#DORK 51: Captain America: Civil War

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Captain America: Civil War Poster and Trailer

I could do this all day. #TeamCaphttps://t.co/ficS7VFfQE

— Captain America (@CaptainAmerica) March 10, 2016

Captain America: Civil War Trailer

Here's that trailer you were looking for. #CaptainAmericaCivilWar https://t.co/AfWRAS2QzE

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) November 25, 2015

New Ant-Man Posters Are Legit

  

Ranking All The Marvel Movies

(Of the films I've seen, if it's not on there, I haven't seen it yet)

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
2. The Avengers (2012)
3. Iron Man (2008)
4. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
5. X-Men (2000)
6. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
7. X-Men: First Class (2011)
8. Blade (1998)
9. X2 (2003)
10. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
11. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
12. Blade II (2002)
13. Spider-Man (2002)
14. Thor (2011)
15. Daredevil (2003)
16. Blade: Trinity (2004)
17. Iron Man 3 (2013)
18. Fantastic Four (2005)
19. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
20. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
21. The Wolverine (2013)
22. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
23. Punisher: War Zone (2008)
24. The Punisher (2004)
25. Ghost Rider (2007)
26. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
27. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
28. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
29. Iron Man 2 (2010)
30. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
31. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
32. Elektra (2005)

Rich Reviews: The Wolverine

The Wolverine is a solid comic book movie. It's not Dark Knight, Iron Man, or even X-men, but it's also not a Spider-Man 3 or Ghost Rider. Hugh Jackson is back for the 5th time in this role (I guess 6th if you count his cameo in X-Men: First Class). He's good. The story and action is far better in this one compared to the last stand alone Wolverine movie (X-Men Origins: Wolverine).

This is more in the vain of a Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor... where you isolate on just the one super hero, with the villain not being a major comic character (like a Joker or Green Goblin). The Wolverine still holds up, solid action throughout and actually some continuity to the previous X-Men films.

It's over 2 hours long but doesn't feel like that, and for the first time you get the impression that Wolverine, the character, can carry a movie. He's always been "part of the X-Men' but clearly he is just as popular and intriguing as any other super hero.

I'll give it a 7.5/10.  (But I'm a sucker for comic book movies.)

Hangover 3 Previews

This has Iron Man written all over it.  The 1st one was great, 2nd one was awful, and yet they make a 3rd one.  And you know what?  I'll see it.  I'll probably see both Hangover 3 and Iron Man 3 in the theater.  I'm a sucker. 

Keefe

Rich Reviews: The Incredible Hulk

I recently saw the newest marvel creation, The Incredible Hulk. This release comes 5 years after the 2003 version called simply Hulk. That Eric Bana led film had a bigger opening weekend ($62+ million compared to $55+ million), but no where near the stellar ratings. I guess the plan was to take a better actor (Edward Norton) and throw the “incredible” description in front and hope for the best. Well in its first two weekends at the box office, The Incredible Hulk has yet to reach the $100 million mark ($96.5), something that Iron Man surpassed it opening weekend.

I’ve got good news and bad news concerning my review. What do you want first? Ok, the bad news is I have not seen the 2003 Hulk, therefore can not compare the two. The good news? I have seen just about every other comic book movie that’s come out since X-Men in 2000. And simply put, it’s not the best, and it’s not the worst.

I was never a huge fan of the Hulk character, one of the early creations for Stan Lee, rather than simply being a mutant like the X-Men, Bruce Banner needed a reason why he became the Hulk. This film does not show exactly how it happened, instead makes references to the Gamma Rays, and how it went down. To me, it was going to be difficult for the Hulk to carry an entire movie. He’s not exactly with the Avengers… yet.

Similar to Iron Man, the villains are not as well known as other comic book characters. The first villain is essentially General Ross (William Hurt), who wants to capture the Hulk despite his daughter’s (Liv Tyler) attachment to him. The super villain in the film becomes Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) who morphs into Abomination. Comic book fans will recognize this monster, but there is only one subtle mention of his name. The Hulk and Abomination have an epic battle where you can see where the $125 million went in making the movie. There are many comparisons to The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man; on purpose I’m sure, but none more than their main villains. The Iron Monger is basically a guy who finds similar powers to Iron Man then boom a fight. Abomination is like a roided up Hulk (pretty crazy right) and then boom they fight. It’s like they have the same play book.


