Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

“He's my friend.”

“So was I.”

            There are SO many superhero movies out today. The market is flooded with them and it seems most of them have the same themes and endings. The most common theme seems to be certain superheroes do not like each other at first and then through some kind of coincidence or magic they respect each other and come to be on the same side. Not totally bashing that storyline but it is just seems overused. Captain America: Civil spins that overused plot around by having the superheroes of the Avengers be friend and then become enemies.

            The Avengers are in serious trouble. They caused an insane amount of damage in the small country of Sakoia trying to fight off Ultron and in this film they accidentally blow up a building where innocent people were working. The United Nations believe that the Avengers should be kept in check. They propose The Sakovia Accords which is a rule/guidebook for the Avengers to sign and agree to that would give them limited power and only fight where they are assigned.

            Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) believes that every one of them should sign. He feels terrible that a young man died and his mother gave him a photo of her son. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), on the other hand, does not want to sign he believes that they should be able to go wherever in the world they are needed to help people.

            Steve gets himself into some deep crap when he helps his friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) aka The Winter Soldier. The United Nations conference for The Sakovia Accords was bombed and in a surveillance photo Bucky is the one who set the bomb in a news van. Steve does not believe Bucky would do something like even if the photo clearly shows him setting the bomb. He believes his best friend is innocent because Bucky remembered who he was slightly in The Winter Soldier. Iron Man and a lot of others think Steve is insane for defending Bucky and they want to stop him before things get out of hand.

            Obviously, there is a big clash between Tony and Steve and an even bigger one involving the other Avengers and some newer superheroes such as Spider Man, Black Panther, and Ant Man. The regulars from the tales of various Avengers pick their sides and do battle with their leader friends.

            In the end Steve and Tony do not settle their differences and the once friends remain divided.

            I was dying with the battle between Captain America and Iron Man because Ant Man was in it. The scene where Ant Man/Adam Lang is introduced to Steve is quite possibly my favorite scene of the movie. It just makes me so happy to see Paul Rudd in this superhero universe. Black Panther is an awesome character. He had a very interesting story that I am not going to give too much away because it is a major plot of the story and he is getting his own movie soon. The whole battle between the Avengers was incredible it was funny and intense and action packed.

            As much as I liked Civil War I do have a few complaints. I do hate to compare Marvel to DC but I have to say that DC did an awesome job in Batman vs. Superman with giving backstory into/slash an explanation as to why Batman and Superman fight in the first place. There is no need to watch Superman: Man of Steel before this although it might help a little but a lot of information and backstory is given in the movie. With these Marvel movies if you have not seen one you are shit out of luck and may not have any idea what they are talking about. Like if you have never seen Age of Ultron you will have no clue who Vision and Scarlett Witch are, you will have no clue what Sakovia is and why it is significant, and you may have no idea who Sharon Carter is from The Winter Soldier (I watched The Winter Soldier and even I forgot who she was) and a whole bunch of other points of the story. My major complaint may be the love aspect between Sharon Carter and Steve Rogers. Sharon Carter for those of you who may not be able to guess was Agent Carter’s niece. Like, ok, I completely understand that Steve has to move on from Peggy Carter, she got to age and she had to move on but with her niece? Seriously writers?! Steve and Sharon kissed and it felt like such shit it was so forced. (Plus I have an issue with Sharon Carter. If we are to go by the story shown in the TV show Agent Carter, Peggy’s brother and only sibling died in World War II and he was not married so therefore no kids from him. If that is true how is Sharon’s last name Carter? Sure, she could have changed her last name because her aunt was fucking Queen of the Universe and kick ass in every way, but if not then how the hell is her last name Carter?)

            Captain America: Civil War was a great movie. It is one of my favorite Marvel movies along with Captain America: The First Avenger, Ant-Man, and Deadpool. I like how everyone started off as friends and colleagues and by the end they were divided by these two men over how they were supposed to protect the people of the world. I do have to say I do not understand why Captain America had such an issue with the accords and being monitored, it seems like something he would agree with. But at the same time I can see why he would not want to be monitored and would want to just go and save whoever needs saving because that is the basic idea of Captain America: he wants to be the good guy, he wants to help everyone he can without restrictions. Captain America: Civil War is definitely a movie to go see in theaters as soon as you can. The action is great, the story is intense and interesting, and it will leave you very satisfied.

