*The Genre-Film & TV Corner*

[Shawn]

Since the other film corner stays firmly rooted in foreign language and "art house" style films, I thought it would be nice to have a place where we could discuss FUN stuff!

Captain America: The First Avenger.

Went and saw this movie today (in 3-D) and I gotta say I was more than pleasantly surprised, I had a great time! I'm not the biggest fan of comic book movies and I've been rather nonplussed by several of the recent entries...but this film was the exception. I think it was the best since the first Iron Man movie.

Having an interesting story, good actors and solid direction definitely helped it along. There was a nice mix of physical effects in addition to CGI (which was realistically handled) and the 3-D effects were used to create depth of field not just to hurl things at you.

I think Evans did a superb job in the title role and gave the character life, not just put on the costume and voila, he's a superhero. The WWII setting was handled beautifully, I especially liked the "buy war bond" montage. Stanley Tucci was also a joy in his small but pivotal role.

This film helps to make up for a truly lackluster summer that has kept me "out" of the theater due to poorly handled yet heavily promoted garbage.

The "genre film junkie" gives this one a solid 3 stars out of 4.

Edited July 25, 2011 by Shawn

[BillF]

All contributions welcome in The Film Corner! Let's keep it all together!

[Shawn]

I disagree, going through page after page after page of foreign films that I will never see just to find a film to discuss gets irritating. Thus, a thread for what does interest me.

[jazzbo]

I'm with you pal. Very little talk of current American films there. Hope you're doing well.

I'm going to see Cap tonight with David Mascorro, "the amazing sixty-teen year old!"

[king ubu]

Hey, us weirdos actually watch all these arthouse films because they're fun for us

Either way, to me it's all welcome, but if you're more comfortable in a separate thread, that's of course fine, too!

[Shawn]

I guess part of the reason is that movies classified as "genre films" (comedies, fantasy, sci-fi, horror) are always viewed as being "lower entertainment" and are never taken seriously by critics, the Academy, etc.

I've always found that to be completely moronic, it takes just as much talent to make a really successful horror film as it does to make a 5-hanky weeper.

I remember being furious about critics and their "star" rating system. A movie like "My Left Foot" would get a 5-star review...while a sci-fi film usually maxed out at "3-stars", because the subject wasn't "worthy" of getting the highest rating.

Crap I say!

Edited July 25, 2011 by Shawn

[king ubu]

Yeah, that's silly indeed!

I love a good comedy... but of course - as you were expecting, I guess - I'm drawn mostly to great old screwball comedies... "Ball of Fire", "The Lady Eve"...

[Shawn]

Me too, I love classic Hollywood, but I also enjoy many current comedies as well. The younger group of filmmakers in Apatow's galaxy are making some REALLY funny movies. (The Hangover, Bridesmaids, Zombieland, Get Him To The Greek, etc)

I'm looking forward to "30 Minutes or Less" and "50/50" which are coming out soon.

[king ubu]

Bridesmaids just started here... but there's so much old stuff in the cinemathèque... that's the thing: you got to make picks, select, and live without seing all you'd like. And with me, most often I got and watch the old films...

[Shawn]

Here is the trailer for 50/50, this one looks quite good.

[jazzbo]

And me most often I skip the old films. Don't do the same for me as it seems they do for others.

Saw Captain America tonight. Thought it was great! I loved the unheralded appearance of Dum Dum Dugan, Frenchie and the rest of the Howling Commandos (including Derek Luke as a young Sgt. Fury?) and I loved that there was the Cosmic Cube, right there in the first part. Great cinematography! It was great fun. Saw it in 2D. Will probably see it again, in 3D, soon with my friend Dave.

That car! And Cap's motorcycle was pretty cool. The Hydra motorcycles didn't look German though. Wish they looked more "Bavarian."

Edited July 26, 2011 by jazzbo

[Shawn]

Glad you liked it! I thought Evans was great, he's really grown as an actor. I also liked the way they handled the CGI, it was done to enhance the story...not replace it. That's a good thing in this day and age.

Did you stick around for the Avengers preview after the credits?

[jazzbo]

I agree, Evans did very well. He's more versatile than I thought.

The CGI was well done. I also liked how they incorporated the tradition of the character with the early shield, and yet update the image plausibly. And looks as if The Avengers is going to be more interesting than I thought.

[thedwork]

Here is the trailer for 50/50, this one looks quite good.

thanks for the heads-up. hadn't seen that one yet will definitely check that out in the theaters when i get the chance.

gordon-levitt has been doing consistently great work for quite a while now. pretty amazing track record so far for such a young guy. this one that's hopefully out soon also looks really interesting (may take a minute to load, but definitely watch the 1st trailer from the top o' the page):

Hesher

[Shawn]

I'm looking forward to seeing Hesher, I saw the previews prior to SXSW but didn't get a chance to go.

[.:.impossible]

Good grief. Hesher looks like awesome.

[BruceH]

I was initially going to skip "Captain America" but with all the good reviews it's been getting, I'll most likely see it during the next week or two.

[Shawn]

I cannot wait for this one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu16L7IfKT4&

[thedwork]

saw this tonight:

knowing ahead of time that it was going to be pretty formulaic stuff, i went expecting a good time at the movies because the cast was so good. really wanted to like it, but i didn't care for it. thought it was essentially a mess (didn't need to be...) w/ a few fun scenes. gosling, as usual, stole the show. tremendous actor. everyone else was good as well, but the performances couldn't pull it out imo.

i believe i'm in the minority on this one. oh well...

[Shawn]

thanks for the review. I'll probably wait till that hits DVD before I get around to it, but I like the cast (Gosling and Emma Stone especially) so I'm sure I'll watch it eventually.

[jazzbo]

Going to see Rise of the Planet Apes with the three Laczko brothers (all big fans of the series) and Nadine today, and probably Stupid Crazy Love with Nadine tomorrow. Should be fun.

[BruceH]

Last weekend saw "Captain America" with my wife and younger son. Very fun. Good casting, with some real care being put into it, like the first two Spiderman films in that respect, or the first Iron Man. The music seemed a little off, somehow, but that's a minor quibble.

[Shawn]

Last weekend saw "Captain America" with my wife and younger son. Very fun. Good casting, with some real care being put into it, like the first two Spiderman films in that respect, or the first Iron Man. The music seemed a little off, somehow, but that's a minor quibble.

There was some "economy" used in the storytelling for a change. They didn't beat you over the head with exposition, instead they respected the intelligence of the audience. That by itself is very refreshing in a big budget flick like that.

I think the Spiderman flicks worked because Raimi loved the material and it shows.

[jazzbo]

Saw the ultimate Harry Potter yesterday. Didn't do much for me, but I'm not a Potterite.

[Shawn]

Excellent cast in this upcoming Paul Rudd movie "Our Idiot Brother" (Emily Mortimer, Zooey Deschanel and Elizabeth Banks). Should be fun with this bunch in front of the camera.