Its Official: Chris Evans is Captain America

Well after a small casting war where every actor in his twenties with blond hair, blue eyes, and an athletic build (even a few who weren't, how does it feel to be the odd man out, Krasinski?) it has finally been announced:

Chris Evans is Captain America.

Apparently Evans was the studio's favorite though director Joe Johnston wanted John Krasinski, even taking it as far as have Krasinski test with various actresses being considered for the love interest and had him test with stars of other Marvel films. But I have to say that I am very happy with the final choice.

Though I'm not a fan of the Fantastic Four films (don't even get me started on how they butchered Doctor Doom) I thought that Evans as The Human Torch was easily the best thing of those two films. With Evans just announced and Hugo Weaving in talks as the Red Skull it looks like the Captain America film is finally shaping up.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how this film heats up over the months to come and especially the first shot of Evans in the iconic costume. I keep saying it, but in 2011 three of my favorite heroes have movies coming out and I'm hoping Hollywood doesn't fuck them up.

News and Views

Well it seems that as far as nerd movies go, everything and nothing seems to be happening right now. Both Thor and Green Lantern have started filming and casting is underway for The First Avenger: Captain America. But yet very little news have come from these films, with the exception of a new casting rumor everyday for Captain America.

As stated in one of my previous rants, Marvel is searching for their Steve Rogers, with reports stating that star of The Office John Krasinski all but had the role. Now things seem to be heating up with reports that director Joe Johnson is dead set on Krasinski as Cap, but that Marvel is still searching for an actor. Everyday it seems that a new blond haired, blue eyed, twenty something actor is brought up for consideration. Right now the new favorite is Chris Evans, better known as the Human Torch from the disappointing Fantastic Four films.

Now I for one will be extremely pleased if Evans does indeed get the role, just watch the Fantastic Four movies and see how he steals both of them. Evans has the look and attitude needed for Captain America, and he has always seemed to be one step away from stardom but bad movies have held him back. Hopefully if he does nab the role this will be a good opportunity for him to shine.

Hugo Weaving is in talks to play Cap's nemesis, The Red Skull, and this is just perfect casting in my mind. Weaving has made a career out of being a scene stealing badass and I would love to see him go up against Chris Evans as Cap. Plus if John Krasinski or some other equally under qualified unknown gets the part, Weaving will more than make up for it.

Not much has been reported from the Thor set, in fact I've been very impressed with how tightly the film has been locked down. Not a single word that Marvel hasn't wanted you to hear has leaked from the set, and at this point I was expecting crappy quality fan taken photos of Thor in costume. But so far nothing has been released but I am greatly looking forward to seeing that first still of Thor come to life or hopefully a teaser sometime over the next few months.

Green Lantern started filming this past week and thankfully fans were there to spy on the shoot. Not much was revealed other than a few shots of Ryan Reynolds sporting the power ring; they were blurry as hell but it teased me enough for me to have a small geek out. This movie is easily my most anticipated of next year and looks to be a success with the great talent behind and in front of the camera. Once again I'm hoping stills are released soon of Reynolds in full costume.

In other movie news, a trailer went out for my second most anticipated movie of the summer, Predators. The AVP movies were embarrassments to both Alien and Predator franchises, and hopefully this movie will be the rebound the Predator series needs. The trailer doesn't show much, but it was enough to get me pumped and also convince me that Adrien Brody can be an action hero. I'm also pleased at the lack of CGI and blue screen, and the use of actual locations and sets make this film look very much like the original Predator.

I also checked out the trailer for Tron Legacy. Now I thought the first Tron was meh, but overall very fun. But when this trailer came on before Alice in Wonderland (grrr...) I found myself wanting to see more. Some people want the look of the original Tron for this film but I'm glad the filmmakers went with an updated look for the computer world because when you look at it Tron is a film about technology, and technology has advanced greatly and that needs to be represented in the world of Tron. I'm also pumped that Disney got Jeff Bridges back for this sequel, which is a brilliant move to pull in the old fans.

Assorted Thoughts

So yeah, just some random thoughts I wanted to put down. I've seen alot of movies these past couple of weeks so I decided to throw in some bite sized review (I'll probably ramble on anyway). But anywho, here they go.