PS. Just in case you guys could not tell I am 100% #TeamCap. I loved seeing him beat the crap out of Iron Man. 

Before We Go (2014)

“It's possible, isn't it? It's possible that you could meet somebody who's perfect for you even though you're committed to somebody else.”

“No, no, see, I think if you're committed to somebody, you don't allow yourself to find perfection in someone else.”

            I think it is interesting how some people come into our lives. I always believe that people, good and bad, are meant to come into our lives at a certain time. I like stories that deal with people coming into each other’s lives when each one needs the other. Before We Go tells that kind of a story.

            Nick (Chris Evans) is playing his trumpet in Grand Central Station in New York City in the early morning hours. The station is completely empty and about to close. He sees a woman running across the station to get to the last train to Boston. She drops her phone in the rush without even seeming to notice or care. The woman gets to the train just as it is pulling away. Nick gives the phone back to the woman Brooke (Alice Eve). Brooke has had a rough night; her purse was stolen at a bar along with her wallet. All she had was her phone. Nick tries to get her a cab to take her back to Boston by later in the morning but both his credit cards are declined. Now Brooke has to wait until the morning to get the train back.

            As the night goes on Nick tries his hardest to get in touch with his friend to loan him money to help get Brooke back home. Of course they start learning things about each other as they wander the streets of New York. Brooke manage to get to a phone at certain points. She calls her friend to get to her house to get rid of a note she had written to her husband to tell him their marriage was over. The friend lets her know that she cannot get into the house. Nick is still not over his girlfriend that broke up with him six years before. He had been about to propose to her when she broke things off with him. From a friend he finds out where his ex-girlfriend is and brings Brooke along with him. He has her pretend she is his new girlfriend. Nick holds out hope that his ex will want to get back with him but that does not work out like he had hoped.

            By the end of the nigh/morning Brook and Nick have come to like each other. Nick takes Brooke back to the station in the morning when the trains start running again.

            Chris Evans and Alice Eve were really good together. I am so used to see Evans as Captain America now that it was really nice to see him play a normal, non-superhuman. He also directed the movie which he did a really good job with. Alice Eve I have seen in only one other movie before this called The Decoy Bride. She was cute in that. We were not supposed to really care for her character in that but I liked her acting.

            Before We Go is not a bad movie. I liked the story even though it got a little slow in the middle. I liked how the characters met and kind of helped each other out with each other’s drama or dilemmas in their lives. As I said the story got slow in the middle but for the most part Before We Go is worth watching at least once.  

Thought Round-Up on Marvel Avenger Movies

My brothers have been obsessed with the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since Iron Man came out in 2008. For all those years they have been trying desperately to get me to sit done to watch at least one of them. I have always wanted to see the Marvel movies but in those years as all the movies were being released I was attending like sucking, soul crushing college. And I was also being a huge movie snob and only really watching classic films, eesh did I miss a lot. I did actually get to see The Avengers in theaters because when it was released I was working at a movie theater and got to see it for free. Now that my head is out of my ass and I am expanding my range of movie watching, it was now a great time to finally see all the Avenger movies. Well, besides the time Age of Ultron just came out last week and I hated not knowing what was going on with the characters so fire under my butt right there.

My first solo Marvel superhero movie was Captain America: The First Avenger and that was only because I started watching the TV show Agent Carter. Peggy Carter is now one of my all time favorite movie/TV show characters. I fan girl raged over her in my review for Captain America: The First Avenger so I will not go overboard here. The movie was amazing. I LOVE beyond reason the story of Steve Rogers. I love how he was this sweet kid who wanted to defend his country and help fighting the bad guys from the goodness of his heart. The doctor who created the technology to turn Steve into a fighting superhero of sorts and Peggy Carter were the only ones who believed him. I can never get enough of Captain America as a character and as a story. It is one of those movies I can watch at least once a week. Every time I see Steve Rogers in an Avengers movie I love him all the more because he is still fighting for the good of others and is never ever selfish about anything. I adore it to no end. And how in anyone’s right mind they do not love, admire, and adore Agent Carter as a character and Hayley Atwell for playing her is beyond me. GO WATCH THE SHOW RIGHT NOW!!!

