Captain America: The Winter Soldier

http://marvel.com/movies/movie/181/captain_america_the_winter_soldier

Much like Cineworld did for the Midnight Screening of Thor: The Dark World, they offered those seeing the Midnight Screening of Captain America: The Winter Soldier a chance to catch up on what they might have missed, by showing a double bill of Cap 1 with Cap 2. As a big fan of the first film I of course wanted to go two for two with the Captain. You can read my previous review for Captain America: The First Avenger by clicking the respective link, but do know that if I were reviewing it now it would get a much higher score as I have grown very fond of The First Avenger.

However, Cap one has had it's time in the glowing spotlight of my blog, and as such I am going to move swiftly on to the new, and very different Winter Soldier. Different primarily because it's set in the present day, but also because there is a lot more interaction here with a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s finest agents that you might be familiar with if you've seen a little movie called The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble in the UK). As much as everyone talks about Cap's (Chris Evans reprising his role of Steve 'Captain America' Rogers) friendship with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), most of his work in the war in the first movie was done alone. This movie sees Steve team up with Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) for a mission to free S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who are being held by terrorists on one of their own ships. Whilst completing the mission, Natasha hacks into the S.H.I.E.L.D. database on board the ship and downloads information about her employers, which upsets Steve's sensibilities about doing the right thing and trusting those you work for. However, it seems Natasha was right to capture the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. files, as not long after this Director Fury (Samuel L Jackson) faces off against the mysterious Winter Soldier and Natasha and Steve find themselves on the run from the very organisation they work for. Will they discover what is in the S.H.I.E.L.D. files? Will they find out who the Winter Soldier is? You'll have to go and see the movie to find out.

As I mentioned above, if I were to review The First Avenger now, I have no doubt I would give it a higher score as it has become one of my favourite Marvel movies. The funny thing is that in the run up to the release of the sequel, a lot of people have said to me, "Oh I didn't really like the first one", which on the one hand is fine, because the sequel is entirely different, it's set in a different time, with the majority of different, present day characters. But if you don't like the character of Steve Rogers, if you don't like his values, or the old school way he has of solving problems etc, I still don't know if you'll find a lot to like in Cap 2. Thankfully for me, as I said, I love the first film, and I like the fact that Cap is old fashioned. I think it makes his movies a refreshing change from the norm.

In this instance I loved his team up with Natasha. I loved the dynamic of the two of them, I loved the way they worked together and the way they challenged each other. I loved the fact that there was no hint of romance between them, that they could be a man and woman and just be colleagues, who might someday be friends. After seeing Johansson trying to be a 'serious' actress in Under The Skin and achieving nothing other than getting under my skin, it was nice to see her do justice to a character she is clearly very comfortable with after 3 outings in her catsuit. She adds so many layers to Natasha's already intriguing background that you feel like you'll never really be sure who she is. But damn do you want to find out.

I also loved the addition of Anthony Mackie's Falcon Sam Wilson. And my only real complaint about the movie is that he isn't in it nearly enough. As if adding Falcon to the mix wasn't enough to widen the scope for the next movie, the story arc of the Winter Soldier has only melted enough to dip your little toe into, and as such I am excited to see what more we will learn from Cap 3 (already announced at the UK Premiere of Cap 2) and beyond. If Marvel can keep up the fantastic work they have put in at ground level then I can't wait to see what will be next.

Whether you are a fan of The First Avenger or not, you should see The Winter Soldier and make your own mind up as to whether there is anything here for you. I was not disappointed and I doubt you will be either. 9 out of 10. 