The Lovely Bones

When I first saw the trailer for this I thought it looked very interesting, as well as the fact that it had Peter Jackson, a director who has heavily influenced me, behind the camera. I went out and read the book and enjoyed it immensely, finding it a great tale about growing up (even if the main character is dead), grief, and family. So of course after reading it I ran off to the theaters to check it out. Most of the reviews I read about this film tore it apart, and it failed at the box office, and it seems like the only person to escape from it unharmed was Stanley Tucci, who got an Oscar nomination out of the deal.

So after watching the movie, I must say that as a film I enjoyed it, but as a book adaptation it failed. This film ran about 2 hours which surprised me seeing how it came from Peter Jackson, but it seemed throughout the film that he was scared of going over the two hour mark, chopping stuff out and condensing it as much as he could. The thing that suffers most from this cut and paste filmmaking is the end, which has to be one of the most rushed endings I've ever seen, and the message of the story gets passed over due to this. Another weak point in this film was the heaven scenes; I enjoyed them in the book because it seemed like a very unique, realistic heaven, which impressed me because there is always such a high risk of cheesiness when it comes to doing heaven. But in this heaven seems like a bad acid trip, complete with bad CGI.

But there are also many strengths with this film, a great example is the performances. The above stated Stanley Tucci steals the film as the creepy Mr.Harvey; Tucci creates a villain you really hate and are disgusted by, but one you also can't take your eyes off. Mark Wahlberg does well with the little the script gave him as the father,he severely tones down his badassness as well as creates a very sympathetic and tragic character. All of the child actors are spot on, I was especially impressed with the girl playing Susie, the main character. Susan Sarandon gives a great performance as the alcoholic grandmother and Rachel Weisz does well given that she had even less to work with character wise than Wahlberg.

From a filmmaking angle, Peter Jackson shows why hes an Oscar winner. The entire film is filled with beautiful shots, and even many disturbing ones to balance it out. Jackson's fetish for slow motion is very evident throughout, though he uses it perfectly to build suspense.

But as said earlier, this is one film that could have greatly benefited from a longer running time. Many subplots from the book are axed completely or brought up and not resolved, many things are re-ordered, and massive changes are made. It seems like Jackson got too caught up in the murder aspect of the plot, which is compelling but far from the main focus of the story. As I said, in the end he struggles to wrap up all of the storylines created and it just feels forced, though this could have been much worse in a less capable filmmaker's hands. Overall a strong film, but much got lost in translation.

Dead Snow

I just finished watching this film and I have to say it was by far one of the most fun horror films I've watched in some time. The plot is pretty basic, a bunch of norweigan college kids head to a cabin in the mountains to party, and end up coming across a bunch of angry Nazi zombies. Thats right, Nazi zombies. Genius.

While really not presenting much new, it plays with convention enough to make this fun, escpecially in the stalk and chase scenes and kill scenes. The zombies are by far some of the most unique zombie designs I've seen and I was really glad to see classic undead zombies and not virus zombies (though these guys do run, talk, and use weapons).

But one of the main strengths of this film comes from the characterization. A big flaw with horror films nowadays is that they take cardboard cut out characters, throw them in a situation, and then kill them with no change or further developement of them. This film takes the time at the beginning to build up each character and make them unique, and by the end you do end up loving every one of them.

A big flaw with the film is the gaping plot hole of why the Nazis are undead, but you kinda ignore that and bask in the blood splattered glory of the film. Speaking of blood, this film had alot of very fun and unique death scenes, both zombie and human alike.

Hot Tub Time Machine

My buddy got tickets to an advanced screening of this film, which turned out to be way advance since I just found out there's still two weeks until this hits theaters. I went in expecting a dumb, no brainer comedy and got... a dumb no brainer comedy, but it surprised me by having alot of heart behind it.

After their friend Lou "accidentally" attempts suicide (long story), a group of middle aged buddies and a twenty something nephew of one of them take Lou up to their old hang out spot at a skiing resort. Soon they end up partying in the hot tub only to find out its a time machine that takes them back to 1986. Hilarity ensues.

I fucking loved this film, the dialogue and performances were spot on, and the 80's references were all over the place. I liked seeing the often supporting players (with the exception of John Cusack) getting a chance in the spotlight, its hard to say who I enjoyed most. Craig Robinson was hilarious in a central role after stealing scenes in supporting roles in various other comedies, Rob Cordroy may have stolen the movie as Lou, the asshole friend (we all have one of those). And despite never being a fan, I have to say that Crispin Glover has a pretty funny cameo as a bellhop, maybe the guy should try doing more comedies just to show that he can do more than just "creepy". Chevy Chase does well in a cameo as well, though I wished he was given more to do.