            Iron Man and Thor I could not for the life of me get into. Thor I felt was quite dull except for Loki and Darcy. Maybe it has something to do with it being about gods in other realms I do not know. I could not get behind the characters or believe the actors playing the characters at all. Iron Man kind of pissed me off. Robert Downey, Jr. is incredible as Tony Stark he IS Tony Stark no one could have played the character better but the character kind of drives me nuts. I mentioned in my reviews that I cannot stand when something happens to someone and then from that something happening the person changes. That is what happened to Tony and Thor they got too cocky and annoying and then they changed after some traumatic experience. Also they started out as spoiled dicks. Unlike Captain America who is good from the bottom of his heart Thor and Tony had to go through something to change.

            The Avengers movies are very good. The first one I really liked when I originally saw it. Age of Ultron I wrote up not that long ago. I felt Ultron was a little drawn out.

            The only Avenger I would pay top dollar to see in their own movie is Black Widow. Scarlett Johansson is amazing as the character. Black Widow is just a complete bad ass fright from her first fighting scene. I go nuts watching her kick some ass effortlessly in the movies she has been in. Marvel needs to make a Black Widow movie. There is so much to that character and she is so awesome that there could be a movie just for her. Unfortunately, the writers of Age of Ultron set Natasha Romanoff and Black Widow back ten years by creating a love story between her and The Hulk. That pissed me off to absolutely no end. Great job screenwriters, great job making a great character and then knocking her down to love interest when she never should have been. I get it we need to see that Natasha is not a robot or emotionless but there were plenty of other ways to do so.

            So to round up my painfully long Avengers marathon: I actually did like them despite some short comings with the characters, some of the actors/actresses, and the stories. Captain America: The First Avenger is now one of my all time favorite movies and Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter are my idols. Iron Man 3 was the best of the trilogy. Loki/Tom Hiddleston and Kat Dennings make Thor worth sitting through.

            Not the best reviewing of all the Avengers movies, but hey I am not a professional film critic which surely you can see. I really like how all these superheroes are not perfect. They all have their own demons and dilemmas they have to work out. Even though watching all the Avengers movies felt like a drag at times I had a great time watching them. I am very glad I did because now I can say I have seen them all and now I am ready for whatever the next Marvel Cinematic Universe movie is. 

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

“If you step out that door, you're an Avenger.”

            Marvel’s newest Avengers movie Age of Ultron is an MCU fan’s dream come true. All the superheroes are given a great amount of screen time and character development and two new really awesome heroes are introduced.

            The latest bad guy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe actually comes from within the Avengers team. At the beginning of the movie the team has found Loki’s staff that holds one of four extremely powerful stones in a small remote European country. Back at Avengers headquarters in Stark Tower, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) figure out they can use the power of the stone to protect the world from invasion from different realms. Tony wants to do create this protective barrier after New York City was attacked by these alien things and prevent more from coming through. Bruce does not like the idea of using the stone as a way to protect the world but he goes along with Tony.

            That night there is a party at the headquarters. Since nothing is happening with the stone and what Tony and Bruce want to do with it, Tony has Jarvis scan for things that will make the stone work the way he wants it to. Well during the party Jarvis helps to bring to life Ultron (voiced by James Spader). Unfortunately and very quickly Ultron is not kind like Jarvis. He immediately hates Tony and everything that humans have done in the world. Ultron attacks Jarvis and shuts him down. He transfers his information to one of Tony’s droids and physically attacks the Avengers after their party.

            Now Ultron is a major threat to the world. He wants to bring down mankind and create a new world with machines. He takes the form of an imposing mechanical figure and recruits twin brother and sister Pietro and Wanda Maximoff with great super powers.

            The Avengers have to stop Ultron from destroying the world and deal with each other.

            I can only say so much about the cast without getting redundant. They are all amazing in their roles. Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda/Scarlet Witch and Aaron Taylor- Johnson as Pietro/Quicksilver were awesome additions to the Avengers. I liked their characters and I really liked how they played their characters. I cannot wait to see more of them in future Marvel movies and how they interact with the rest of the team.

