Category Archives: Movies

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On The Couch 2011 #29: Captain America

There were too many comic book movies this year. As a lifelong comic book reader, I never thought I would say that. But it’s true. There were too many, and they were released way too close to each other. X-Men: First Class and Thor were both great, but when Green Lantern came out to middling reviews, it transformed all the I-gotta-see-all-these-movies momentum I had for comic book movies into “Eh, maybe I can wait for Netflix on a couple of these.”

That said, Captain America is wonderful. I rank it a little under X-Men: First Class, which I loved and a little above Thor, which I really liked. Marvel had a banner year for movies this year and I am super-excited for next year’s Avengers movie. Joss Whedon + Mark Ruffalo + RDJ’s Tony Stark = I will not be waiting for this movie to hit Netflix!

I cannot wait for this movie!

The CGI in Captain America is really cool. At first, I thought another actor was playing Steve Rogers before he was injected with super soldier serum. But then I realized no, that’s Chris Evans, special-effected in a reverse-Hulk way to make him much punier than he actually is.

If this movie was made 15 years ago, would the producers have approached Chris Evans with “Look, Chris, the CGI isn’t there yet. Would you mind losing 90 lbs for the early parts of the movie?”

Stanley Tucci continues to be the King of Supporting Actors, playing the German refugee scientist Dr. Erskine, creator of the Super Soldier formula.

The Tooch does it again!

If you are a Captain America comic book fan, there are so many Easter eggs dispersed throughout this movie. My second favorite was seeing the original Human Torch encased in glass at the World’s Fair pavilion. My favorite was when Dr. Arim Zola was first shown, and his face was seen distorted through a lens as if it were on a screen, foreshadowing his appearance in the comic. It sent my geeky heart aflutter.

Did you catch this brief appearance by the original Human Torch?


I really recommend seeing Captain America, as well all of the other Marvel movies that are leading into next summer’s Avengers.

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At The Theater 2011 #15: Melancholia

Wow, that was a boring movie. Hard-core boring. Like Human Centipede boring. I’ve never rooted for a planet to smash into the earth the way I did in this movie. Dear Lars von Trier, how do you make a movie about a planet hitting the earth so boring?
This should be exciting!
I wanted to fall asleep in Melancholia, but I fought against it. And it was a hard fight. But I was convinced that if I fell asleep I would miss the one exciting scene in the movie. So I stayed awake for the whole movie. That exciting scene never came. I’m convinced half the theater was asleep when the credits were rolling.

I’m not going to completely hate on Melancholia. It’s a beautifully shot movie. It’s as beautiful as it is boring. The cinematographer deserves an award.

 SPOILERS FOLLOW AFTER THESE TWO BEAUTIFUL, BORING STILLS…
So beautiful…So boring…



Melancholia is told in two parts, each named after one of the two sisters in the movie. The first part, Justine, is about Kirsten Dunst’s character Justine’s wedding, held at the massive estate of her sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her brother-in-law, John (Kiefer Sutherland). The wedding doesn’t go well. The bride and groom arrive hours late. Justine is never where she’s supposed to be. Oh, and she fucks some other guy on John’s lawn. So it’s not surprising when her new husband bolts at the end of the night. If only I had his foresight.

Don’t be fooled by the smiles. This is the wedding from hell.

The second part of the movie, Claire, is where the movie really becomes doused in Nyquil. Justine, super-depressed, moves in with Claire and John. Justine can’t take of herself, so Claire does. John seems to hate Justine, and as the movie progresses, so do I. Oh, and remember that entire first half of the movie you just watched? It has almost nothing to do with the second half.

When John realizes that the rogue planet Melancholia is not going to do a fly-by and will actually hit Earth, he offs himself. How could you betray me like that, John? Didn’t you think about the viewer, fighting as hard as he could to stay awake, clinging to your snark to get through the movie? Thanks for nothing, dick.

If you suffer from insomnia, Melancholia is a relatively cheap cure.

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On The Couch Bonus Round – Runaway Bride

Note: I already saw Runaway Bride, so I’m not giving it a full write-up, but I just felt I had to share. -TNM

I watched Runaway Bride on TBS over the weekend. I saw this movie when it was in the theater and don’t remember it being this bad. The funniest part of that movie is definitely Richard Gere’s New York accent. Who thought this was a good idea? Richard Gere’s accent in Runaway Bride is like the New York version of John Cleese’s French accent in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Watch the first 20 minutes of Runaway Bride next time it’s on TV. But don’t watch more than that. The movie is just as schlocky as Princess Diaries 2. Actually, forget I said anything. Turn on Monty Python and the Holy Grail instead.

