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Captain America: The First Avenger|Movie Review

Mark Rosario — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:08:42 +0000

Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled when it was first announced that Chris Evans will be taking the role of Captain America. I thought he was too young for the role plus I’m used to seeing him play less serious characters (case in point – Johnny Storm). To add to that, I wasn’t much of a fan of the costume either when the concept art first leaked on the web. Came San Diego Comic Con 2010, Robert Downey Jr. made a historic moment when he introduced the entire cast of the Avengers for the 2012 movie. I was happy, yes. But still – my mind couldn’t see Chris Evans wearing the iconic stars and stripes.

I finally got to see Captain America: The First Avenger last week, mostly just to connect the puzzle pieces that lead to the upcoming Avengers.

And man! I was totally blown away! I’d say I enjoyed every minute of it. I loved the story, I loved the tone of the film plus I loved Chris Evans’ performance. The guy makes a convincing Cap. He looks and acts the part. Believe me. This is a different Chris Evans. I entirely forgot about the Human Torch as I watched the film. And I totally felt like a kid again each time he threw his mighty shield. In short, he proved my doubts wrong.

Not only that, his performance as a bullied weakling was also praiseworthy. He handled the role of pre-serum Steve Rogers quite well. I actually loved the way they explored the character first before turning him into a super soldier.

I also loved the way they injected the moral of the story. It’s unmistakably there but it never feels too preachy. I totally liked the part when Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanely Tucci) was dying (not that I liked dying doctors, mind you) and he was simply pointing his finger on Steve Roger’s chest. That was enough for me. Making him say his “huling habilin” would’ve been too cheesy. I’m glad they went wordless for that part.

Another part I loved was when Bucky (Sebastian Stan) had the chance to use Cap’s shield at one point. That scene may not be noteworthy for the casual movie goer but followers of the comic book can best appreciate that. Bucky was once a Captain America replacement!

Other favorite moments include seeing the cover of Captain America #1, the pocket watch scene, the USO costume, “I think it works,” “I’m not kissing you” and of course, Stan Lee’s hilarious cameo.

If I had to complain about something though, it had to be that, Marvel showed too much on the previews and trailers – again. I really believe the “grenade” scene would’ve been more memorable and much more heroic if I saw it for the first time on the theater rather than on YouTube. It really takes away something from the experience.

Also, I thought the final fight scene with Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) was a bit too short – like Thor’s battle with Loki or Iron Man and War Machine’s clash with Whiplash… What’s up with that, Marvel? Seriously.

As a whole, I’d still say Captain America: The First Avenger is one entertaining movie. It made me excited for Avengers and I honestly wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel either.

What do you think about the movie? Leave a comment below and let’s talk!

Amazing Spider-Man Trailer Hits the Web

Mark Rosario — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:07:31 +0000

Pun intended, you bet!

Anyway, being a Spider fan, I really couldn’t resist the temptation to write something about this: the first Amazing Spider-Man trailer for the upcoming Marc Webb-directed reboot. Andrew Garfield stars as Spider-Man while Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy.

As most of you have surely noticed (like anyone could miss it), this is a darker take (read: Nolanish) to our favorite Web Slinger’s tale and I don’t know. It somehow feels wrong. It seems to gloomy for a supposedly wise-cracking superhero. Plus I’d admit outright that I’m not a fan of the costume.

Here are a few screen caps:

Plus the link to the video: Amazing Spider-Man Trailer

I really have mixed feelings about this. But still, I’m willing to give Amazing Spider-Man a chance. I still want to check out more about the film. If there’s one thing I learned in life, its that “You cant judge a movie by its trailer – or by its costume!”

Captain Jack Is Back!

Mark Rosario — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 06:51:38 +0000

Everyone’s favorite pirate sails back into action with the release of Pirates Of The Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides. Johnny Depp returns to the role of Captain Jack Sparrow and this time, stars along with Penelope Cruz (who plays Angelica, Captain Jack’s love interest) and Ian McShane (Blackbeard – Angelica’s father).

I really can’t wait for the film! I’m a fan of the franchise and I even cosplayed as Jack Sparrow once just for fun.