            I am going to give a minor spoiler away here and I am sorry but I need to fan girl over it so bad. If you have read the credits list on IMDB or have read any article lately pertaining to Agent Carter or Hayley Atwell you will know that both character and actress make an appearance in the movie. I thought Atwell’s appearance was going to be through a flashback but it was not. How Peggy Carter is brought back very quickly for Captain America I will not say but I will tell you that it broke my damn heart. Seriously, Steggy is like one of the most heartbreaking and horrible ships to ship. But I cannot help myself I love them as characters and as a sort-of couple way too much. And Steve makes a mention at the end how his job now is just be a soldier he does not know any other life and his chance for a family and a normal life passed seventy-five years ago. COME THE HELL ON MARVEL!!!! YOU’RE KILLING MY FEELS!!!! (Good lord I am such a such a raging fan girl. I apologize. I'll get myself together one of these days into a normal twenty-seven year old I promise).

            Steve Rogers is emerging as the leader of the Avengers. He is the perfect choice because despite everything he has seen in mankind since he was unfrozen he is still has the same morals and values as the skinny kid from Brooklyn. He is the good, wavering man out of all the superheroes. There is not a vain bone in Steve’s body he is all about helping others.

            Natasha and Bruce are an item now. When the hell did that happen? I understand that maybe the writers were looking for a way to dig deeper into Bruce and Natasha as characters and show character development but I did not that like that all. To me showing how they are getting closer to each other was just unnecessary to the story. There are probably countless numbers of ways to develop the characters rather than having them become a couple. I applauded the writers of The Winter Soldier for not making Steve and Natasha a couple and developing them as friends and now I am going to give them a jeer for their turn around.

            While I did like Age of Ultron and where it brought all the characters for future movies I did find it a little boring. There were some parts I felt were just too dragged out and some of the scenes and story lines were just totally unnecessary. Like all of the Marvel movies there is a message. I cannot put my finger on a solid message I will say that the message was about technology. We praise technology but there are certain areas in life that technology has its limits. And then of course there is always a moral message in Marvel movies and there is one here. Age of Ultron is great to experience in theaters on a big screen but if you have trouble sitting for long periods of time in a theater like I do (thanks ADHD) than wait for the movie to be out 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

“This isn't the age of spies. This is not even the age of heroes. This is the age of miracles... and there's nothing more horrifying than a miracle.”

            Superheroes stories are fantastic especially the Marvel ones. I like how they take current events and issues and place them in this incredible world of heroes and villains. The story is told in such a way that you may not even realize it based off currents events and issues. When I watch a movie I want to get away from the real world I do not want to think about life outside of my focus of the story for however long a movie runs for.

            My favorite Marvel superhero is Captain America. He is my favorite because he is what America and its people should be. You could argue Steve Rogers is the ideal American man for the 1940s but I feel he is the ideal American man for any age. Steve is a good man he does not want to be a hero he just wants to do what is right and fight all the bad guys and the injustices of the world.

            Captain America: The Winter Soldier does not pick up immediately following The First Avenger. Some time has passed. Captain Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is running early in the morning around Washington, D.C. Since he is a super soldier he literally runs laps around a fellow, much younger soldier, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). Steve is still struggling with the ways of his new world. He carries a notebook to look things up whenever he comes across something he does not know. At the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum there is an exhibit dedicated to his return and his service in the army during World War II. Everyone he served with lived to an old age and passed on except for him and his friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) who was one of the only Howling Commandoes to die in service. There is also a video interview with the love of his life Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) from 1953 discussing Steve and her founding of S.H.I.E.L.D. Peggy is still alive but not in good health. She talks to Steve and then quickly forgets him.

            Steve’s mindset and morals are still kind of set in the 1940s. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) shows him a warehouse of weapons that could bring down a small nation. Steve does not believe in weapons like the ones he is being shown and neither in how they are to be used. When Fury questions him about his service and use of weapons during the War Steve rightly says that that was different there was a worldwide threat that had to be stopped at all costs. The threats that S.H.I.E.L.D are fighting now are top secret no one outside of the government knows about them.

