Tag Archives: Ed Brubaker

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Holiday Gift Guide 2014

Finding the right gift for your friends and family can be arduous. Fortunately, Tuesday Night Movies is here with picks sure to please the lovers of pop culture in your life!

Two classic TV series have recently received the deluxe home video treatment. Both are available on a per season basis, but it’s the full series sets of these series that really deliver. If you know a fan of either of these series, these sets would make the perfect gift.

batman tv sereis

The first is the Batman: The Complete Television Series. For years, it looked like this TV series would never see a home release because of legal reasons. Fans of the Adam West Batman series were left with the choice of taping the series off TV Land broadcasts or buying from bootleggers (who taped the series from TV Land). This fall, Warner Brothers released a gorgeous remastering of the 1960s Batman TV series. This show has never looked as good as it does in this set. The colors really pop on a HD TV. The set includes all three seasons of the Batman TV series on Blu Ray, a digital download of the entire series, a 32 page episode guide, an Adam West scrapbook, a set of 44 Batman trading cards featuring characters and iconic moments from the show, and a Hot Wheels Batmobile. The box even plays part of the Batman TV series theme song!

the wonder years

The second is The Wonder Years: The Complete Series. Like the Batman series, this was a TV series whose home release was mired in legal red tape. Part of what made The Wonder Years so iconic was its inclusion of classic 60s songs. Unfortunately, it was much easier to license the rights to those songs when the show was first produced than it is today, making the chance of a proper home release very unlikely. Luckily for fans of this show, StarVista/Time Life managed to do the unthinkable, and get the licenses for the all the songs in the original series, including the iconic Joe Cocker cover of A Little Help From My Friends. The set even comes packaged in a metal Kennedy Jr. High school locker!

agents of shield season 1game of thrones season 4

If you’re looking for TV shows a little more recent, look no further than Agents of SHIELD and Game of Thrones (both of which happen to be recapped on a regular basis on this site). Season one of Agents of SHIELD is available on both Blu Ray and DVD, and both sets are packed with bonus features. Seasons one, two and three of Game of Thrones are already on Blu Ray and DVD, and the fourth season is on its way to home release in early February. I’m sure any Game of Thrones fan, whether they pledge to House Stark or House Lannister, would be happy to receive a note this holiday season saying that they will be receiving the fourth season at their house as soon as its released.

Three of the best reviewed movies on Tuesday Night Movies were released early enough in 2014 to be out on DVD and Blu Ray in time for the holidays.

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The first, and possibly one of the most unexpected great movies of the year, is The Lego Movie. As you may be able to tell in my review, I LOVED this movie. I highly recommend buying this movie as a gift for a loved one, whether it’s for a child or an adult. This movie proves that you can make an all-ages movie that can be enjoyed by moviegoers of all ages.

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Battling The Lego Movie for the best movie I saw in the first few months of 2014 is The Grand Budapest Hotel. If you have a friend who has enjoyed any of Wes Anderson’s other movies, this movie is a must-buy and a lay up of a gift if there ever was one.  I’d also suggest even buying this for any of your friends who lack social graces. Ralph Fienes writes the book on charm in this movie. Your friend might learn something.

winter-soldier-posterGuardians-of-the-Galaxy-Poster-High-Res

2014 saw the release of two of the best, if not the two best, Marvel movies: Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. Both are awesome. Both are available on Blu Ray. These movies both have high crossover appeal; they’re not just for your friends who read comics. If you know someone who loves James Bond, they will probably really enjoy Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And anyone who appreciates a few laughs mixed in with their butt kicking action will surely love Guardians of the Galaxy.

winter soldier comicgotg comic

Your friend already owns Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy on Blu Ray? In that case, I suggest buying said friend the comics that inspired the movies. The comic book story that inspired Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a must read for any fan of the movie. Writer Ed Brubaker proves himself to a master of writing espionage, and the art by Steve Epting is absolutely gorgeous. The Guardians of the Galaxy movie drew its inspiration from the Guardians of the Galaxy comic book series penned by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. If you left the theater saying “I AM GROOT,” you have Abnett and Landing to thank. #yourewelcome

baby groot groot bobblehead

At the end of the day, no Groot fan’s desk is complete without a Groot bobblehead from Funko Pop Vinyl. Groot is available in both full size and dancing baby versions. The Groot fan in your life no doubt needs both.

