Movie Review: Captain America

In a summer of superhero movies, Captain America stands out from the rest.

The latest and last of the Marvel superhero movies before next years widely anticipated The Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger scored where it counts most, story! Just as in X-Men: First Class and 2009’s The Dark Knight, it’s film about character that just so happens to have superheroes in it. To me this is where the real magic of comic book movies comes from. A story about people, about feelings and thoughts that one can relate to, and then throw in a dash of that comic book action; I’m sold.

Chris Evans clearly stepped out of the shadow or light, I should say, of Johnny Storm’s flame and right into the red, white, and blue of the comic book powerhouse. A solid performance coupled with seamless special effects brought to life the ninety-pound Steve Rogers who is ready to fight during WWII, but is kept out of the Army by his ailments. Eventually, Steve meets Dr. Abraham Erskine, a scientist working on the super soldier serum portrayed by a whimsical Stanley Tucci and is given the opportunity to join the military. While in boot camp, Rogers is chosen to be part of the super soldier project. Evans’ transition from zero to America’s greatest hero is as seamless as the effects.

Hayley Atwell steps into the role of Peggy Carter, an agent and Cap’s love interest. A crucial character to the story and one that was quaint, but ultimately forgettable. Atwell’s acting was serviceable, but the role needed to be fleshed out a bit more. The same can be said for The Red Skull, portrayed by Hugo Weaving; an actor of his caliber seemed wasted on a very two-dimensional villain. This took nothing away from the film, as the initial role of The Red Skull in the old comics was to be a straightforward force of evil. Unfortunately, it just left a powerhouse like Weaving helpless to give anything more under the very accurate if not over-done make-up.

Tommy Lee Jones stole the show as Colonel Philips. He was given the bulk of the humorous one-liners and he relayed them with ease and vigor, chewing up the scenery just about every time he was on screen. A notable feat in a massive effects film. Another notable, performance that stood out was that of Sebastion Shaw as Bucky, he brought dimension and heart to film that had plenty. Dominic Cooper was spot-on as Howard Stark and left me chomping at the bits for the inevitable conversation where Steve Rogers tells Tony Stark how he knew the elder Stark.

What was caught my attention about the look and style of this film was that it didn’t catch my attention. Each frame seemed to live in this older world, like an old photograph, which added to the character of the film. For most of the first half I felt like I was watching a movie from that era with the lighting, the colors, and the cheesecloth look. Then a motorcycle would fly across the screen, one that would be considered futuristic by today’s standards, and remind me this is a summer superhero flick. But even then the look of the forest, the soldiers running around, the dirt flying up in the air felt as if it was a place you would actually get dirty.

Reminiscent of the nineteen-forties serials with Flash Gordon, or my generation’s version, the Indiana Jones series, this film was everything you could want in a summer tent pole movie. More than that, it had what it takes to be considered a film well done. With a different look than earlier hero flicks like X-Men and The Green Lantern, it loses some of the shine, but none of the luster.

By Les Brown

Movie Review: Don't You Forget About Me

Don’t You Forget About Me is a documentary film about the writer/director John Hughes and the movies that he made in the eighties and nineties. It was written, produced, and directed by a group of young filmmakers that were deeply influenced by the films of John Hughes. Initially they wanted to make a feature length movie about some film students that were going to make a documentary about John Hughes; eventually they decided that they should just make the documentary themselves.

This movie was less documentary and more self-proclaimed love letter to the legendary John Hughes.  It starts with several voice-overs of interviewees speaking about the great filmmaker, John Hughes. This set up a tone, that carries through first part of the film, that we are truly about to explore depths of Mr. Hughes’ work and uncover the truth of why he left Hollywood and where he was now. However, it did not turn out to be the case. Instead, the film seemed to wander through several points from: discussing how the films of John Hughes couldn’t get made in today’s Hollywood, to boring, to what it was like to be a teen star in the eighties where girls like Molly Ringwald and Mary Stuart Masterson rose to fame. Which is noted to be quite the opposite of the perfect face and body of teen stars on the screen today. This was reflected in the interviews with teenagers from today’s era feel that they can’t find characters they can truly relate to on the screen. At least not like the characters in Hughes’ movies.

Quickly we see the makers of the documentary, and their quest to Illinois in hopes of an interview with the elusive John Hughes, become the subject of the film. So, we end up with several scenes of the filmmakers themselves talking about how much they adore the man and his movies. Which I believe most of us can agree with, but this is better exemplified in the interviews of more established filmmakers. Like the interview with Kevin Smith where we can see, in the films that he made, just how John Hughes influenced him.

The film never seems to answer the question proposed in the beginning. Why did John Hughes leave Hollywood and stop making movies? Was it because he was fed up with Hollywood machine and wanted to have freedom to make films the way he wanted? Could be likely.  Sadly, most of us might never know. On August 6^th 2009, John Hughes died from a heart attack. He had been, and will be, missed.

Don’t You Forget About Me barely scratched the surface on the questions we all have about the why John Hughes stopped making movies. However, it was a great look back at the films that have inspired generation after generation. For that alone it was worth the watch. And, there were some fascinating interviews with several actors and filmmakers that either worked with Mr. Hughes or were deeply inspired and influenced by the man who brought to the screen such classics as: Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, The Breakfast Club, and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. 


By Les Brown

The Rule of Twenty

A long time ago I learned about “the rule of twenty”, the notion that films and stories are heavily influenced by events from twenty years prior. When I was young, we revered the radical hippy movement and sexual revolution of the 60’s and 70’s. Our parents, the Baby-Boomers, were inspired by the greatest generation coming out of WWII. All this lends itself to the idea that the generation before their own was the best. It seems odd that we tend to believe that it was better in a time that we have little to no reference, but it is quite evident in all of contemporary media. Members Only jackets, sweaters with wide open necks so that one shoulder is revealed, and aviator sunglasses are as prevalent, if not more so, than when all were popular in the 80’s; a time that was thought of as a crass and ridiculously styled era as little as ten years ago. Now the 80’s are back, but not for long. The signs are already on the wall. With the economic struggles of the times, glam and money flaunting hip hop is beginning to fade all over again and a new generation of flannel wearing, grunge loving hippies are about to dot the landscape once again. What of the next twenty years? With the over abundance of remakes and sequels being made these days, as well as all the best selling books being adapted for stage and screen, what kind of media landscape can we expect? Will there be the re-boot of the remake of the prequel to Jaws? Or will new advances in technology allow us to find new ways to express ourselves creatively and expand on philosophies? Only time will tell, but I have to say I prefer the latter.

-Les Brown