            While driving back to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters, Fury is attacked. He manages to just barely get away. He goes to Steve’s apartment and covertly tells Steve that S.H.I.E.L.D has been compromised no one is to be trusted. Fury is then shot at through a window. Fury dies at the hospital. Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) has been working with S.H.I.E.L.D and was close to Fury. She is upset with Steve she knows he is hiding something.

            Steve eventually tells Natasha what Fury had told him before he was shot and they partner up to find out what S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing with the enemy HYDRA. They find that the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) has been working with HYDRA and their secret weapon The Winter Soldier.

            Throughout the events of The Winter Soldier Steve Rogers fights like the brave, loyal, protective man and soldier he has always been yet he struggles with the morals of fighting immoral people and an immoral government while his 1940s mindset still sees the black and white of a gray world.

            Marvel movies have the best casted movies ever. Chris Evans cannot in any way get enough praise for playing Steve Rogers/Captain America. I believe him as Steve Rogers as this loving, kind, good hearted soldier who wants to do what is right for others. Scarlett Johansson plays Black Widow like no one else can. Black Widow is such an awesome character. When I watch her I feel like I can see she has some emotions in her and she is not all cold as ice and tough yet she still walks around and carries herself like she is cold as ice and tough. Do not know if that made any sense. I guess I could she walks around like a boss ass head bitch in charge with this great strut and look that could kill someone just staring at her yet underneath there is a smidge of a caring person underneath all that. I loved her friendship/partnership with Steve because that is exactly what their relationship was it was a friendship and a partnership there was no love/romantic feelings between them. That was so refreshing to see a male character and a female character working together and not have all the romantic feels attached. That made me so damn happy. Bravo writers. If you go back and read my review of The First Avenger you will know that I have a slight obsession with Agent Carter … ok, ok, I lied, I’m sorry. I have a HUGE obsession with Agent Carter. I LOVE the TV show Agent Carter and I love Agent Peggy Carter as a character. Along with Black Widow, the world needs more female characters like Peggy Carter in the world. Before I get on a tirade, Peggy was not in this movie too much since she was older. The scene where Steve goes to visit an old, sick Peggy was heartbreaking! God damn Hayley Atwell and her awesome acting for hurting my feels! Evans and Atwell were just killer on the feels in that scene. You can see his longing for the Peggy he knew and for a life they could have had together on Evans’s face. Ugh, I was like just, here, take my damn heart I do not need it do with it what you will. Emily Van Camp’s character Agent 13 had so much potential. She seems like she could become another bad ass awesome female character in the Marvel Universe. Anthony Mackie… total bad ass. I loved him and his character right from his first scene. I cannot wait to see more of him in the MCU.

 

            The script was fantastic. The characters remained the same as we knew them before but they were given a chance to grow. I really liked the story because it really was a good guys versus the bad guys which was black and white. The gray was all the ethical and moral issues with everything the good and bad guys did. The direction by Anthony and Joe Russo was incredible because it captured all the emotions of every single character and all those moral and ethical issues they were all struggling with or working against.

            Captain America: The Winter Soldier perfectly expands and continues Steve Rogers’s and Captain America’s wonderful, truly patriotic story. Like The First Avenger I absolutely loved The Winter Soldier and I cannot wait to watch it again. 

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

“Whatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man.”

            So many superhero movies deal with a guy who either becomes a hero reluctantly or is a cocky bad ass or already comes fully loaded with super powers from his home planet. They all want to get rid of the bad guys so they do not destroy the world. They usually have to save the world they have no other choice. Captain America: The First Avenger tells a different story and one, I believe, to be far superior then all the other stories.

            World War II has just begun for the United States. The country’s citizens have become patriotic like never before. All the men who are willing and able to fight, sign up at recruiting stations to defend their country. One man willing to fight is Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) but unfortunately he is not able. Steve is a very small guy with asthma. He is so desperate to join the war that he has gone to several recruiting stations each time falsifying where he is from. His friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), a big healthy guy, signed up and was made a sergeant. To celebrate, Bucky brings Steve along with him to the Stark Expo in Queens. Located the Expo is a recruiting station. Steve gives this one a try. He is seen in the waiting room by a scientist named Dr. Abraham Erskin (Stanley Tucci).