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If you listen to the Tuesday Night Comics podcast, then you know that I am a BIG fan of Michel Fiffe’s Copra. The original issues are very hard to come by in the secondary market, but Michel recently released Copra Round One from Bergen Street Comics Press. Copra Round One collects Copra issues 1-6, and gets you in on the ground floor of this ground breaking series. If you are interested in the recently announced Suicide Squad movie, I would suggest skipping the Suicide Squad DC comic currently being published and pick up Copra Round One instead. The series is Fiffe’s love letter to The Suicide Squad, Doctor Strange and Shade: The Changing Man.

the art of neil gaimain

If you know a Neil Gaiman fan, there is a distinct possibility that they may have missed out on reading Hayley Campbell’s excellent biography of Gaiman, The Art of Neil Gaiman, which was released earlier this year. Don’t be fooled by the title and the size of the book. This isn’t an art book in the traditional sense. Instead, it shows off Gaiman’s art: his writing. This book covers Gaiman’s entire writing career, from his early days as a journalist to becoming one of the most respected writers of novels and comic books. This book is a must read for any fan of Gaiman’s Sandman series. He gave Ms. Campbell access to his writing journals and notes. The Art of Neil Gaiman provides outlines, early script pages, notes on hotel napkins. There’s enough in here to keep any Gaiman fan occupied for many many hours.

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Review

winter soldier poster

When it was announced that the follow up to Captain America: The First Avenger would be Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the comic book fanboy in me was beyond excited.  The Winter Soldier is one of my favorite characters of the last 10 years, and as long as Marvel Studios didn’t drop the ball, this had the making of an awesome movie. They didn’t drop the ball. Captain America: The Winter Soldier rocks.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the Captain America movie we deserve. Captain America: The First Avenger was decent, but I would put it at the bottom of the list of  Marvel Studios’s movies thus far. Winter Soldier, on the other hand, rockets to the top, with maybe Iron Man 1 and Avengers ahead of it.

MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW. If you haven’t seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier yet, see it first and come back. And if you’re an Agents of SHIELD fan, make sure you watch Winter Soldier BEFORE you watch the tonight’s episode!

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I’m a huge fan of Ed Brubaker’s decade long run on Captain America. It was in this run that Brubaker debuted the mysterious Winter Soldier, whose identity remained hidden for awhile. Comic book fans are aware of the revolving door between death and resurrection among heroes and villains. Remember when Superman died, only to came back less than a year later? But there were two characters who seemed to be the exceptions to the revolving door rule: Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben and Captain America’s partner Bucky. Not only did Brubaker bring back Bucky, in the form of new Cap villain Winter Soldier, but he did it in a masterful story that seemed 100% plausible ( in a world inhabited by mutants and gods).

The movie is handled perfectly. Besides superhero fans, I’d recommend Captain America: The Winter Soldier to anyone who loves thrillers, espionage and movies like The Bourne Identity and Taken.

The opening hostage scene seemed to echo the opening of the PS2 video game Metal Gear Solid 2. The way Cap sneaks onto the boat, the ways he silently takes out the terrorists, I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching what could have been the opening of Metal Gear Solid: The Movie. And I loved it. I like that this movie from the start was more Bourne and Bond and less Superman and Thor.

The action scenes in Winter Soldier were fantastic all around. I really felt like I was on the edge of my seat as I watched the movie, or at least as close to being on the edge of your seat you can be in one of big recliners at the AMC on 86th and Broadway. The fight between Winter Soldier and Cap on the Helicarrier seemed reminiscent of Cap’s scenes on the mothership in The Avengers, but it didn’t seem repetitive at all. That’s a nice balance to strike.

