Trailer for your Weekend: Hercules
I am a massive fan of the Rock. I think he is probably the most charismatic action star going around these days and can lift films that otherwise would be terrible, to at least watchable levels. But after watching the first teaser trailer for Hercules (2014), I fear even the huge former WWE star may be out of his league because this film looks terrible. When you can’t even make a minute and a half of a film watchable then you are in a bit of trouble. Who knows, perhaps the Rock can save this from being a miserable dirge of crummy CGI beasts, but I hold out little hope. Anyone a little more positive than me?
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The posters for this film have been ace.
Captain America (2011) is one of my favourite of the Marvel films so far. As such I was pretty keen to check out Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), although there was a nagging doubt that I could not quite shake – how would the film hold up without the period setting of the first film?
After seeing Marvel’s latest effort, I think it was a fair concern to have. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is by no means a bad film (it is very, very rare that Marvel put their stamp on one of those), but it is also rather standard, never reaching the heights of the best films from the comic book behemoth. Much of that is due to the shift in time frame for Cap which was a necessity in order for him to be part of The Avengers (2012). The character of Captain America is a bit of an absurd one in reality. But his over the top, arch-patriotism works best when situated, like the first film, somewhere like Germany in World War II. In 2014 America, a place where the mainstream political and military mindset has been battered in the opinion of the public by Iraq, Afghanistan, the NSA and so on, Cap is more likely to be a little on the nose. It is a credit to the filmmakers that they are willing to explore this uneasy state of affairs and the uneasy place that this character has in it, but even so, there is no doubting that the major thing that the first film had going for it is gone. The early attempts to transfer the military stylings and focus of the first film into this one does not really work at all and contributes to what is a spluttering first half hour.
Of course simply to say that it is impossible for a present day set Captain America film to be fantastic is silly. With the right story and action beats and there is no doubting the character could helm a cracking film, especially given Chris Evans feels so spot on in the role. But the major issue with this film is that whilst there are some great aspects to it, including some of the action beats, the overarching plot is initially oblique and then to be honest really weak and lacking in the narrative richness required. There was always going to be some need to attempt to connect the plot of the film to that of the first film, and it does not work. I am aware that the story is based on a really highly regarded comic book arc, but I can only assume that does a much better job of telling the story than this film does. It is such a shame that the main story does not stick, because Robert Redford is very good as it is and if the story was a little stronger, his character could have been a really impactful one. The film is also not really about The Winter Solider that much at all. If you are going to build the marketing and even naming of a film around a character, don’t just make him a henchman for a vast majority of the film. The last 20 minutes or so does manage to get the viewer excited for what could perhaps come in the future between the two characters. But you are left with the distinct sense that the potential of the character was neglected in this flick a little to set things up for future entries.
One thing that this film does better then perhaps any other Marvel flick is that it gives the minor goodies a chance to shine. The increased screen time for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is perhaps the best thing about the entire film. I know that Marvel has an ever expanding slate of both rumoured and confirmed phase 3 films, but they should seriously pull the trigger on a standalone Johansson Widow film. The character has so much great back-story, both from the comics and hinted at this film that could be mined for a really effective origin style story. Basing it around some of the current comics that Nathan Edmondson is writing for the character would be a real winner in my view. And having the character attempting to atone for her chequered KGB past could also make a very different kind of Marvel film. The other main highlight in the supporting cast is Anthony Mackie’s Falcon, a character that initially grates but by the third act is one of the best things about it. Again, the filmmakers actually give the character some great moments out of the shadow of Cap which is something the Marvel films have not always managed to do very well. For me though, Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury continues to be a total bore whilst the much more interesting S.H.I.E.L.D operative Maria Hill played by Cobie Smulders unfortunately does not feature nearly enough.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is certainly a really solid, enjoyable big budget blockbuster that will be better than 80% of films in that category this year. For me personally, despite my enjoyment, it is a slight disappointment. But that is more a credit to how much Marvel have been killing it of late, rather than any real slight against the film itself.
Verdict: Stubby of Reschs
Related beermovie.net articles for you to check out: 2014 Preview: Top Ten Anticipated Films and Captain America: The Winter Solider posters
Like what you read? Then please like Beermovie.net on facebook here and follow me on twitter @beer_movie.
Guest Post: A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) – An email discussion
Just like with Freddy vs Jason (2003), which my cousin Damo so expertly reviewed last week here, I was not too fussed about reviewing the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010). And why would you want to read my boring old review, when you have this. Eric from Isaacs Picture Conclusions and Zoe from The Sporadic Chronicles of a Beginner Blogger chewing the fat about the film over email. Safe to say Zoe hated it, whilst Eric seems a little hung up on some bloke called Clancy Brown who I can only presume is an Irish folk singer from the 1950s. Not sure of the connection there.
Also, apologies for the craptastic formatting on this. Zoe and Eric sent it to me all pretty like, but I busted it transferring it across to WordPress.
theipc.me ei@theipc.me
Mar 12 (6 days ago)
to Zoë
HI ZOE!!!!!!
So Tim, over at Beer Movie is looking for a piece on the Nightmare reboot – you fucking hated that thing right???
