett Johansson in, 'Lucy'!

The special effects... As always with these types of movies, it was pretty spectacular!

Is it the story? Well... The truth is, is the concept was truly awesome! The problem that I had with it though, is the fact that there was no real content there... What I mean by this, is there was almost no element that makes a great story in this movie! No love interest, no adversary that you fear may actually win, and the fact is, is there was only really one twist in that movie... A good one, but not enough... In the end the primary element of the story that makes it worth it's weight, is the role that Scarlett Johansson played as the lead in the movie!

Lucy as she is arriving in, 'Paris'!

In the end, this is not the best movie in the world, but it is also not the worst either...

The Avengers (2012) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_415" align="alignright" width="300"] Official Score = 4 Devils[/caption]

Remember when you were a kid, the joy of collecting and trading comic books and (well if you were a kid in the 90s) trading comic book cards? I do, I used to love all that stuff!

Now I always loved comics and comic book cards that DC produced, but my favorite always had to be.... You guessed it! MARVEL!

Rather it be reading the gritty adventures of, 'Cable', or reading about the, 'X-Men' battling the latest threat to the world, or for that matter any of the other super hero's or super hero teams that fought the forces of darkness!

So it delighted me to discover a lot of my favorite costumed heroes from the Marvel Universe were being turned in to movies! Including, the X-Men series, the Spider-Man series, the Iron Man series, to name a few...

And of course the most recent Super Hero movie was great as well, The Avengers!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The Avengers as they are about to assemble![/caption]

Written by: Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), and Zack Penn (The Incredible Hulk) and Directed by: Joss Whedon. Starring: Robert Downey Jr. (Zodiac), Chris Hemsworth (The Cabin In The Woods), Chris Evans (Fantastic Four), Scarlett Johansson (Eight Legged Freaks), Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island), Tom Hiddleston (Thor), Jeremy Renner (Dahmer), Samuel L. Jackson (Deep Blue Sea), and Colbie Smulders (Andromeda).

The Avengers tells the story of how, after Loki's (Hiddleston) defeat on Asgard in the movie, Thor (2011), by his brother Thor (Hemsworth). Loki retreats to the vastness of space. During this time he comes across a race that has offered to fight for Loki, when Loki decides to take over the Earth!

So after stealing an item called, 'The Tesseract' (an item that can draw power from space), from a S.H.I.E.L.D. run research facility, and taking over the free will of a Doctor, and an Agent by the name of, 'Clint Barton' (Renner), Loki takes off with his new soldiers in an effort to create a portal from Earth to the planet where his army is currently waiting on!

With the world now threatened by Loki and his minions, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury (Jackson) calls on: Iron Man (Downey Jr.), The Black Widow (Johansson), The Hulk (Ruffalo), Captain America (Evans), (and later Thor and Hawkeye join as well), to combat the threat posed by Loki, and save the Human Race as, 'The Avengers'!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="460"] 'The Avengers' assembled going to war![/caption]

Now as an interesting side note, this movie is the culmination of past super hero movies such as, Thor (2011), the Iron Man series and, The Incredible Hulk series as well!

In my opinion, with this movie being the perfect blending of, 'Science Ficition' and, 'Action' this movie may actually be the best Super Hero movie to come out since the first X-Men movie (A personal fav of mine).

Now before I get in to why I think this movie is so awesome, I should probably tell you a little bit of history and how The Avengers came to life...

The Avengers came in to being through the creative inspiration of comic book legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and had their debut in September of 1963... Since then, 'The Avengers' and the team members that make up, 'The Avengers' has become an international sensation amongst the legions of , 'Avengers' comic book fans, 'Avengers' movie aficionados and even , 'Avengers', video game fans around the world! And being a fan of, 'The Avengers' in all 3 of those categories, it kind of goes without saying that I would be a fan of this movie as well!

But besides that, the truth is, is that carry overs from their original movies, 'i,e. Tom Hiddleston as (Loki), or Robert Downey Jr. as, (Iron Man)' continue to do an amazing job portraying the characters they portrayed in the other movies... So much so that it was great to see Robert Downey Jr. reprise his role as, 'Iron Man', Chis Hemworth reprise his role as, 'Thor' as they both match pretty closely to what I would have thought the characters from the comics would have looked like in real life!

http://youtu.be/1hPpG4s3-O4