            While waiting to be examined, Steve becomes anxious after seeing a sign in the room stating that if any of his documentation is found to be false he will be arrested. An MP comes into the room followed by Dr. Erskin. The doctor promises him he is not in trouble and will allow him to sign up for the Army. Steve is placed in a special regiment that works for the Strategic Scientific Reserve. The first day of training the regiment is introduced to Col. Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and a female officer named Agent Carter (Hayley Atwell). Steve is the only man in the group that has respect for Agent Carter and she takes notice. What Steve lacks in physicality he makes up for with his intelligence, his respect, and his kindness. During a running exercise, the person in charge tells the men that if they can get a flag down from a pole they will get a ride back to camp in the car with Agent Carter and Col. Phillips. All the men try in vain to climb the pole but they never get to it. Steve goes up to the pole, takes a piece out from the bottom making the whole thing fall, and takes the flag.

            Col. Phillips does not believe Steve is the right guy for Dr. Erskin’s Super Soldier experiment because he is a scrawny kid. Dr. Erskin believes in Steve and wants him for the experiment. After Steve has been officially chosen, Dr. Erskin sits down with him. He sees the small guy just wants to stop the bad guys because they are bullies. He is a good man with a good a heart which is exactly why he was chosen.

            Agent Carter brings Steve to what looks like an antique store in Brooklyn. Behind a bookcase is a secret lab where Steve will be turned into a super soldier. Dr. Erskin created the formula and millionaire scientist Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) designed the technology for the metamorphosis. The changing process is intense. Agent Carter at one point yells for Howard to stop but Steve tells them he can take it. When the process is complete Steve emerges taller and stronger. As soon as the process is over Steve’s new strength is put to the test. A Nazi saboteur managed their way into the lab. He blows a part of it up and shoots his way out of the lab. Steve gives chase to the man throughout the streets of Brooklyn. He catches up to the man but does not manage to bring him in. The man breaks a capsule in his mouth filled with poison and as he dies he says “Hail Hydra.”

            In Germany there is a man named Schmidt (Hugo Weaving). He is part of a Nazi scientific unit called Hydra. Before Dr. Erskin came to the United States he had worked for the German government where he had been experimenting on the Super Soldier serum. The serum was not ready when Schmidt took it and it left him deformed in a certain way. It also exacerbated his greed for power.

            Instead of fighting in the War Steve is sent around the War Bonds circuit as part of a show as a character called Captain America. The tour makes its way to Europe to the camp where Bucky’s unit is stationed. The men mercilessly make fun of him. Steve tells Agent Carter he feels terrible he still wants to fight in the War like he had wanted to. He hears that Bucky and most of the unit have been captured behind enemy lines and are considered to be dead. Steve wants to go in and save his friend and the rest of the unit. Col. Phillips will not hear it so Steve takes the matter into his own hands along with some help from Agent Carter and Howard Stark.

            Steve is dropped behind enemy lines. He finds Hydra’s compound and rescues Bucky and the rest of the men from the unity. The men fight back using weapons Hydra has made. Steve and Bucky come face to face with Schmidt. Schmidt shows Steve what happened to him when he took the first Super Soldier serum. It turned his whole face and skull red. Schmidt, aka Red Skull, manages to get away before the compound is destroyed.

            Back at camp Steve is ready to be punished for his actions but is instead put in charge of gathering a group of men to take down Hydra and Red Skull.

            In the end, Steve makes the ultimate sacrifice as a soldier in order to save his country.

            I loved every single person in this cast. It was wonderfully cast every actor was perfection in their role. Not enough praise can go to Chris Evans as Captain America. I completely believed him as the character. He does not have the macho look of the other superheroes, he looked like a real down to earth guy from the 1940s. Evans did what an actor should do in movies he played the character so well that you cannot imagine anyone else in the role. Sebastian Stan I had only ever seen as The Mad Hatter from Once Upon a Time before this. I loved him as Bucky. I liked his friendship with Steve. He was kind of the macho, big best friend to the small guy but they were definitely like brothers. I liked how Bucky did not make a big deal out of Steve’s change. Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark was great. He is not conventionally handsome which I think adds to the character because Howard is a playboy yet you can still believe he is a brilliant scientist and he does care about people.  Neal McDonnough is getting a mention because I love him in whatever he is in. His character was a bit silly looking yet a total badass. Tommy Lee Jones was Tommy Lee Jones he was a curmudgeon old military colonel and of course he was great. Hugo Weaving as Red Skull was one of the better bad guys and better actors as a bad guy in a Marvel movie. He had the perfect look and demeanor for a bad guy especially a nasty German Nazi one. Natalie Dormier is getting a mention even though she had like a combined paragraph of lines. Her character was pretty much just used as a device to flirt with Steve because he has become a hero and also to show that Agent Carter really likes Steve.

