New Concept Art from “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
In Theaters and 3D April 4, 2014
Marvel Phase Two and Beyond Sneak Peek
“Iron Man 3” In Theaters, 3D, and IMAX 3D May 3, 2013
“Thor: The Dark World” In Theaters and 3D November 8, 2013
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” In Theaters and 3D April 4, 2014
“Guardians of the Galaxy” In Theaters August 1, 2014
“The Avengers 2” In Theaters May 1, 2015
“Ant-Man” In Theaters November 6, 2015
Django Unchained
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonard DiCapprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Kerry Washington, Jonah Hill
Directed by Quentin Taratino
Run Time: 165 min
Rating: R
Genre: Western, Action, Drama
Release Date: December 25, 2012
My Score: 6.5 out of 10
Synopsis:
Django (Foxx) is released from slavery by Dr. king Schultz (Waltz) and together they track down the Brittle brothers, and then afterwards search for Django’s wife Broomhilda (Washington), who they discover has been bought by Calvin J. Candie (DiCapprio) and they plan to free her from her owner.
Review:
I enjoyed Inglorious Basterds, and thought I would be treated to the same style of film but with a Western setting. Unfortunately, this was not the case as I experienced a movie with an extremely basic plot that didn’t move, and utter disappointment from Christoph Waltz as he gave the same performance as in Inglorious Basterds (which ironically earned him his second Oscar.)
The star of the film was Leonard DiCapprio. He gave yet another amazing performance, as he always is amazing, but this time as the villain which is a first for him, and he deserved the Oscar Nomination and win over Waltz. My second upset concerning DiCapprio was that he was not enough of the film. He was the only interesting character and it was a shame he was absent for the entire first hour of the film.
The plot was so basic it was a bit painful. Waltz’s character releases Django to help him track down and kill some slave traders, then they journey to rescue Django’s wife from the slave owner who bought her. And then in typical Taratino fashion, the movie got extremely gory and pretty much everyone dies. And on top of this simplicity, the film was over two and a half hours long which was way too long. Could have easily been two hours max. The acting from the rest of the cast was fine, but not enough to keep the movie alive.
Final Thoughts:
Basically, if you enjoy Taratino you will enjoy the film, but otherwise like me you will be wishing for this insanely long and dry movie to end!
Patriot Games
Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Bean, James Earl Jones, Anne Archer, Patrick Bergin, Thora Birch, James Fox, Samuel L. Jackson
Directed by Phillip Noyce
Based on the Novel by Tom Clancy
Run Time: 117 min
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Release Date: June 5, 1992
My Score: 7 out of 10
Synopsis:
After stopping an attack on the Royal Family in London while on vacation, ex-CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Ford) becomes the target of rouge IRA agent Sean Miller (Bean) and Miller will stop at nothing to hurt Ryan and his family.
Review:
Having really enjoyed The Sum of All Fears and The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games fell short of the standard set by the other two Jack Ryan films. I felt that the plot was a bit all over the place, the action takes over which is a bit unfortunate as Ryan is the CIA analyst, not an action hero as much as this movie tries to make him appear as one. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is still entertaining, it’s just not what you would expect from a Jack Ryan film as Ryan is a specific action hero: the brains. The plot to the movie is a bit absurd too, but oh well. Evil villains will always be insanely mad and do illogical things, but this one has me puzzled as why to an IRA agent would so quickly change his focus from IRA issues to destroying Jack Ryan, but oh well. Was entertaining to see an older Harrison Ford go up against Sean Bean. Can’t say you get to see that in every movie you watch.
Final Thoughts:
Entertaining, but not what you would expect of a Jack Ryan film, Patriot Games is an enjoyable watch but nothing more.
The Avengers
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Clark Gregg, Stellan Skarsgard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany
Directed by Joss Whedon
Based on the Marvel Comics
Run Time: 143 min
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Superhero, Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Release Date: May 4, 2012
My Score: 10 out of 10
Synopsis:
When Loki (Hiddleston) breaks into S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and steals the Tesseract, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Nick Fury (Jackson) calls in Steve Rogers (Evans), Tony Stark (Downey Jr.), and Bruce Banner to help him retrieve the Tesseract and capture Loki. But Thor (Hemsworth) travels from Asgard to Earth to capture his brother, but when he clashes with Rogers, Stark, and Banner, the four of them are forced together to stop Loki’s evil plans and save the Earth.
Review:
THIS MOVIE WAS FREAKING AMAZING!!!!!! The action was insane, the plot was full of twists and turns, and the characters were brilliant!! The perfect mix of action, comedy, and plot that makes what can easily be labelled as one of the best movies ever. Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, and Mark Ruffalo had great on screen chemistry and created the dyanmics of the group perfectly but also 
made challenges that the group needed to over come also. And Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner were great as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agetns Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton respectively, bringing even more excitement to the screen and rounding off the star stacked cast of the movie. The one worry when a movie has a cast that is this awesome and large is that it turns into each actor/actress fighting for the number one spot on the screen, but the script and direction by Joss Whedon avoided this perfectly and created a film that is all about the team while still having specific aspects and plots to each character but keeping them from taking over the movie.