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At The Theater 2011 #14: The Muppets

I wanted to see a movie with my cousins who were in town for Thanksgiving. We range in age from 21-36, so the only movies that were off the table were ones that one of us had already seen and ones we had no interest in seeing.

The Muppets was a universal pick, even inspiring a lively discussion at the Thanksgiving dinner table about how good the soundtrack is.

One of the songs in The Muppets is written by Flight of the Concords. If you’ve ever heard a Flight of the Concords song before, you’ll have no problem recognizing it as their song moments into it. I’m not complaining. It’s a great song, and so are they.

The Muppets has two major things going for it with its lead actors. I’ve liked Jason Segal since Freaks and Geeks. He and Neil Patrick Harris are the two best parts of How I Met Your Mother. I was happy to see that he was both starring in The Muppets and that he wrote the screenplay. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, also written by and starring Segal, is one of the funniest movies of the past decade. And Amy Adams is as adorable in this as she is in Enchanted. I need a movie where Amy Adams and Zooey Deschanel out-adorable each other for an hour and forty.

The reigning king and queen of adorable?

But the best part of The Muppets? That’s easy. It’s the cameo appearance by Dave Grohl. There are some really cool celebrity cameos in The Muppets, but Dave Grohl’s is definitely the most awesome, partly because Dave Grohl is so awesome and partly because he’s playing an Animal stand-in in a grisly, low-rent Muppets tribute group.

Animool!

My only complaint about The Muppets is that by the middle of the movie, I felt like I was being given a guilt trip by a Jewish mother mixed with the Catholic Church for the Muppets falling out of popularity. They hit that particular guilt button a lot throughout the movie.

But that’s a small complaint. I loved The Muppets and strongly recommend seeing it.

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At The Theater 2011 #13: Tower Heist

I liked Tower Heist much more than I expected to. I thought it would be okay, but after seeing it, I found myself recommending it to different friends. And each time, their reaction was along the lines of “Really? Are you sure?” To be fair, I would have had the same reaction before I saw it.

The marketing for Tower Heist didn’t do it any favors. Neither the trailer or poster left me really wanting to see it. But it was getting good reviews, I had just run the NYC Marathon the day before and wanted to laugh for a couple of hours without having to walk around. That and I tend to like movies with Ben Stiller.

Tower Heist made me laugh a lot. Eddie Murphy is back to being funny Eddie Murphy, who I think last made an appearance in the highly underrated Bowfinger. Gabourey Sidibe showed off her funny side playing a sassy Jamaican maid. I’m glad I got to see her in this, because I still have no intention of seeing her in Precious.

Rent it.


And if you’re really into the Ocean’s 11 set of heist movies, you’ve got Casey Affleck here to make you feel right at home.

Major spoilers about the ending follow after this photo of the highly addictive iPhone game Tiny Tower, which I admit has nothing to do with Tower Heist, but if you haven’t seen the movie yet and want to go in fresh, read no further!

Someone should make a Tower Heist mod to Tiny Tower.

The only problem I had with Tower Heist was at the very end. How did they get that damn car out of the pool and out the building?! This is the scene I wanted and needed to see! Even if it’s just a quick montage through the process, I needed to see this. Maybe Ocean’s 11 spoiled me, but my favorite part of heist movies is seeing how it all comes to together for the thieves and how they pull it off in the end.

I also wish that one of the crew members opening up their mysterious package with a solid gold car part in it looked confused instead of excited. Think about it. There’s no note, just a box with a gold transmission in it. Would they even know it’s gold? “What the hell is this?” I just think that would have been funny.

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On The Couch 2011 #28: Human Centipede

It was Halloween, so we threw on a horror movie. It was Human Centipede.

I don’t have much to say about Human Centipede, other than it was the most boring movie I’ve seen this year. I don’t know if there is another movie whose level of disgustingness and shock value is just as high as its level of sheer mind-numbing boringness.

So much of Human Centipede is this guy standing in his yard. He doesn’t move.
Is this a still or are you watching the movie right now? How can you tell?

I have no idea how I managed to stay awake through this entire movie. Human Centipede is a movie where nothing happens for entire scenes.

More happened in my last paragraph than in large parts of Human Centipede.

There was one exciting scene in Human Centipede, where one of the captured girls makes a break for it. Suspense was briefly high during that, but immediately grinds to a standstill once that scene ends.

If you decide to watch Human Centipede, you’ll need to pass the time. I recommend this drinking game. Take a drink every time Lindsay or Jenny addresses each other by name. You’ll be blackout drunk by 20 minute mark, with the plus side being you won’t remember any of this movie the next day.

