Blake

Been a very long time since I’ve seen this and I’ve long since moved past any substantial interest in the marvel movies beyond mild curiosity at what they will totally bungle next, but Captain America has regardless been my favorite of all these MCU heroes. He’s got a solid arc and is played well by Chris Evan’s. Steve Rodgers is a good guy who grows more complex as the movies go on and he is forced to go from star spangled patriot for the Allies to treasonous outlaw against a Nazi filled American government. I’m probably giving this movie and his subsequent appearances too much credit. I have just always been fascinated by a hero who started out as nothing but propaganda for the US government becoming jaded as he learns that everything he fought for is for nothing, because the Nazis still stacked up some major victories. Look at the people in charge! It’s as timely as ever if you’re into looking at movies and stories as reflections of their time, even the ones that are mostly for kids and teens.  But it started here, when each movie still felt relatively experimental and different from each other. This is a great pulpy action adventure! Great costume, Hayley Atwell is good (Peggy Carter was my phone background for a couple years), Tommy Lee Jones gets to do his thing, Stanley Tucci! Seb Stan! Hugo Weaving is the villain! It really just hits the spot for me.

Happy 4th. One of the great movies of all time. The fireworks shot is one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in a movie but there are so many incredible uses of camera movement and framing in this. So many split diopter shots that make me smile. Just stellar work here from all involved. It’s easy to forget that Travolta is a real actor who is really good at his job! Lithgow is always an absolute freakazoid when De Palma uses him and it’s wonderful. Nancy Allen, good Lord. That scream is cinema history.

Worst movie ever? I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. I would even say this is better than Superman III! This movie is an after school special. Inarguably one of the clearest examples of “superhero movie made for children that adults will hate”. Superman saves a subway train, stops in his tracks and says “I just want everyone to know trains are still the safest form of transportation”. He tells the UN he’s gonna destroy all the nuclear weapons in the world and they unanimously cheer him on! It’s nearly 1:1 on scenes and having a public service message delivered by a character. Lots of gags and Reeve of course always on his A game.  It’s really stupid and aimless but it had so so so much charm because of the tone. They reuse the exact same vfx shot of Superman flying at the camera THREE times in a 30 seconds and all I could do was laugh. You want me to hate a movie where Superman’s love interest (a regular human and Ernest Hemingways real life granddaughter!) is flown to the moon by the villain and she’s totally fine in outer space with no helmet or anything? It’s like getting mad at Paw Patrol. Get real!