            Speaking of Agent Carter… Hayley Atwell and Agent Carter are getting their own paragraph. At the time of this writing, the miniseries Agent Carter has just premiered. Before the miniseries I had never seen Captain America! Shame on me, I know, especially because I have brothers who are obsessed with Marvel and any kind of superhero movie. I had seen Agent Carter posts on Tumblr and that piqued my interest in seeing the show. She looked like a badass character I would adore. Well, I am now totally obsessed with the character of Agent Peggy Carter and am even more so after watching the movie. Holy crap the woman is incredible! Her first scene in the movie is utter perfection for a female character. Right away we are shown this woman is plenty capable of handling herself with men. (Also, look at the GIF under the third paragraph. There is A MAN, A SOLDIER, walking behind her fumbling with a box of clipboards and she is as cool as ice and all tough business). You can see she quietly proves herself capable without shoving it in men’s faces. Her scenes with Steve were beautiful. Their relationship was not love at first sight which is outrageously refreshing. From the first time she is introduced to Steve you can see she feels protective of him. She likes him because he is the only male who respects her and her work and does not treat her like she should not be where she is. If Agent Carter did fall in love with Steve it is because she respected him for respecting her and she admired his courage, determination, and kindness. As she told Col. Phillips she helped Steve cross over enemy territory because she believed in him. She believed in Steve when no one else fully did besides Dr. Erskin and that is important for both characters. Her jealousy in the one scene was not shown as a weakness or meant to be annoying. It only made her look tougher when she emptied a gun shooting at Steve’s shield (and possibly also made Steve like her bit a more). Not once did Agent Carter become a weak annoying girl even at the end when she was talking to Steve for the last time. If you have yet to watch the show Agent Carter WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!! GO WATCH IT NOW!! STOP READING THIS REVIEW AND GO!! Agent Carter is the perfect role model. She is intelligent, witty, and dangerous yet just the right amount of emotional, feminine, and strong. Marvel, the writers of the movie and show, and the directors of the movie and show did an absolutely fantastic job of portraying Agent Carter. She is how every female character should be written.
      Hayley Atwell deserves nothing but praise and adoration for playing Agent Carter. She had the perfect look for a 1940s woman and played the character beautifully. Like Chris Evans playing Steve Rogers, Atwell plays the character so well you cannot imagine anyone else but her in the role. Absolute perfection in every single way. I would also just like to throw out there that I now have a huge girl crush on Atwell and Agent Carter. I adore Atwell as an actress. I love watching her handle her character because you can see that she enjoys playing Peggy and that brings more out of the character. It has been such a long time since a great kickass female character like Peggy Carter has been seen in the movies or on TV. She reminds me a lot of Sydney Bristow from Alias that was also shown on ABC. Sydney Bristow and Jennifer Garner are my ultimate heroes and I have desperately missed a character and actress like her on TV. Agent Carter and Hayley Atwell are filling in that void ten times over. Atwell said she would be down for making an Agent Carter movie.... I'm waiting Marvel. 

            Captain American: The First Avenger is such a wonderful movie. I hate the fact that it took me so long to finally watch it but I cannot even describe how much I love it. The story of Captain America, to me, is refreshing and different from all the other superheroes. Steve Rogers was a guy who wanted to fight for his country and protect what he believed in. He is a regular guy who was given a gift and with that gift, combined with his kindness and sincerity, became the ultimate good guy. There are so many amazing scenes and fabulous characters and actors. The costumes were gorgeous for every character and the scenery, either real or CGI, was very good. I absolutely loved everything about Captain America: The First Avenger. I cannot wait to watch it again.