Captain America: The First Avenger - The Summer Blockbuster that delivers the goods!

Steve Rogers, a kid that has been rejected for military service on a number of occasions, volunteers for a top secret program which seeks to turn the average soldier into a superhero. This program successfully turns him into Captain America, a hero dedicated to the truths, ideals and defense of the American way of life.

In this summer of blockbuster sequels and comic book adaptations it might be difficult to sell a film like Captain America to the movie - going public, but there are a number of reasons why they should not skip over this tale of The First Avenger.

The story gave the audience the necessary nuts and bolts of the good Captain's origins to draw them in without overwhelming them in miniscule details that could derail it. Director Joe Johnston effectively mixed solid action sequences along with properly timed bits of humor to give the film an almost "Indiana Jones -esque" quality. But what set Captain America apart from those other lackluster sequels or comic book films was the performance of Chris Evans as the title character. When the audience is first introduced to Captain America, he is a skinny kid from Brooklyn named Steve Rogers who has been rejected by the Army four times due to his poor health and other medical problems. One got the sense that Steve had been picked on most of his life, but that did not stop him from standing up to bullies or taking on challenges that stronger men shied away from. He was the prototypical underdog and if Johnston had just jumped straight into showing Captain America cracking skulls and kicking Nazi butt without showing the audience who he was before, the film would have lacked the depth to story and character that it exhibited throughout (a trait sadly missing in the bulk of films released this summer). The humanity and heart that Evans endowed Steve with at the beginning not only made him the perfect subject for the Army's Super Soldier program, but also gave the audience a hero that they could relate to on an emotional level.

It was easy to stand up and cheer for Captain America for it was the first summer blockbuster of 2011 to deliver the goods (and make sure you stick around after the credits for a special surprise, you'll be glad you did).

Grade: B

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: An epic of epic epicness indeed!

Scott Pilgrim has met the woman of his dreams but there is a problem, she has seven deadly exes. In order to be with her, he must defeat these seven evil former flames in mortal combat.

So why should you rush out to rent or buy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World? For starters, the performances by all of the actors are solid, from the lead all the way through to the extras in the background. Michael Cera played Scott with the kind of geekish charm the part called for, Mary Elizabeth Winstead nailed her role as Ramona, Scott’s dream girl with the set of seven deadly exes while Kieran Culkin and Alison Pill stole almost every scene they were in as Wallace and Kim respectively. Visually, the movie reveled in its comic book source material and also paid homage to the numerous video games it referenced throughout the screen time. This meant that the fight sequences were a thrill to behold as Scott and his foes used insane moves (which can usually only be accomplished via impossible button combinations on a PS3 or Xbox 360 controller) to fight for the love of Ramona. Beyond all of that, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was just a fun movie to watch for the story not only entertained the audience, but gave them a set of characters to emotionally connect with.

This film could have easily just focused on the numerous fight sequences, gone sophomoric in its humor and unleashed hip pop culture reference after pop culture reference or delved into bad toilet humor but (under the watchful eye of director Edgar Wright, the man responsible for Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, two films you should also check out after this one) instead, it blazed a trail of originality with its fully developed story that came complete with a hero in Scott who grew throughout the film and changed for the better by the end of it.

Grade: A

The Losers: It's like The A-Team lite

After their handler Max sets them up and tries to kill them a group of CIA operatives go into hiding in order to plot their revenge. Their chance to settle the score arrives with the appearance of a mysterious woman who offers them the opportunity to capture the elusive Max. But can they trust her?

The Losers did not carry the darker tone of some of its comic book adaptation brethren. The characters were not gloomy, brooding types that dressed up like winged creatures or awkward teenagers that were bitten by radioactive spiders. They were a group of regular people, albeit regular people who happened to be highly trained CIA operatives. In this way, the film felt less like a comic book film and more like an ordinary action thriller. Between comedic quips about how their boss Clay always fell for women that were “volatile” and the usual cool swagger that one would expect to see from a group of CIA guys with nifty codenames such as Roque, Cougar, and Pooch, there were a myriad of stylized action sequences which capitalized on their comic book source material be more outlandish than run of the mill and keep action junkies satisfied (for an example of this, see the ending showdown between Clay, a motorcycle and a plane). Chris Evans shined in his role as Jensen, providing the bulk of the laughs with well-timed smart ass remarks, Zoe Saldana sizzled as Aisha and Jason Patric almost stole the show as Max, channeling all of the best bits of all those old time James Bond villains with just a tinge of Dr. Evil kookiness.

It is certainly not going to evoke comparisons to The Dark Knight or other heavier comic book films but The Losers does its part by keeping you entertained for about an hour and a half.


Grade: C

Sunshine: Brainy sci-fi at its finest

We as human beings like to believe that we control our own destinies and, if threatened by something such as mass extinction, we would do everything in our power to stop this. But there is also another school of thought which posits that perhaps a threat such as mass extinction is beyond our control and it should be left to a higher power to decide if mankind goes the way of the dinosaur. No, I am not starting a theological debate, merely outlining what the film Sunshine attempted to explore.

Eight astronauts take off in a spacehip called Icarus II to deliver a nuclear bomb to the sun's core in order to restart it. They not only face the usual dangers associated with space travel, but their journey is also complicated by the fact that they discover Icarus I (the spaceship which made the first attempt at restarting the sun) abandoned.

Beyond the solid acting provided by the international cast, the filmmakers are to be commended for creating a sci-fi film that was not only entertaining but also challenged the audience to think about just what Sunshine was trying to show/say. Director Danny Boyle's stunning visuals and screenwriter Alex Garland's smart script were able to draw the audience in by presenting them with an intriguing sci-fi plot. They then ratcheted up the intensity, both action and thrill-wise, during the final quarter of the film before the decisive showdown between Kappa (Cillian Murphy), the scientist and Pinbacker (Mark Strong), the man of religion which was essentially a philosophically-driven throwdown for the fate of humanity. It is hard to believe that filmmakers would tackle a complex debate like science vs. religion and how each could figure in destroying or saving mankind but Boyle and Garland did it in such a way as to not seem preachy or overbearing. They utilized the sci-fi genre to explore this matter and did so with tremendously effective gusto. There are probably naysayers that will point to the lack of sustained action or the somewhat obvious visual cues Boyle seemed to borrow from another thriller set in space (i.e. Alien) as detriments to the film but Sunshine was never meant to be seen as a monster movie.

Sunshine was a bombastic journey that did not shy away from exploring the type of philosophical debate one would not expect to have after the credits rolled.

Grade: B+