Anyway, Pirates Of The Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides hits the screens on May 20, 2011 and here goes some official movie images for everyone to enjoy in the mean time…

Captain Jack Sparrow and more of his crazy antics, I suspect.

Capt. Jack (Johnny Depp) and Angelica (Penelope Cruz)

This time with Blackbeard (Ian McShane).

Getting arrested – as usual!

Avengers Assembled

Mark Rosario — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 05:55:46 +0000

I guess many would agree when I say the main highlight of the recently concluded San Diego Comic-Con is the cast announcement for Marvel‘s highly-anticipated Avengers movie.

Fanboys and fangirls all over the world delighted when Nick Fury himself (that’s Samuel L. Jackson, in case you were just born yesterday) introduced the team and was accompanied by Robert Downey Jr a little later.

Man! Robert IS definitely Tony Stark. He doesn’t need to act at all to make you think that. Its always been a challenge for me to separate the actor and the character really. They’re just too much alike, if you know what I mean! Haha!

Anyway, this marks the first time the Avengers cast had their photo taken. Now lets all dream and look forward to the day when we finally see them wear their costumes together.

Robert Downey Jr is Tony Stark/ Iron Man, Clark Gregg is SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson, Scarlett Johansson is Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth is Thor, Chris Evans is Steve Rogers/Captain America, Sam Jackson is Nick Fury, Jeremy Renner is Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Mark Ruffalo is Bruce Banner/Hulk and Joss Whedon, the Avengers director.

Image grabbed from MTV Splash Page.

Thor’s Helmet – Finally!

Mark Rosario — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 03:09:03 +0000

You’ve waited long for it and now you have it – the actual Thor helmet (far right) to be worn by Chris Hemworth for the 2011 movie!

What sayest thou?

Image taken from Marvel.com.

Exclusive SDCC Cap And Thor Concept Art Posters

Mark Rosario — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:06:24 +0000

Today, Yahoo just gave us a peek at two Marvel concept art posters which will be exclusively distributed during the SDCC (or, for the uninitiated, the San Diego Comic-Con – the grand mecca for all comicbook geeks worldwide).

The first poster shows Captain America in the middle of a war while we see Thor and Loki battle it out on the second one.

As we all know, these are two upcoming movies from Marvel and while the films are still a year away (Captain America will be on 22 July 2011 while Thor comes earlier on 20 May 2011), its nice to see these images for a few reasons. First, it verifies that the heavily-circulated Cap concept art indeed comes from reliable “sources” (although this SDCC poster shows us the costume isn’t as skin tight) and second, it gives us a closer look at Loki wearing his trademark ridiculous helmet.

Check out the posters below. Then click it if you want it enlarged so you can view it closer. Then use it as a wallpaper. Or print it!

Gatchaman Teaser Trailer

Mark Rosario — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:31:16 +0000

I grew up watching the animated G-Force: Guardians of Space way back the 80′s so I’m just all awed to catch a teaser trailer for an upcoming Gatchaman film from Imagi Studios – the same one that brought us the recent Astro Boy movie, yes.

The video shows the team battling a giant mantis robot and this is really exciting for me. I’m just glad the characters look very close to the way I remember them on the TV show.

This Gatchaman CGI movie doesn’t hit theaters worldwide until 2011 and so let’s all just take a look at a few screen shots as of the moment!

Here’s Ace Goodheart (Eagle):

Dirk Daring (Condor)

Agatha June (Swan)

Pee Wee (Swallow)

… And finally, we have Hooty (Owl)!

Can’t get enough of that? Click the link then and head over to YouTube to catch these five teenage champions in action!

G-Force: Guardians of Space

Captain America: The First Avenger

Mark Rosario — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 01:34:13 +0000

I’m sure you’ve already seen it by now. I’m talking about the heavily-blogged about concept art for the upcoming superhero flick Captain America: The First Avenger.

Fans reaction to it were mixed, although generally positive. Some fanboys say they like the retro-vibe while there are also those who observed that the costume looked too modern for a World War II battlesuit. Some missed the little wings and the scales!

Either way, its exciting that the movie is finally on a roll and the next best thing perhaps would be to see another preview of Chris Evans wearing the actual costume.

