Captain America : Civil War

Why I'm watching
Marvel’s been knocking these out of the park. The first Captain America was alright I guess (Hugo Weaving was massively underused) but Captain America: Winter Soldier was great (and not just great for a superhero movie).

Where I watched the movie
Local theater with just Alan (usually we do these superhero movies with a big group…)

Expectations
Something along the lines of Captain America: Winter Soldier in plot and feel, but with all the A
vengers getting cranky at each other and failing to communicate. I won’t lie, I’m expecting the infighting to be annoying (come on guys, just sit down and talk it out, it’s all a misunderstanding)

So how was it?

Uhhhh…. Really good. Really, really good. I don’t know how they got that many characters together (including two entirely new introductions) and built that complex of a plot without getting confusing, convoluted, bloated, or boring. Are you taking notes, DC? Because the latest Superman reboot managed all four and an insanely bland story.

There’s a lot going on in this one, but the central issue is (I’m not kidding) paperwork. After the disaster in Sokovia, the UN wants control over the Avengers, and the Avengers initially take sides over signing a treaty -- Iron Man is for, Captain America against. The actual “civil war” comes when a bomb goes off and Bucky Barnes (Rogers’ old frenemy, the Winter Soldier) is implicated.

And guess what? It wasn’t all just a misunderstanding. There’s lots of people feeling all sorts of feels, having all sorts of opinions and perspectives, and no one is entirely wrong. (Okay, well, in terms of priorities, Cap’s team is right to go after the bad guy that Stark’s team doesn’t quite know about; there could have been better communication there).

Best villain yet, I think.

Recommendation
Oh, just go see it.

Feels
It had exciting action scenes and a reasonable amount of humor (much less than the Avengers movies) -- but you’re gonna feel some feels. Lots of good people hurting each other because they’re doing what they believe is right. While it avoids pointless grittiness, this isn’t a lighthearted superhero movie.

Favorites
It’s all about the pacing. We get action scenes that are dynamic and interesting (and don’t drag on as characters repetitively bash each other into buildings), slower scenes with some humor (that’s actually funny and appropriate to the situation), glimpses of humanity (without bleeding hearts and dramatic speeches), side characters who actually matter (and aren’t just plot devices)... basically my favorite part is the whole movie.

Part of that good pacing includes just chucking two new superheros into the mix with minimal backstory (especially Spiderman, oh god) or explanation of powers (still not 100% on what Black Panther is or how he does what he does).

Okay, I lied: my favorite part is the central fight, team Cap vs. team Stark -- more specifically, the constant undertone of "Imma beat your face in, but we’re still cool, right? Right."

Least favorites
There were a few things I was iffy about, but ultimately liked. Black Panther’s character was a little weird for the first, oh, third of the movie, because I didn’t have context for him -- but in the end, I love the way they did it.

So what did I really think?

Click "read more"... massive spoilers ahead!

Deadpool // Ryan Reynolds

Why I'm reading
All the marketing looks hilarious (and c’mon, it’s Deadpool.)

Where I watched the movie
Local theater with Alan again.

Expectations
It’s Marvel, so I wasn’t too afraid of a trainwreck. But Deadpool’s humor is easy to mess up -- either too PG, or relying too much on violence/swearing/sex instead of actually being funny.

So how was it?

Fantastic! Once again, excellent pacing. The whole thing was framed with a narrative, allowing Deadpool to break the 4th wall with impunity (as he should). It starts with an action sequence, then a narrated flashback to Deadpool’s origin story and (I kid you not) surprisingly romantic and fun meetcute with his (prostitute?) girlfriend. Eventually it picks back up after the first scene, and Deadpool meets up with some B-grade X-Men to track down the guy who turned him ugly.

The jokes are spot-on Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds was born the play Deadpool. He’s rude and random and weird and has zero filter -- but without trying to impress us with how rude-random-weird he his (no sporks or penguins, promise).

And yes, there’s a romantic subplot. I don’t hate it. They meet, they make stupid sex jokes, they have hilariously inventive sex, he goes AWOL and gets turned into an avocado-testicle-hybrid, they eventually get back together. The actual relationship part is fairly normal and low-key.

Recommendation
Not for the light-hearted when it comes to sex, violence, and language. NOT a kid’s movie.

Feels
Like a comic book!!!

Favorites
I can’t choose one thing. The sex scenes? His old lady roommate? All the viral marketing?

I guess what really made this movie for me was (I can’t believe I’m saying this) the humanity. Reynolds is playing an irreverent and violent character, but he does occasionally pause to feel some feels; they’re surprisingly normal feels (I love you, I have cancer, I’m ugly now) and he doesn’t overdo it.

Least favorites
I expected to hate Negasonic Teenage Warhead, but her lines were consistently funny and she hit ‘third generation disaffected teenage X-Man’ spot-on.

I didn’t love the CGI on Colossus.

I hated the fight scenes between Colossus and Angel Dust. Don’t get me wrong, she was a great character -- good to have more female roles/superheros/villains, and they didn’t try to jam a backstory into every single character -- but she was way overpowered. Super strength does not mean super invulnerability… and invulnerability is supposed to be Colossus’s thing. If Colossus was just some random other superhero, it would’ve been fine, but… dude, Colossus.
Yes I totally put a romantic comedy tag on this.

Ant-man // Paul Rudd {Movie}

With more actual ants than anticipated!

Why I'm watching
We were bored, full of burritos, and didn’t feel like going home yet.

Where I watched the movie
Local cinema.

Expectations
Another fairly good Marvel movie. Didn't seem quite as good, but reviews have been positive, so I had no idea what to expect.

So how was it?

Your typical divorced, down-on-his-luck, great-dad-trying-his-best character -- in this case, a cat burglar trying to find gainful employment -- bumbles his way into superhero powers. He then faces down your typical bald, egomaniacal, high-threadcount nemesis, helped by your typical grumpy-but-moral washed-out old scientist guy, and your typical badass hot woman who resents him for most of the movie, then kisses him.

Now with more ants!

It’s definitely worth a watch, and the story is fun, but don’t expect anything on the level of the main Avengers movies (Avengers, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc.)

Recommendation
Fans of more comedic comic book movies; for some reason, this felt 90s to me, or like a Jim Carrey movie.

Feels
Fun, funny, family friendly.

Favorites
It might be by-the-book, but oh my god this movie got the comedy right. The fight scenes manage to be both awesome and completely ridiculous. See this for the fight scenes if nothing else -- no, actually, see this for the sidekicks if nothing else. His friends provide a constant background of hilarity, and it actually works with the story (rather than being obnoxious “comic relief”).

Least favorites
Maybe it’s just me -- I’ve been noticing this with a lot of movies recently -- but it felt extremely heavy-handed. We don’t need six conversations, several longing looks, and a close-up on the hero writing out his own motivation in a notebook (“when I get to see Daughter”) to understand that he loves his daughter and needs money to support her. But, whatever, the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously for this to really put me off.

There's some great casting on certain characters, but on the other hand, other actors just dragged everything down. The villain was good, but either the actor or the script (or the director) overdid it. But the worst was Michael Douglas; he was just completely out of place. I don't know what went wrong there, but he was not good.

So what did I really think?

Click "read more"... massive spoilers ahead!