I thought Marvel did a great job with keeping the identity of the Winter Soldier a mystery leading up to the debut of this movie. Yes, if you read the comic books, you knew it was Bucky, but for anyone new to the story, Marvel did a good job of keeping the cat inside the bag.

The big stand out in the movie for me is Anthony Mackie as The Falcon. Mackie is just perfect in this role. He makes The Falcon so likable and cool that I hope we see Falcon in Avengers: Age of Ultron and don’t have to wait for Captain America 3 for his return.

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If you saw the movie, hopefully you stayed for both end credits scenes. How many Marvel movies have to come out before everyone realizes that you do not get up until the very end of the credits? I’ve already talked to a few people who missed one or both of the end credits scenes. Stay in your seats!

The first end credits scene involved Baron Von Strucker, a compatriot of the Red Skull. The two twins he has imprisoned are Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Flash Fact: They’re Magneto’s kids. Though you probably won’t hear that mentioned in any Marvel Studios movie until the X-Men franchise rights return to Marvel. In the comics, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch started out as X-Men villains, but reformed and became early members of the Avengers. Because of this, they’re in the interesting place of being used by both Marvel Studios for their Avengers franchise and Fox for their X-Men franchise. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will both appear in the upcoming X-Men: Days of Futures Past, but played by different actors than they’re played by in Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Also in that scene, Baron Von Strucker is in possession of Loki’s staff, which is powered by a glowing blue ball of energy. Like the Tesseract and the Aether, I believe this ball of energy is another of Marvel’s Infinity Gems. I’m guessing this one is the Mind Gem, since Loki used that staff to control people’s minds in Avengers. In the excellent comic book series, Infinity Gauntlet, villan Thanos (purple dude from the end of The Avengers movie) gathers the 6 Infinity Gems and gains power over pretty much everything. I think Avengers 3 will be based on Infinity Gauntlet. You should give it a read. It’s a great series.

In the second scene after the credits, Bucky is reading about himself at the Captain America Smithsonian exhibit. I’m already excited for Captain America 3, and more Cap/Black Widow/Agent 13/Falcon action. I’m guessing the four of them will team up to track down Bucky and rehabilitate him, with Crossbones and someone else as the big bad guys.

More Comic Book Connections:

crossbones

Brock Rumlow, played by Frank Grillo, is the Hydra agent in charge of taking down Captain America. At the end of the movie, he’s recovered from the Helicarrier crash, badly burned and barely alive, and  put into the back of an ambulance. Brock Rumlow is the alter ego of longtime Captain America villain Crossbones. In the comics, Crossbones was the Red Skull’s right hand man and later was involved with the Skull’s daughter, Sin. I expect we’ll see Grillo return as Crossbones in Captain America 3.

agent 13

Agent 13, played by Emily VanCamp, is a huge part of Captain America’s life. She’s been his partner in the field and his lover.  She is Captain America’s Lois Lane; if he ends up with one woman, you can expect it to be her. She’s also the grandniece of Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers’s best gal from the 1940s, the old woman Stever Rogers visits in the hospital in Captain America: Winter Soldier.

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Sam Wilson/Falcon, played by Anthony Mackie, is another huge part of Captain America’s life. Falcon even shared the title on the cover of Captain America’s comic in the 1970s, when it was rebranded Captain America and the Falcon. Like many of the heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Falcon in this movie derives his costume and origin more from Falcon in The Ultimates  than from the main Marvel Universe.

Overall, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of the best, if the not the best, movies to come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and one of the best superhero movies of all time. I cannot recommend seeing this movie enough.

For more on Captain America: The Winter Soldier, be sure to listen to this week’s episode of the Tuesday Night Comics podcast, where Dave and I discuss the movie in depth.