With that in mind, lets take a brief moment and compare one of those concept artworks with this photo-manipulated image of Chris Evans as Captain America we’ve seen online a few months back.

While there are notable differences, the similarity of the over-all idea is still so striking you cant help but suspect this is more than just a “fan made” image.

Anyhoo, Captain America: The First Avenger hits the theaters come July 22, 2011, starring Chris Evans and will be directed by Joe Johnston.

Lets keep our eyes peeled for that and lets expect more previews from Marvel in the near future!

Iron Man 2 Movie Review

Mark Rosario — Wed, 05 May 2010 23:46:08 +0000

Just finished watching Iron Man 2 with my friends days ago. Naturally, I tried to avoid each and every review I saw online so as to prevent that from me enjoying the movie totally. I don’t like spoilers (who does?) since I believe it takes away something from the entire experience.

So far, I’ve been successful at avoiding reviews and spoilers but while watching Iron Man 2, I felt like there were too few surprises for me to expect anyway. I think Marvel showed too much previews! Several scenes became too easy to predict because of it. For example, I realized the suitcase scene would’ve been more awesome if it was my first time to see that while watching. Please don’t feed us too much next time, Marvel, I beg you!

Now let me write this entry and play the part of the spoiler! Hahah!.. First off, I think Scarlett Johansson surprised me the most. She makes a compelling Black Widow. I’ll admit I initially had hesitations and thought she looked too cutie-cutie for a super spy role but she did prove me wrong. She’s really more than just a pretty face – she’s got the moves and she gets the job done! Those few minutes of stunts were really a show stopper!

As for Don Cheadle donning the War Machine armor (a little pun intended there), I think he did well. I almost didn’t miss Terence Howard. If there’s one thing he lacked, I’d say its the super hero physique. He looked a little too frail for a superhero, don’t you think?

Mickey Rourke as an actor sure fits the role as Whiplash. As a character, he was convincingly creepy. The end was disappointing for me though. I’ve always been afraid he’d be a lame villain ever since I saw his first pictures as Whiplash and my suspicions were confirmed.

Although he had his own Whiplash armor (which looked nothing like the supposed hint from a recent Iron Man Vs. Whiplash comicbook), he was too easily defeated and that didn’t sit well with me. Think about it. Videogame big bosses are supposed to be the hardest to beat but Iron man and War Machine took him down almost effortlessly. It looked like Tony and Rhodey had a harder time with the drones. Whiplash seemed deadlier during the racetrack scene even when he was armor-less at the time and was only wearing his infamous orange pants.

Now I don’t know if I still need to say anything about Robert Downey Jr. He IS Iron Man. Fact is, Its almost always impossible for me to separate him and the Tony Stark persona. He’s so natural and doesn’t seem like acting at all. Watch any Downey interview and compare that to his on-screen role and there’s almost no difference. He’s really that impressive!

Jon Favreau‘s role as Happy Hogan is also worth-mentioning. I loved it when he “slipped” plus his “I got him” line.

And oh! Captain America’s shield makes a brief appearance once more in the movie. I think I died laughing with what Tony used it for. Man, the upcoming Avengers film will really be hilarious with Tony around.

Now I patiently hung around for the after-credits and – woohoo! – it was totally worth the wait! That New Mexico scene was totally thrilling and seeing Mjolnir gave me geeky goosebumps I couldn’t refrain myself from clapping out of sheer fanboy excitement!

Catch Iron Man 2 now if you still haven’t done that. You wouldn’t want to miss the fun. Still I won’t say that this one is better than the first Iron Man film.

Chris Evans Will Wield The Shield

Mark Rosario — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:44:23 +0000

Who would have guessed that Chris Evans – the same actor who played Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies – would eventually get to wear the star-spangled costume?

Not me, for sure! I admittedly didn’t see this coming. He looks young and skinny to be a super solider!

Anyway, Chris definitely needs some serious work out if he wants to become a convincing Captain America. Hope he pulls it off and does a great job for the role. Not all actors get the chance to play superhero and represent America at the same time anyway

Reactions, anyone?

*image taken from ComicsAlliance.com