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On The Couch 2011 #27: We Are Wizards

The title of the documentary We Are Wizards shares its name with a song by MC Kreacher, a rapper in the growing music scene known as Wizard Rock. A few of the music acts that populate Wizard Rock are spotlighted in this documentary. Sadly, MC Kreacher is not one of them.

Side note…I went as MC Kreacher to a friend’s Harry Potter themed birthday party this year.

I saw Harry and the Potters, one of the bands in We Are Wizards, live earlier this year. What I liked about them, and their opening act MC Kreacher, is that while their songs are from the point of view of characters in the Harry Potter books and movies, they are also really good songs. They aren’t just novelty acts, they’re making good music.

Harry and the Potters featuring Harry Potter and Harry Potter.

If you have ever seen Harry and the Potters or another Wizard Rock band live, I think you would enjoy seeing We Are Wizards. It focuses on how these groups formed, their preparations for live shows and their thoughts on the whole Wizard Rock genre. My favorite part of the movie might have been when one of the Harrys from Harry and the Potters explains that they used the term Wizard Rock as a joke once to describe their music and were surprised to see other acts embrace the term.

Draco and the Malfoys are another group featured in We Are Wizards. I really enjoyed their story. They formed because Harry and the Potters had to cancel a show, so these two guys formed their own group to perform that night, singing songs from the point of view of Harry’s rival Draco.

If you’re a parent of a young Harry Potter fan and you’d like your child to channel some of their energy into music, I’d recommend sitting your kid down to watch We Are Wizards. The musical acts in a movie come from a wide range of ages, including one that’s a grade-schooler.

The Hungarian Horntails are as bad ass as they are adorable!

As a lifelong Star Wars fan, I find myself a little sad that outside of the occasional song by Weird Al Yankovic and that Chewbacca song from the Clerks soundtrack, there are no Star Wars themed pop songs. Where’s our Jedi Rock? C’mon, you know that Han and the Solos would be a killer band name!

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On The Couch 2011 #26: Blue Valentine

I said in my review of 50/50 that I didn’t think 50/50 was a depressing movie. Blue Valentine is a depressing movie. It’s half young love story and half fallen out of love story. I now understand why they don’t make sequels to romantic comedies. A good romantic comedy will make you believe in the power and goodness of love, but the movie always ends at that perfect spot when the two new lovers are ready to face the world hand in hand, their lives full of potential. Half of Blue Valentine is the story of what happens after that, when they’re no longer smiling and world has taken a massive dump on them.

Ryan Gosling shows again in this movie why he seems to be universally thought of as a great actor. Can we please get him and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the same movie? Michelle Williams is perfect here too. The way they each portray their characters at different points in their lives is fantastic.

I love this jacket.

It’s hinted at, but never really explained what caused Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) to fall mostly out of love with each other, they just are. Cindy thinks Dean drinks too much and never realized his potential, but any time she broaches the subject with him he goes off a loud philosophical rant about what’s the meaning of potential anyway. Having a child together very early on in their relationship definitely is one of the causes of strain in their relationship. Dean says as much late in the movie, and it’s evident that’s the reason Cindy is medical tech instead of a doctor.

Anytime Blue Valentine’s story was in the present, I kept waiting for the shift back to the past. It was so much nicer there. Dean and Cindy were cute together and they both had their whole lives in front of them. Even when Dean gets his ass kicked by Cindy’s jealous ex-boyfriend, you knew things were going to be alright. Except they weren’t. But maybe that’s the warning of Blue Valentine for its viewers: You can’t go back to the past, so instead of wallowing there, make today as good as you can. Unfortunately, it’s a message lost on Dean.

I recommend seeing Blue Valentine.

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At The Theater 2011 #12: 50/50

Wow, 50/50 is good, damn good. I think it is safe to say that if Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in a movie, you should go see it. Look at the list of movies he’s made over the past 10 years: Brick, The Lookout, (500) Days of Summer, Inception, and now 50/50. These are all great movies. Sure, he was Cobra Commander is the horrendous G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra movie, but that exception aside, I think it’s time we all embrace the rule that if Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in a movie, we need to see that movie.

Not to discount Seth Rogen in 50/50. Rogen plays his usual, funny self, and with good reason in this movie. 50/50 is a semi-autobiographical movie written by a friend of Rogen’s and Seth Rogen’s character in 50/50 is largely based on Seth Rogen in real life.

This might be my favorite scene in 50/50.