Viewing Date - 25th March 2014

UK Release Date - 26th March 2014

Cast Overview:

Steve Rogers / Captain America ~ Chris Evans

Nick Fury ~ Samuel L Jackson

Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow ~ Scarlett Johansson

Alexander Pierce ~ Robert Redford

Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier ~ Sebastian Stan

Sam Wilson / Falcon ~ Anthony Mackie

Maria Hill ~ Cobie Smulders

Brock Rumlow ~ Frank Grillo

Jasper Sitwell ~ Maximiliano Hernandez

Kate / Agent 13 ~ Emily Van Camp

Peggy Carter ~ Hayley Atwell

Dr Arnim Zola ~ Toby Jones

Director(s) ~ Anthony and Joe Russo

Writer(s) ~ Christopher Markus (Screenplay), Stephen McFeely (Screenplay), Ed Brubaker (Concept and Story), Joe Simon (Comic Book) and Jack Kirby (Comic Book)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier UK Premiere

Around a month ago my cinema/premiere buddy Blair asked me, “so do you think you might want to go to the Captain America 2 premiere?” To which my reply was something along the lines of “err, why WOULDN’T I go?” Bearing in mind we did the Avengers Premiere together, and following Margaret Thatcher’s untimely demise which caused the Iron Man 3 premiere to be put back by a day, I did that - and the Thor The Dark World premiere - stag. Add to that the fact that Chris Evans was the only Avenger who wasn’t at the Avengers premiere, this was my chance to see him for the first time, along with Samuel L Jackson, who also was not in attendance at Avengers, and Anthony Mackie who is having his first outing as Falcon.

Yes I was bloody well going. But then I got a new job, and as luck would have it, the induction training was during the same week as the premiere. Thankfully my new boss is lovely and allowed me to take the day off. Good job too because I then found out that not one, but two of my tumblr friends were going to be there! Having had two previously great experiences meeting tumblr people in real life, it just made me even more excited for the premiere.

On the morning of the premiere I decided to go with my contingency Natasha costume, which ironically, I don’t have a picture of me in, but it was a take on this:

I set off for London on the first train that didn’t cost a fortune, and after some delays caused by overcrowding, Blair and I arrived at around 11am. I immediately panicked as the pens already looked busy. I spoke with a security guard to find out the situation with wristbands and he informed me that each pen had a different colour, and so once you were in, you were in! I told him that we were meeting people and weren’t sure which pen they were in, as we hadn’t thought to exchange numbers beforehand.

He said there was plenty of room and we could wander around until we found them, which thanks to one of the girls dressing up as Black Widow (complete with Red wig), did not take long at all.

Once the initial greetings were done, we then began our 6 hour wait for the stars to arrive. Thankfully as there was so many of us, it meant we could go for walkabouts in turn, go to the toilet, get food etc, without worry that our places would be taken.

Blair and I also bumped into a friend we made at the Star Trek premiere so it was lovely to see him too and have a bit of a catch up.

The girls convinced me I should put on my catsuit, which I brought in case I suddenly felt brave, and so I went to get changed. Then at 3.30 there was the cosplay contest to win tickets to see the movie. As I had the catsuit on, I figured what the hell and entered the contest, even though I didn’t think I stood a cat in hell’s chance next to the Widow I was with and her much more accurate costume.

 

Me in my Widow costume with little Steve

Sadly, none of our group won tickets so we took our places for the warm up guy to do his bit, and then before we knew it the stars were coming out of the stage door designed to look like Cap’s shield. First out was Anthony Mackie looking very *ahem* excited, or like he was smuggling in a gaggle of snakes maybe?

Next were the directors Joe and Anthony Russo, then came Samuel L Jackson, who took a selfie with the crowd behind him:

The Winter Soldier himself, Sebastian Stan was up next, followed by Scarlett in a very pretty scarlet dress (good thing the carpet was blue)

and bringing up the rear was Cap Chris Evans…

There were other Avengers/Cap alumni also walking the red carpet, Hayley Atwell and Jenny Agutter, but they were not interviewed.

I actually had a mini conversation with Hayley after she signed my magazine and she came across as very gracious and down to earth whilst also being incredibly beautiful and much less buxom than she appears on screen. After so many premieres I really do believe the old adage that the camera adds 10lbs.

As if all that excitement wasn’t enough, after the premiere another tumblr friend came to see us! She travelled half way across London and probably for only 5 or 10 minutes with us. It was so nice to finally meet her after many misfired attempts, and she was just as lovely in person as she has always been via various message portals.

So to sum up…

I managed to get signatures from everyone mentioned above apart from Scarlett (although she did sign the item I was holding out for Blair - I just didn’t get her signature on anything of mine) and Samuel (although Blair did manage to get his signature on both something of mine and his magazine).

