world war ii | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Captain America – The First Avenger

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Darren

Captain America: The First Avenger doesn’t have the heart of X-Men: First Class or the wit of Thor, but the story of Marvel’s star-spangled superhero does have its own charms. Part of it reflects its lead, little Steve Rogers, an appealing and sincere earnestness in dealing with material that it would be too easy to cynically dismiss. The First Avenger embraces the cheesiness at its core, and offers a rather stunning version of THE great American myth. Zack Snyder would do well to play close attention when bringing that other America fable to the big screen.

Patriot games...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Avengers The, captain america, captain america: the first avenger, chris evans, iron man, joss whedon, marvel comics, Marvel Studios, Old World, Red Skull, stan lee, Superhero film, United States, world war ii, zack snyder | 8 Comments »

A Gilda Caged: Thoughts on the Movies We Label “Classic”…

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Darren

I had the pleasure, a while back, of attending a screening of Gilda being hosted by the Irish Film Institute. The black-and-white forties noir-tinted thriller is somewhat warmly regarded among film historians, and one of those movies you label as a “classic” without any real hesitation. However, as I emerged from the cinema, I found myself wondering how such a film would be received were it released today. I honestly wonder what we would make of these “classics” if they didn’t have the word “classic” to hide behind.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, cinema, Citizen Kane, classics, critics, film criticism, films, George Macready, Gilda, Glenn Ford, Irish Film Institute, Johnny Farrell, Movies, nostalgia, reviews, Rita Hayworth, Ugly Truth, world war ii | 86 Comments »

The Marvels Project (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Darren

hIn celebration of the 4th of July and the release of Captain America: The First Avenger later this month, we’re jumping into Marvel’s comic book alternate history and taking a look at the star-spangled avenger every Wednesday this month.

Truth be told, I’m not sure what to make of The Marvels Project, a miniseries from Ed Brubaker. Brubaker has been doing acclaimed work on Captain America for some years now, so I guess I almost figured that The Marvels Project would be an extension of that – a period piece set during the Second World War which would allow perhaps the definitive Captain America author to put his own stamp on that iconic comic book origin. For better or worse, this isn’t really that story – sure, Steve Rogers’ early career is covered, but as one small section of a much larger puzzle. Far more than the origin of Captain America, The Marvels Project is the origin of the Marvel Universe.

Carryin' the torch...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: alternate history, alternate universe, captain america, comic book history, ed brubaker, fictional universe, forties, Human Torch, J. Michael Straczynski, marvel comics, marvel universe, Marvels Project, nostalgia, retro, second world war, stan lee, Steve Epting, the marvels project, Timely Comics, world war ii | 1 Comment »

Green Lantern’s Light: Why I’m Holding Out For a Hero…

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Darren

You know, I’m actually really impressed with how this summer’s slate of superhero-themed blockbusters are coming together. Despite fears about market saturation, I honestly think that the four big pictures this summer offer enough distinct flavour to avoid generation some superhero fatigue coming in. X-Men: First Class is a Cold War Civil Rights action adventure. Thor the story of a god, humbled. Captain America: The First Avenger is a bit of pulpy history set against a World War II backdrop. Green Lantern is an epic space opera about an intergalactic police squad. There’s enough variety there that it isn’t just wave after wave of people in silly costumes.

Still, Green Lantern holds particular interest to me. It’s been interesting to watch the buzz on-line, following the seemingly disappointed first trailer through the four minutes of footage from Wonder Con towards the well-received second and third trailers. Still, my affection for the character and the movie aren’t necessarily drawn from Warner’s publicity campaign.

You see, Green Lantern was really the character that introduced me to modern comics.

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Filed under: Comics, Movies | Tagged: arts, Bat-Mite, batman, comic books, Comics, dc comics, films, geoff johns, grant morrison, green lantern, Movies, Warner Brothers, world war ii | 6 Comments »

Captain America 101: An Introduction to the Star-Spangled Avenger…

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Darren

I did a post a little while back that was intended to serve as an introduction to the world of the Green Lantern, what with the movie coming out this year. The post proved so popular that I thought I’d take perhaps put a similar post together on Captain America. The first trailer for Captain America: The First Avenger premiered at the Super Bowl yesterday, so it seems to be the perfect time for a bit of an introduction to the star-spangled superhero. Check out the 30-second spot below.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: captain america, captain america 101, captain america: the first avenger, chris evans, ed brubaker, films, green lantern, Gulf War, hugo weaving, marvel, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, Movies, the first avenger, Timely Comics, Watergate Scandal, world war ii | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The King’s Speech

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Darren

The King’s Speech seems like the perfect storm of awards buzz. Released as we enter the year of a big royal wedding, featuring a lead actor who was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar last year, it seems to have an edge. In fact, my inner cynic went into the cinema listing off all the standard stereotypical Oscar bait criteria that the movie met: person overcoming adversity; unlikely friendship across social class; beautiful period costumes; hint of class; historical true story; tied in some way to the Second World War; a cast of respected and veteran character actors. I don’t think it would have been possible to plan a movie that so perfectly designed to win prestigious awards. I guess we should be thankful that it’s really very good.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown... but it does have great hair, though...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Academy Award, colin firth, David Seidler, Geoffrey Rush, George V of the United Kingdom, George VI of the United Kingdom, helena bonham carter, King's Speech, non-review review, review, Timothy Spall, Tom Hooper, winston churchill, world war ii | 5 Comments »

The Pacific: Parts One & Two

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Darren

There are things men can do to one another that are sobering to the soul; and it’s one thing to square it with god, and another to square it with yourself.

– Leckie, Part One

I know that The Pacific is airing in the States a good few weeks ahead of us, but the first episode of the show (well, a double bill) just landed here in the UK and Ireland on the ever wonderful Sky Movies. I’m probably going to do a little summary of my thoughts on the whole show when it finishes airing, but I do have some initial thoughts that might bear putting into words. It’s a great time to be watching television, isn’t it?

It shouldn't be that hard to convince you to watch The Pacific...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: band of brothers, hbo, james badge dale, miniseries, second world war, Television, the pacific, world war ii | 6 Comments »

Captain America by Ed Brubaker Omnibus (Review)

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Darren

There’s a lot of buzz out there suggesting that Ed Brubaker’s run on Captain America might be the run on the character, the one for the ages – like Frank Miller’s tenure on Daredevil, for example. I decided that – with the movie coming out next year – it might be worth bringing myself up to speed on the character. While I haven’t finished Brubaker’s run (it’s on-going and I still have to read The Death of Captain America Omnibus), it is a very solid run, packed with great ideas. It’s a clever and well-crafted story that demonstrates that Brubaker has more in him than just gritty pulp like his fantastic runs on Daredevil and Gotham Central. On the other hand, I’m slow to call the run an instant classic – I’d rather finish his run before I make that judgement. Towards the end it feels like Brubaker’s own story has become somewhat derailed by the larger events looming in a shared universe. He’s still an amazing writer and succeeds in keeping the train mostly on the tracks, but one gets the sense that the collection would have been better if he had been granted complete control over it.