The plot was brilliant! It starts in the first scene, and continues even after the credits begin to roll (head ups, there are two scenes in the credits, make sure to catch them both!). The plot is filled with actions, thrills, surprises that you won’t have seen coming, and great laughs from all of the characters, not just Tony Stark! Seriously, without getting into the details of the plot and spoiling anything, the plot could not have been any better crafted, they nailed it completely and delivers exactly what every fan boy has been waiting for since the tease for The Avengers in Iron Man back in 2008.
The special effects in the film were crazy. But let’s be honest, Marvel films have always provided some of the best special effects, so don’t worry at all, you are in 
for a visual treat as well! The 3D aspect of the movie was good, some great parts with debris and explosions….and some other stuff flying around but I won’t say
what. Definitely worth checking it out in 3D, I think it really added to the experience of the whole film if you weren’t emmeresed enough in the Marvel universe with the rest of the movie.
And possibly the best part of the movie, tease of The Avengers 2!!! Although it won’t be for a while as Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and Captain America 2 have to come out first, the ending leaves the opportunity for another Avengers film, and after this one I’m screaming “more please!!!”
Final Thoughts:
Easily one of the best movies I have ever seen, The Avengers provides everything that is expected of a summer blockbuster and an amazing movie, and then more!!! This movie has reset the standards for summer movies and it will be hard for many to live up to this new, spectacular standard!
Iron Man 2
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, Jon Favreaus, Leslie Bibb, Paul Bettany, Garry Shandling
Directed by Jon Favreau
Based on the Marvel Comics
Run Time: 125 min
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Superhero, Action, Science Fiction
Release Date: May 7, 2010
My Score: 9 out of 10
Synopsis:
Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) has discovered that the Iron Man suit and the arc reactor that are keeping him alive are slowly killing him and he searches to find a way to save himself, while dealing with his feelings for his assistant Pepper Potts (Paltrow). But, the world is not to pleased with the Iron Man suit and Russian physicist Ivan Vanko (Rourke) makes his own suit and challenges Stark in a battle that Tony cannot afford to lose.
Review:
Iron Man 2 is a lot of fun, but it doesn’t quite match the standard set by the first film. This film relies more on crazy action sequences, which are superb and great entertainment, and on jokes and a bit less on plot. But aside from it, the movie is still amazing! The acting is great, Robert Downey Jr. once again blows the role of Tony Stark out of the water, and Gwyneth Paltrow is back as Pepper Potts, but we don’t see as much of her. The new cast members are all good too, but the most entertaining of all of them has to be Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer.
The bonus to this movie is The Avengers sub plot, which introduces Scarlett
Johansson as Natasha Romanov, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent assigned to watch over Tony Stark. We see a whole lot more of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and secrets begin to be revealed about the Avengers and how all of the characters are related, and begin to add in parts of Thor and Captain America to build up the excitement.
The special effects in the movie are great, work beautifully in all of the big action
sequences and provide superb entertainment. The plot moves, although it does slow at parts, but they are quickly saved by a joke from Robert Downey Jr. and the movie continues along its fun, action-packed way.
Final Thoughts:
Iron Man 2 is definitely a lot of fun and great entertainment, but falls short of what made the first film so amazing.
Iron Man
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard, Clark Gregg, Leslie Bibb, Shaun Toub, Faran Tahir, Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau, Samuel L. Jackson
Directed by Jon Favreau
Based on the Marvel Comics
Run Time: 126 min
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Superhero, Action, Science Fiction
Release Date: May 2, 2008
My Score: 9.5 out of 10
Synopsis:
Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) is taken hostage by Afghan terrorists after they bomb his convoy on his way back from a weapons demonstration. They hold him hostage and force him to build the Jericho missile, but Stark builds a robot suit that he uses to escape from his captors. But when he returns to LA, Stark takes a different view on his company as he has seen the damage he has created and begins to rebuild his suit so that he can prevent further damage in the world from his company.
Review:
This movie is amazing!! Easily one of the best superhero movies and set a whole new standard for what is required of a summer blockbuster. As it turns out, it’s not all about the special effects, sorry Michael Bay. Robert Downey Jr. is brilliant as Tony Stark, cracking the jokes through out the movie while still being the action hero that is required of him. Then there’s Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, loved her! She is the perfect female lead, resourceful and not the damsel in distress but gorgeous!! And when she is running around in her heels in the big action sequence, just some extra entertainment.
The plot to the movie is great. The film opens with a tease of what is coming, then
The special effects in this movie are really good, and the nice thing is they are not right in your face. They are saved only for some scenes of the movie and not through out the entire film, which truly redefines the summer blockbuster definition. The action is great in these sequences, but the movie relies on the plot which makes it even better as there is a solid reason for all of the action and not just for entertainment purposes. Something unique to this movie, Jeff Brides is the villain! So weird, but he does a great job.
And for all of you fan boys out there, the movie is filled with bonus content that most will miss. That organization with Agent Coulson with the really long name they are always joking about, it’s SHIELD!! HELLO AVENGERS!!! And the scene after the credits with Samuel L. Jackson appearing as Nick Fury and recruiting Tony Stark for the Avengers Initiative, great!!!
Final Thoughts:
An amazing superhero movie with a superb cast, which redefines the summer movie blockbuster definition for the better, Iron Man is true entertainment.