Anna Kendrick is super cute in this movie. We need more movies where Anna Kendrick is super cute, which basically means more movies with Anna Kendick.

Super cute.

Going into 50/50, I was warned that it is a very depressing movie. After seeing it, I don’t think that depressing is the right term. Adam, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character, is put through some major ordeals throughout the course of the film, but I found the movie to be a very uplifting tale about the life of a cancer patient. Granted, there are some very sad parts in the movie, but calling 50/50 depressing is like calling Philadelphia depressing. That said, you might want to bring a travel pack of tissues with you into the theater.

50/50 is my favorite movie so far this year, and I feel it’s going to be a hard task for another movie to unseat it. If you haven’t seen it yet, I implore you to go do so. It is that good. Movies tickets are getting pricey these days. Spend your hard earned cash on great one.

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The Costumes of NYCC 2011

In honor of Halloween, I thought I would share pictures of some of my favorite costumes from this year’s New York Comic Con! I hope you enjoy them!
Gambit

I’ve never said “I need to take this guy’s photo” as quickly as I said it when I saw this guy’s Gambit costume. From head to toe, this costume is amazing!
Peter Porker: The Spectacular Spider-Ham
When I was a kid, I was a super huge Spider-Ham fan. I still am. This costume rocks. And rolls. I hope someone next year dresses up as Captain Americat!
M. Bison
Besides making the entire costume, this guy sculpted himself a new chin to look more like the big boss bad guy from Street Fighter II!
Silent Bob
Silent Bob
Both of these Silent Bobs kept in character when I interacted with them on the floor. I don’t know if I’d be able to go an entire day without talking. I’d be sure to slip up by the time I ordered my first pretzel of the con. I think they both captured Silent Bob perfectly.
Buddy Christ
Continuing the theme of Kevin Smith inspired costumes comes this one straight out of Dogma. I really like that he gave me the Buddy Christ pose for this photo.
The Fourth Doctor
I so want a Tom Baker scarf.

The Tenth Doctor
There were a lot of Doctors at New York Comic Con this year, which makes sense as it’s a fairly easy costume to put together. I was wearing a jacket and tie on Saturday and people thought I was dressed as The Tenth Doctor. I think this guy did it much better than I did!
The Eleventh Doctor
I haven’t reached the Matt Smith seasons of Doctor Who yet, so I needed a friend to explain to me who all these people walking around in fezzes were. It didn’t help that the first guy I saw dressed as The Eleventh Doctor in a fez had a really thick beard, which made me think he was cosplaying Jonathan Rhy- Davies from Raiders of the Lost Ark. But no, he was The Doctor. With the exception of maybe only Spider-Man or a Stormtrooper, The Eleventh Doctor may have been the most popular costume at NYCC this year.
The Eleventh Doctor
Like I said, The Eleventh Doctor was a very popular costume this year.
Dalek and…um, is that a guy from Cats?
I saw a few Daleks and even a couple of girls dressed as the TARDIS. I thought this was one of the best Dalek costumes I saw. I don’t know who the guy was supposed to be. Is he someone from Cats? Or a member of Heathcliff’s crew? I’ve been told by my more serious Doctor Who fan friends that his costume isn’t Doctor Who related. Anyone recognize him?
Mr. T
I saw two guys dressed like Mr. T out on the show floor. One had a giant bazooka. This one had a giant box of Mr. T cereal. Mr. T cereal wins. I pity the fool who don’t love cereal!
Quailman
This is the first Doug Funnie costume I have ever seen. This guy rules.
Bumblebee and Loki
I hated the Transformers movie. But it ended up giving us this guy’s awesome, eight foot tall costume, so I guess it’s not all bad. I accidentally took this Loki’s picture while trying to get a quick shot of Bumblebee. Amazing attention to detail in both Bumblebee and Loki.

Cobra Commander
I love when people get into character for their photo. This Cobra Commander definitely brought it!

Luke Cage
Besides being 100% accurate and well put together, what made this costume work so well is that this guy is tall and ripped. He looks like Luke Cage stepped out of a 1980s comic and walked into New York Comic Con!

Master Shake
We were almost run over by this Master Shake on Saturday. I grabbed my friends and jumped into a nearby Silver Age dealer’s booth and pretended to look through back issues of Legion of Superheroes to avoid be crushed by this Master Shake.
The Prince
I LOVE Katamari. The only way this costume could be better would be if this girl was rolling around a ball made up entirely of con swag.

The Tick and Arthur
“SPOON!”
Happy Halloween everyone!
 
Written by Billy Henehan / Photos by David Henehan & Graig Kreindler.