Nerd in the 'Noke

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), PG-13, 141 minutes - What does one do to follow up a film that becomes a global phenomenon and banks more than one billion dollars at the box office? If you're Joss Whedon, you co-create a television series within the shared universe (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) then take the reigns of the follow up film; taking the Avengers on a romp around the world, neutralizing another global threat, and officially solidifying them as Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Not having to worry about introducing the world to these characters, Whedon throws us right into the fray as the Avengers: Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) - lay siege to a H.Y.D.R.A. stronghold under Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's (Thomas Kretschmann) command. A mission that uncovers the artificial intellige...

Snowpiercer (2013), R, 126 minutes - Earlier this year I stumbled upon a trailer for a dark and gritty dystopian thriller starring Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Octavia Spencer, and Ed Harris.  It was listed as having been released in 2013 but I hadn't seen or heard anything about it before.  How could I have missed a film like that?  After a little digging, I learned that the film - Snowpiercer - was a project of well regarded South Korean director/writer Joon-ho Bong that was released in South Korea last August and was scheduled to make its American debut this summer. The film opens with a prologue of newscaster voice overs that explain that on July 1, 2014, after seven years of debate, seventy nine countries across the globe agree to launch a substance known as CW-7 into the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere in order to combat the effects of global warming.  The counter effects of CW-7 were underestimated and shortly after its dispersal,...

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), PG-13, 136 minutes - Those who follow this blog will probably remember that Captain America: The Winter Soldier was the film at the top of my Most Anticipated Films of 2014 list.  For those that don't or haven't, here's a quick recap of why: it's a sequel film for one of my favorite comic book characters, and it's based on one of my favorite comic story arcs (written by my favorite comic author Ed Brubaker).  I've been eagerly anticipating this film since it was announced shortly after the success of 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger.  Probably more so than I have any other Marvel Studios film to date.  Not only did it live up to my expectations - which were extremely high as one could imagine - but it may have even surpassed them. Directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the espionage thriller genre film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).  In the afterm...

Captain America is my second favorite comic book character (behind only Daredevil), so my excitement for a Cap sequel really shouldn't surprise anyone.  Especially not after how much I loved 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger .  I couldn't have known that it would come to fruition so soon, but I've been hoping for this story line to make it to the big screen since before The First Avenger even finished.  Those familiar with the comic books can probably pick out the scene I'm speaking of, but for those that aren't, I won't spoil anything by getting too specific. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is inspired by one of my all-time favorite story arcs: The Winter Soldier written by Ed Brubaker.  I have no doubt that this film will differ a bit from the source material so that Marvel can fit it into their current cinematic universe continuity, but the fact that they are adapting such a great story is a good sign.  The Winter Soldier tells a very pe...

The Avengers (2012), PG-13, 142 minutes - Wow.  I'm completely nerding out right now.  I've had high hopes for The Avengers for a while now.  Ever since the idea of cramming a bunch of super heroes into a single movie was teased with the post credits scene of Iron Man.  Hopes were raised even more when Marvel announced that Joss Whedon would direct.  That's right, Joss Whedon.  He who has an amazing resume when it comes to highly entertaining tv and film revolving around character driven stories with a large, diverse cast.  The Avengers really couldn't have been put in better hands.  But even though I had raised my hopes so high, the comic book nerd in me wondered if The Avengers would really work on the big screen.  Could you fit that many characters in a movie that wasn't five hours long?  And if you could get a script down that solved those potential problems, could you piece together a cast that could set aside egos and bring it a...

So here we are, May 4th has arrived, and with it the release of The Avengers!  I am posting this earlier in the day than I have my previous entries because some of you may be seeing The Avengers as early as this evening (if you haven't seen it already - and if you have, I'm jealous).  I have some family in town this weekend and am currently planning on checking out The Avengers Sunday afternoon/evening.  If you aren't seeing it before then, be sure to check back here for my review.  Anyway, my review for Captain America: The First Avenger from last July completes my re-cap countdown and should help get you primed for Joss Whedon's adventure with Earth's Mightiest Heroes.  My personal ranking of these five Marvel 'feeder' films is posted and discussed at the end of the post. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), PG-13, 124 minutes - This new Captain America movie (there was a terrible one made back in 1990 ) checked in at #3 on my personal Most Antici...

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), PG-13, 124 minutes - This new Captain America movie (there was a terrible one made back in 1990 ) checked in at #3 on my personal Most Anticipated Films of 2011 list. Cap also happens to be one of my favorite comic book characters so my hopes for this movie were pretty high. Much like Thor, I was quite satisfied with the end result. Captain America: The First Avenger, as one would expect, tells the origin story behind the character. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a scrawny young American who attempts to enlist in the Army repeatedly in 1942. He keeps getting rejected due to his size and medical history. During one attempt, he is checked out by Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci). Dr. Erskine is a German scientist who defected to the United States and is overseeing the Super Soldier Project in an attempt to help the U.S. fight Hitler's Nazi's. He offers Rogers the one thing he wants: an opportunity to join the Army and fight...

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), PG-13, 112 minutes - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is Edgar Wright's (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) film adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's series of manga sized graphic novels (Oni Press). A couple of friends have been ranting and raving about the Scott Pilgrim books for a couple years but I had never read them myself until about two weeks ago. I highly recommend them (buy them here ). Should you be any interested, I strongly encourage you to read them all (6 total) before seeing the movie as it covers the entire story. I know, I know, it sounds like a lot, but trust me - these bad boys read very quickly . I was able to knock each one out in about an hour and I'm not a very speedy reader. Now that I've gotten that out of the way - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is an absolutely fantastic adaptation of the source material. The film clocks in at just under two hours and covers all of the key points throughout the graphic novels. The tr...

The Losers (2010), PG-13, 98 minutes - I've been looking forward to this movie for months and it didn't disappoint. It's based upon a comic book series that was published by DC's Vertigo written by Andy Diggle and penciled primarily by Jock. The Losers is the story about a special forces unit that witnesses something that they weren't supposed to. Their superior, an evil ghost of a man known only as Max, orders their elimination. One problem: they survive and go about making Max's life difficult in their efforts to clear their names and records. As with most comic book based movies, the cast is integral to the story's transition to the big screen, and the cast of The Losers is as close to a perfect fit as you can get. Jeffery Dean Morgan (Clay), Zoe Saldana (Aisha), Chris Evans (Jensen), Idris Elba (Roque), Columbus Short (Pooch), and Oscar Jaenada (Cougar) are all living, breathing versions of the characters created on the page by Diggle/Jock. O...