Andy Gapin

Captain America was never a superhero that interested me in the least. I don’t know why, I just never cared about him. Given that, I really had no burning desire to see this up until recently. The trailers actually made this movie look like it could be decent so I figured I’d give it a shot. I’m glad I did too because Captain America was solid.

Captain America is good a similar way that Iron Man is great. Everyone gets something, but without making a lot of sacrifices (not that I know much about the Captain America comics anyway). You get a half decent story, great effects, good action scenes, some eye candy, and characters you care about.

That being said, one of the best things about Captain America is something that you probably won’t even realize on your own (I hadn’t even really thought about it until Discover Blogs’ Malcolm MacIver pointed it out on his blog Science Not Fiction). The hero’s enhancement is different than in any other story. In Captain America, the enhancement comes from a deliberate experiment that goes exactly as planned with no negative side effects. In addition to that, the subject chose to be enhanced and made this choice for altruistic purposes. And lastly, the enhancement isn’t just a physical one, but also a moral enhancement. I’m not going to go further into this because you should read MacIver’s post about it, but after realizing this having this pointed out to me, the whole movie and story just feels better.

Up above, I compared Captain America: The First Avenger to Iron Man, but I wouldn’t go so far to say that it’s on that level or anything, but it’s not that far behind. Captain America is good comic book movie that does things right.

Rating: A

I’m going to make this a short review and not go into any depth…mainly because I just don’t feel like putting much effort into a post right now. Hey, at least I’m honest, right?

X-Men: First Class works. Well. X-Men is a series that has always had a lot of potential, a lot can be done with it. This movie shows the positive side of that very well. It’s just done right and stays accessible to non-comic book readers. There is a solid story line that gets us from point A to point B without a lot of extra fluff and we get a nice set up for a full trilogy of prequels that could lead right up to the start of the first X-Men movie. And most importantly, we get some nice character development. X-Men: First Class is energetic in all the right ways while still keeping a stronger focus on story and the connections between characters.

My fiancée who isn’t that into comic book movies and didn’t care to see this was surprised at how much she liked it. So yeah, check it out.

Rating: A-

Okay, so I saw The Green Hornet the other day. Pretty fun and entertaining. It was kind of exactly what you’d expect, but in a good way. It’s worth a viewing, but it’s nothing amazing either,  it’s really just fun times and an excuse to see some solid action without feeling like a douche.

Yeah, that’s all I’ve got to say really. I’m mostly just trying to get a post up on here so you guys don’t think I’ve abandoned this blog. I’ve got some stuff coming…maybe.

Now for the wait for the other Green <noun> movie.

Rating: C+

This is what a comic book movie should be. Scott Pilgram vs. The World is finally the movie that makes me feel like I should fix my childhood wrongs and start reading comics…all the time. And start playing video games. That too.

I really liked everything about this flick. The casting, style, visuals, music, everything. It was all awesome. The style seems unlike just about any other movie out there and I really liked it. The way the movie was put together really felt more like I was in a comic book or video game and instead of in a theater watching a movie. The mix of comic, video game, and cartoon elements with a little Kill Bill thrown in was perfect. Visually, the movie is just downright fun.

Even though the movie is almost 2 hours long, there is enough going on with solid pacing that you hardly notice how long it is. The well-roundedness of the film, covering story, humor, and action equally, helps a lot here. I was actually a little sad when it ended, I could have gone for more.

I don’t really get the whole anti-Michael Cera thing that’s been going around lately, but I thought he worked great for a character in a movie adaptation of a comic book series that I had never heard of before a few months ago. And I enjoyed Aubrey Plaza as pretty much the same character she plays in Parks and Recreation.

Simply put, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was everything I loved in my childhood wrapped up in a package for my age. I would like to see this again soon.

Rating: A+

Kick-Ass wasn’t exactly what I was expecting it to be. I went into the theater thinking that Kick-Ass was going to be a comedy first and comic book movie second, but it was really quite the opposite. While quite funny and ridiculous, Kick-Ass is definitely a comic book movie from start to finish. It’s a bit of a different kind of comic book movie, but I didn’t feel like it was that entirely dissimilar to Spider-Man, in theory.

Kick-Ass definitely lives up to its title. Well, Kick-Ass himself doesn’t, but the movie does. The flick is pretty brutal with tons of over the top action that’s more than enough for any action buff to get behind, but done just right so that even those who aren’t into action movies can enjoy it all. The pacing is pretty excellent and keeps the movie from losing any steam in the second half. The fights are awesome and there’s serious ass kicking going on all over place, mostly coming from a murderous 11 year old girl that isn’t phased in the least by any of the insane carnage that she dishes out onto people. It’s the kind of thing that may not make parents too happy, but it is rated R so they’ve been warned.

It’s a great role for Nicolas Cage who, according to IMDB, has four movies coming out this year (WTF?!), but I could have definitely used a little more McLovin’–unfortunately, for that kid, I think most of America refuses to call him anything else, ever.

The deal is, if you like comic book movies, you’re going to have to go see this…soon.

Rating: A

This one comes from Mitch Clem, the creator of the Nothing Nice To Say and My Stupid Life comic strips. It’s the same shirt that one of his characters wears. I really love it. It just works on so many levels for me. For a long time in high school and college, a lot of people used to openly take note of how I was one of those guys who always wore band t-shirts and hardly anything else. I don’t have too many band shirts left anymore, but this feels like a throwback to those times. That and anyone who recognizes it from Nothing Nice To Say is definitely going to earn some points in my book.

Anyway, head on over to www.mitchclem.com and check out his comics. I think I’ve posted before about how sometimes it feels like My Stupid Life is about my own life and Nothing Nice To Say has a few strips about Jawbreaker that are responsible for getting me hooked on both comics.

I’d like to take a minute and appreciate Mitch Clem. I don’t personally know him, but he runs the website mitchclem.com (fitting, right?) which pretty much makes my day on a daily basis Monday through Friday.

His site consists of two comic strips. One is called My Stupid Life and the other is Nothing Nice To Say. Nothing Nice To Say is pretty much a commentary on punk rock and the music scene that uses all of the bands we know and love, both new and old, in to crack jokes. Sadly, it’s currently on hiatus, but there are some gems in the archive…

Frosted Blakes – One of my favorites since given the chance, I would have the straightest gay sex ever with Blake Schwarzenbach (Jawbreaker, Jets To Brazil).
Hardcore Foods – Can you really say that you’ve never had a conversation with a friend parodying band names to fit a certain topic?
Blake Schwarzenbach – Yeah, I’m sorry. I’m obsessed, but I’m pretty sure I’m guilty of doing this to everyone I know.

My Stupid Life seems to be more of an autobiographical strip that is essentially the Seinfeld of comic strips. Ranging from mustache racism to unnecessary hockey heckling to attempted threesomes, the strip hits all aspects of normal, daily life for a twenty-something American.

Check it out!