One of the best parts of the entire movie, and it’s not even a spoiler because it’s in some of the trailers now, is when Robert Downey Jr. reappraises the role of Tony Stark to meet with General Ross. I have been pushing for some sort of “Team Up” since the first Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Punisher. Get these guys in the same movie! You saw in the X-Men series references to other characters who weren’t in that particular film. This is something all comic fans thoroughly enjoy. In addition to Tony Stark, you can find mentions of S.H.I.E.L.D., (like in Iron Man) and Nick Fury (also in Iron Man). All I’m going to say is if the Hulk and Iron Man join forces with Nick Fury and others (maybe Captain America) that could be one hell of a combined sequel.


But that’s not always a great sign when I’m looking forward to the next movie more than I am enjoying the current one. Like I said The Incredible Hulk was right in the middle as far as comic book movies are concerned. No surprise Edward Norton was great, and he made the Hulk character stand up to an admitted non-Hulk fan for nearly 2 hours. If you saw Iron Man I recommend seeing this one, at least before the mega-sequel comes out.




Final Rating: 7.5/10

-Keefe

Rich Reviews: Iron Man

-Keefe

I saw Iron Man over the weekend, and figured I’d share my thoughts. Chances are you’ve already seen it as the film has pulled in $177 million in two weeks including $50.5 in its second weekend. The formula is simple. Recognizable comic book + movie star or 2 = easy 100+ million dollar block buster. Let’s see Spider- Man (3 times), X-Men (3), Fantastic 4 (2 and counting), Hulk (and we’ll see another one this summer), Daredevil, Punisher, Batman (all of them), I mean if they keep making them we’ll keep seeing them. You name it, I’ll watch it. Infinity Gauntlet? Yes. X-Factor? Of course. Alpha Flight? Why not.

As for the most recent successful Marvel Comic Book movie adaptation, it was the real deal. Iron Man brought the noise, and no, that’s not the glorious surround sound from the CineMagic talking. Even with the lack of a well known super villain (Iron Monger played by Jeff Bridges, instead of a Joker, Magneto, Kingpin, Dr. Doom, Sabretooth, Juggernaut, Venom, Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, etc.), you are still intrigued to see what Iron Man is up against. The action, fighting sequences, and special effects were top notch and extremely entertaining.

Robert Downey Jr. was brilliantly cast to play billionaire weapons manufacturer, genius, and playa Tony Stark/ Iron Man. Whether you are familiar with the comic series or not you will enjoy the job done by Downey Jr. There’s been some great acting jobs done in super hero roles; Christian Bale in Batman Begins (and The Dark Knight, which will raise the bar once again) and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the X-Men series are just two examples, and Downey Jr. is right there with his performance as Stark. He is a natural to play the part and he seems at ease in front of the camera.

The rest of the cast was solid as well. Downey Jr. clearly brings the level of play up from everyone around him, much like a Kevin Garnett with the Celtics. Speaking of the Celtics, when will they start to play well on the road? I mean are you kidding me with that Game 3 showing? Sorry. The supporting cast: Jeff Bridges, who will forever be known as the Dude was good as was Terrence Howard as Stark’s buddy Jim Rhodes. Howard will undoubtedly have a bigger role in the sequel where I expect him to fight side by side as War Machine. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts, Stark’s assistant that knows everything about him. She’s not supposed to be smoking hot, so they got that right, but her acting isn’t the best either. Most comic book movies you wouldn’t notice, but when she’s surrounded by the likes of Downey Jr., Bridges, and Howard you can tell. But she wasn’t bad enough to bring down the entire ensemble.

Bottom line, Iron Man is an absolute treat to the eyes and ears. It’s just over 2 hours long, and you’ll never once feel that the film is dragging. Lots of action mixed with humor. You don’t have to be a comic book fan to enjoy this movie, although I’m sure it helps. I give it a 9 out of 10, and can’t wait for the sequel.

Special heads up brought to you by the Sports Brief. If you have not seen the movie yet, make sure you stay through the end of the credits. You’ll be glad you did.

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Rich Reviews. It will become a new addition to the Brief, where I can sound off on new films that I have seen. Maybe I’ll even save you 9 bucks in the process.