Zoee Mar 12 (6 days ago)
Like the worst fucking thing ever!
theipc.me ei@theipc.me
Mar 12 (6 days ago)
to Zoë
LOLOLOLOL!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
I didn’t hate it that much but I’ve only ever seen a couple of them. What did you hate so much??? You have to give it up a little for Clancy Brown! No??
Zoë
Mar 12 (6 days ago)
to me
Pfffff…
I hope among that couple that you have seen is the 1984 one, because that one was a solid entry!
Pretty sure one of these dudes is that Clancy guy Isaacs has a thing for. Proabably one of the ones with a pipe
First off, the entire film is a travesty. I mean that in the truest sense of the word. It completely desecrated everything that Freddy Krueger represented. Freddy was all wrong. I cannot stress this enough. When I think Krueger I think Robert Englund. Dark comedy (though it wasn’t always so), striped sweater, bad burns, “bitch” being uttered left, right, and centre, crazy dream sequences and not taking himself too seriously. Also, the mythos were completely fucked with. Nobody felt compassion for Freddy when they burned him to death. I swear, nobody was defending him. Let us not even go into the blatant ripping off of the old school scenes, churning them out as if they should be new and awesome and just missing the point completely. It was one of the worst reboots ever, and it still galls me to think about it.
I would love to know why you didn’t hate it… (and don’t hide behind the fact that you hadn’t seen many of the others)?
Zoë
________________________________________
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 12:10:05 -0500
Subject: Re: Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
theipc.me ei@theipc.me
Mar 12 (6 days ago)
to Zoë
LOL!!! When have I ever hidden from you, JB????
I had only ever seen the first two – in the theaters before your were even born (HAHAHAHAHA #love) – when I saw this one (I’ve since seen the third one with the penis worm we all got a good laugh at). I don’t know – I guess on my blog I watch a lot of very low quality SHIT movies that totally suck butt. I thought this thing looked decent enough, had some good looking actors and decent enough effects. I also liked that it wasn’t filled with a bunch of bullshit corny one-liners that came to be associated with Freddy and……………… –> CLANCY BROWN!!!!
I did NOT like Jackie Earl Haley though. This is the truth.
Also – I am currently getting screamed at on a three hour conference call about Caller ID problems. Have you ever gotten screamed at on a three hour conference call about Caller ID problems. If so, you’d appreciate NoES a little more.
I think.
Zoë
Mar 13 (5 days ago)
to me
Bwahahaha! Yeah alright, true that, I will give you that!
Yeah, yeah, #love. Oh yes, who can ever forget the infamous penis worm? Yeah, you do, but this one is right up there for me. Took itself waaaaaaaaay too seriously and just fucked up a whole lot of good stuff. Meh, it didn’t work for me. You know I bitched more watching this than I did throughout the Potter movies? My other half was shocked! No wait now… Freddy had some hardcore one liners, what are you even on about! 😛 I take it you are a fan?
Hmmmmm… he was not the greatest but certainly not the biggest pitfall of this piece of crap remake.
I have honestly never been screamed at about Caller ID problems on a three hour conference call… that sounds freaking awful… probably still not as painful as this shitty movie. I think.
Can you believe it holds a 5.2 score on IMDB? What the fuck world?!
Zoë
________________________________________
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 12:34:54 -0500
theipc.me ei@theipc.me
8:41 AM (0 minutes ago)
to Zoë
Sorry I got behind on this!!!! That SHITFEST Social we did wore me clean out!!!
I get that it took itself too seriously – I do hate when movies are like that. Everybody just needs to lighten up, right? What did Cheri Oteri’s character say in SOUTHLAND TALES?? “The world would be a better place if everyone just got more cardio…” I don’t know… I didn’t hate it and I think that’s all I’ve got. You know what I did hate??? That second Rob Zombie HALLOWEEN!! Screw that fucker!!! But we’re not here to talk about that..
Zoë
8:56 AM (0 minutes ago)
to me
Phew! Totally don’t blame you there! That was just way too much fun considering the source material!
More cardio… maybe that is what this needed. Hahahaha. Yeah, I see that you don’t hate it, and that I despise it and that I can bitch about it endlessly but let us not go into it too much here some more. It is crap, it messed with decades worth of material, it defiled everything that it was and was a completely reboot. Screw it. I will just be quiet. If people want to read more extensively on what I had to say, they can check out my Shitfest entry here or the review I wrote on my blog over here.
No, we’re not… but I can see that that is a series we should maybe get involved with together… from the beginning all the way through!
Zoë
________________________________________
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 08:41:13 -0500
theipc.me ei@theipc.me
8:59 AM (0 minutes ago)
to Zoë
WE TOTALLY SHOULD!!!!!
Summer Project!!!!!!
See ya!!!
There you have it folks. Thanks so much to Zoe and Eric for reviewing the film for me. I am sure you already read their stuff, but on the off chance you don’t, hit up Zoe’s site The Sporadic Chronicles of a Beginner Blogger and Eric’s refined musings at Isaacs Picture Conclusions.
If you haven’t read them yet, check out my thoughts on all of the canon Elm Street films. Here they are in my order of preference:
1. A Nightmare on Elm Street
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
3. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
5. Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
7. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.
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