I must admit that I am thrilled with my signatures, not least Chris’ as it adds perfectly to my existing collection. If my nephews are reading this, you best not sell these when I die because it’s been a painstaking journey to collect them and I’m not done yet, I still have Scarlett, Jeremy and Mark to go (and Clark and Cobie would be nice but I shan’t quibble).

But it’s a collection I’m determined to complete. So here’s to the next premiere.

Before I sign off and tell you what I thought of Cap 2, here is me, in my contingency Widow outfit (leather jacket behind me) with my haul for the day

*additional pictures courtesy of Blair Holmes

Muppets Most Wanted

http://www.disney.co.uk/movies/muppets-most-wanted

After the success of The Muppets in 2011, it was inevitable that there would be a further outing for Kermit and the gang in the not-so-distant future. But I certainly wasn't expecting anything on the scale of Muppets Most Wanted.

First, we have an international setting that takes in several European cities as The Muppets go on a world tour. Second, we have a human villain AND a muppet villain, double the trouble, and all the fun of the villain taking on the guise of the main man muppet Kermit. Third, we have lots of celebrity guest stars to help the story along. Oh wait, that part's not new, but still, stars are stars.

It moves at a bit of a faster pace than the 2011 Muppet movie, and I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did. As with any Muppet movie they are best not taken too seriously, but if you sit back and just let the fun unfold you will have a great time. 

They take the time to introduce the new characters, whilst also giving the older characters plenty of room to manoeuvre, and even Walter from the 2011 movie makes several appearances. If you are a long time fan of the Muppets I don't even know why you're reading this, go and see it. If you're not, maybe wait for the DVD or if it's on TV, but then do give it a go, there's a lot worse you could see. 7 out of 10.

 

Viewing Date - 23rd March 2014

UK Release Date - 28th March 2014

Cast Overview:

Ricky Gervais ~ Dominic Badguy

Ty Burrell ~ Jean Pierre Napoleon

Tina Fey ~ Nadya

Hugh Bonneville ~ Irish Journalist

Rob Corddry ~ First AD

Mackenzie Crook ~ Prado Museum Guard 1

Celine Dion ~ Piggy's Fairy Godmother

Zach Galifianakis ~ Hobo Joe

Tom Hiddleston ~ The Great Escapo

Tom Holland ~ Theatre Manager

Toby Jones ~ Prado Museum Guard 2

Frank Langella ~ Beefeater Vicar

Ray Liotta ~ Big Papa

James McAvoy ~ UPS Guy

 Chloe Grace Moretz ~ Newspaper Girl

Miranda Richardson ~ Berliner at Window

Stanley Tucci ~ Ivan the Guard

Director ~ James Bobin

Writer(s) ~ James Bobin and Nicholas Stoller 

Based on Disney's Muppet Properties and Characters by Jim Henson 

Labor Day

Mini Review 

http://www.labordaymovie.co.uk/

I really didn't know what to expect from Labor Day from the trailer but I knew I wanted to see it. Thankfully, unlike a lot of other films lately that have only come out at independent cinemas (or the really big Cineworld in Crawley), Labor Day did come out at Cineworld in Brighton and so my friend and I went along to see what it really was all about.

The film opens on single mother Adele (Kate Winslet) and her son Henry (Gattlin Griffith). We soon learn that Henry's father Gerald (Clark Gregg) left Adele for his secretary, and immediately you get the feeling this was due to more than him not being able to remain faithful to his wife. It is intimated that Adele is suffering in some way, at first I thought from depression, but later you get the full story (which I won't go into as I feel it really should be seen). One day when Henry has managed to get his mother out of the house and to the supermarket, they happen upon Frank (Josh Brolin) who has recently escaped police custody after an operation. He convinces Adele to take him home with them and while at first Frank intends to leave the next morning, he ends up having to stay due to it being the Labor Day weekend, as he is unable to get out of town. As Adele and Henry get to know Frank, they see that first impressions do not always get to the heart of the matter, and in harboring a fugitive, they may actually save themselves.