At its core is a pretty basic party movie, but I was surprised to find that it was a story about friendships, do-overs, and midlife crisis. But thankfully the film doesn't get too bogged down by the mushy stuff, and though its not groundbreaking in any way, it was still a fun comedy.

Alice in Wonderland Review

As far as horror films go, The Crazies is a fun but mediocre entry in the genre. Some sequences in it are very inventive and suspenseful, though the film is bogged down by cliche characters and bad dialogue.

Oh wait, the title of this entry says its a review of Alice in Wonderland. Wait I haven't seen Alice yet, surely I would remember...

Oh wait, I did see it, a mere 13 hours ago. What was it about?

Well now that I have the title typed out I may as well review the damn movie.

To start things off, I was really excited when this was first announced. One thing that has always disappointed me about past adaptations of Alice in Wonderland is that they were always too kid friendly. I always thought that with the right direction and script we could get a very twisted, surreal, adult take on the classic story, and when I heard that Tim Burton and my favorite actor Johnny Depp would be bringing it to the screen yet again I got very excited.

Then the trailers hit and I saw yet again a very kid friendly take, this time surrounded by heavy duty CGI to boot. But early reviews were very positive so I thought that once again it was a case of bad marketing and I went in to the screening last night hoping to get the adult Alice I have always wanted to see.

I want my ten bucks back Tim Burton!

The first ten minutes or so of the movie, with Alice in our world were actually pretty solid, Tim Burton managed to restrain himself during these scenes and I kinda liked them though the plot lines set up in these early scenes like Alice's arranged marriage and her sister's husband committing adultry HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REST OF THE FUCKING MOVIE!!!!

Then Alice falls down the rabbit hole to Wonderland, which is actually pronounced Underland, and the film goes downhill. She finds out that she is foretold to come to Underland, slay the evil Jabberwocky and free Underland from the tyrannical rule of the annoying as hell Red Queen.

Now the plot of Alice returning to Wonderland and finding it to be a twisted and different world has been done before in the well loved computer game American Mcgee's Alice. But that game took the intelligent route and went full on horror with the game. This movie seemed like it took the game and tried to make it family friendly, and hence my problem with the movie.

Part of the charm of the book that Wonderland was a world that prided itself on not making a damn bit of sense, and this film tries giving the characters motivations and back story and it just doesn't fit. The biggest problem arises with the characterization of The Mad Hatter. Obviously his role was expanded because of the popularity of the character and the fact that Johnny Depp is playing him. The Mad Hatter just doesn't seem, well, mad. Instead he seems more like "The slightly eccentric Hatter", and they also make The Hatter a key figure in Wonderland's rebellion; which I could never see him giving two shits about what happens in Wonderland. But the main flaw is by giving rhyme and reason to these characters that were meant to be absurd, most of the charm of the book is lost.

Also, during most of the movie I found myself yelling "EXPLAIN!" during most of the movie because there were gaping plot holes throughout. Questions like "Why is Alice so important?" and "Why doesn't she remember coming to Wonderland before?" were never answered. The movie also stops in its tracks at the end so that The Mad Hatter can perform one of the lamest celebration dances since the Ewoks at the end of Return of the Jedi.

I also just really fucking hated the CGI, Wonderland is supposed to be surreal, not a pure fantasy land. It just looks really tacky and fake at times, especially the CGI animals.

Not all things were bad in this, most of the performances were spot on. Johnny Depp did well as always despite the script completely missing the point of his character; the voice acting was excellent including Alan Rickman as The Caterpillar and Christopher Lee getting a whole two lines as the badass Jabberwocky. The poor man's Johnny Depp Cripin Glover once again goes out of his way to be creepy and annoying as The Knave of Hearts, who for some reason is made into a badass in this. As said before, Helena Bonham Carter is annoying as The Red Queen.

I guess the film just seemed like Tim Burton was on auto-pilot. The script feels like a really poor rip-off of the Alice game (a film adaptation of that has been in development hell for years). The performances are a combination of awesome and sleep walking, and the effects are terrible, aside from the awesome Jabberwocky at the end. It just seemed like a bad idea to turn Alice into an action hero (she even spouts one liners at the end), and the humor is forced and for the most part very childish. I don't know if Disney just had Burton by the balls or if he just didn't give a shit, but this goes down as my first big disappointment of the year.

Also, Tim Burton, I will take checks though cash is preferred.