I'm actually really sad that it has taken me a week to write this review because I believe that Labor Day has now finished in Brighton, and it is one of the best films I have seen so far this year.

Winslet and Brolin are superb and have such wonderful chemistry, but it's a combination of fantastic writing, spot on direction and cinematography, the acting and the pacing of the movie that make it so enjoyable and watchable. I suppose at heart it is a love story but it's not soppy in any way. You might also think that the likelihood of a woman like Adele falling for a convicted fellon over a weekend is rather dubious, but their relationship never feels rushed or unrealistic. The narration by the older Henry, played by Tobey Maguire, also adds a touch of familiarity and almost cocoons you into thinking everything will be alright. He has a nice voice which I never really noticed until now.

If Labor Day is still showing near you I really do urge you to see it. And if my review came too late I can only apologise that you'll have to wait for the DVD. It is so good though, I can only ask that you please do invest in that wait. 9.5 out of 10. 

Viewing Date - 22nd March 2014 

UK Release Date - 21st March 2014 

Cast Overview:

Adele ~ Kate Winslet

Frank ~ Josh Brolin

Henry ~ Gattlin Griffith

Adult Henry ~ Tobey Maguire

Young Frank ~ Tom Lipinski

Mandy ~ Maika Monroe

Gerald ~ Clark Gregg

Officer Treadwell ~ James Van Der Beek

Mr Jervis ~ J.K. Simmons

Evelyn ~ Brooke Smith

Director ~ Jason Reitman

Writer(s) ~ Jason Reitman (Screenplay) and Joyce Maynard (Novel)

Under The Skin

http://undertheskinmovie.com/

My first exposure to Under The Skin was when I saw a post from one of my friends on Tumblr who was very excited about the movie. She had read the book some years ago and forgotten the title, and then by chance discovered they'd made said book into a movie. I then read up on the film and read several glowing reviews, and I managed to convince my friend who, shall we say is less than keen on Scarlett Johansson, to come and watch it with me as it was only showing at the local independent cinema. 

The film opens on the creation of an eyeball (in case you saw the film and were wondering). The eyeball in question belongs to an alien who takes the form of Scarlett Johansson, although think Scarlett Johansson in the 80s with a dodgy hairdo rather than the blonde bombshell we've all come to recognise. The film is set in the present day so I'm not sure why she has such terrible hair other than maybe the production blew so much money on her fee that they could only afford a really crap wig off ebay to disguise their star? Anyway, the alien drives around Scotland in a transit van and talks men into having a lift, taking them back to her place and submerging them all in fluid that preserves them but doesn't kill them. What does she want with them? Is she eating them? Studying them? And who is the mysterious stranger on the motorbike?

Unless you have read the book (as my friend who's read the book tells me), you will not find out the answer to any of these questions. The film has received a lot of praise but it really did nothing for me. It thought it was being arty and cool but I just found it confusing and misleading, and if I'm honest, really really boring. So Scarlett Johansson takes her clothes off. Big whoop. The biggest revelation here was that *shock horror* she has a very normal body underneath her clothes, and she clearly has a supplier of very good underwear that minimises her rather big bottom and thighs and maximises her rather small bosom. And before anyone replies to my review and tells me "you're only jealous", allow me to say I'm not having a go at Ms Johansson, quite the opposite, it was refreshing to see a Hollywood star look like an average Jane. But if this was an entirely Scottish film, with a Scottish nobody in the lead role who was taking her clothes off, would anyone care? Would anyone have seen it? Would it have received rave reviews? I highly doubt it. Because yet again that proves that a Hollywood star taking her clothes off is more of a draw than a great story. Which the book of this may well be.

The movie did manage to achieve one thing, but in all honesty, just talking to my friend who has read the book probably would have done this just as well. It has made me want to read the book, just to find out if any of my questions above are actually answered. 

One final point. The music (by Mica Levi) was very atmospheric. It set a good tone. It's just a shame the movie didn't live up to that. 3 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 14th March 2014

UK Release Date - 14th March 2014

Cast Overview:

Scarlett Johansson

Director ~ Jonathan Glazer

Writer(s) ~ Walter Campbell (Screenplay), Michel Faber (Novel) and Jonathan Glazer