Captain America: The Winter Soldier Movie Review

Summer has come early.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and sees Chris Evans reprise his role as "cap" for the third time, in a movie which is a sequel to the Avengers and the first movie Captain America: The First Avenger. The film follows Captain America who's trying to settle into his new life in the 21st Century, who is working various top secret missions for SHIELD. However, when an unlikely enemy threatens the security of the world, it's up to the cap and Black Widow to save the world.

The film may surprise you in that it isn't actually a comic book action flick but is rather at its strongest when it is a spy/espionage movie. The Winter Soldier is the best movie to come out this year by far and is probably the best movie within this cinematic universe which isn't the Avengers.

The fact that the writers and directors decided to make this film a little bit differently by making an espionage movie is just genius in my opinion. Not only is it new territory in a universe which continues to expand, but the plot is so dynamic and so interesting. I was so caught up in this story and when certain reveals happened which evolved the plot, I was genuinely surprised by them.

It is also probably the smartest written Avengers "set-up" movie again down to a plot which plays on the idea that Captain America should really think about what characters to trust. The film brilliantly brings in elements from the first Captain America movie, has a few small nods to the Avengers and also has a lot of plot elements which drastically change the Marvel universe.

I wanted this movie to invigorate my passion for Captain America because while I liked him, I thought that Iron Man and Hulk were the ones that really shone in the Avengers. Within 5 minutes of the film that passion was invigorated, during an incredible action sequence which sees him board a vessel full of pirates. As soon as he does, he literally kicks someone metres into the air and stealthily takes out the rest of them aboard this ship. Chris Evans, of course, kills it as Captain America.

And that ship-boarding sequence is one of many fantastic action sequences which I thought were just amazing. There's a car chase sequence, an elevator scene and of course the final action piece of the film which I thought were filmed expertly by the directors, as they really did a good job at putting you within the action as it is happening. Its a good looking movie.

I also loved what they did with the characters of Nick Fury and Black Widow, both played convincingly well by Samuel L Jackson and Scarlett Johansson. Both characters change sufficiently from the opening scene to end credits, meaning there is sufficient character development.

I won't finish the review by not talking about him; The Winter Soldier. The film sees Captain America try and adjust to modern life, development with Nick Fury and Black Widow, a plot that sees big reveals within the Marvel universe and sees numerous clever twists and turns, and on top of all that you have the Winter Soldier, the biggest badass in Marvel history. There I said it.

I loved how they used him as an important plot device because you actually do care about him. He really is one of my favourite aspects of the film.

If I have complaints then they're only minor ones. Once or twice the plot slows down from it's wicked pace and also I think that some characters were a little under used, particularly the Falcon. Anthony Mackie did a great job with him and I would love to see him in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

If I haven't already expressed how much I enjoyed and loved this movie already, I will now. The Winter Solider is fantastic, it's incredibly enjoyable and an impressively well made film. Go and see it, please:


Rating - A


1 sentence summary - Impressively filmed and cleverly written, The Winter Soldier is a great and enjoyable entry into Marvel's cinematic universe, and is probably one of the best.


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Her Movie Review

How do I get by in January? Simple, I just watch great movies from December. Here's my review for Spike Jonze's love story Her...

Her is directed by Spike Jonze and stars Joaquin Phoenix, and is not your ordinary love story. The film follows the main character Theodore, a love-letter writer yet a man struggling with his own love-life, just coming out of an 8 year relationship with his ex-wife. He purchases an operating system and names her Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson, and the 2 form a relationship together.

Her is a unique, cute and an excellent movie and I loved it. So often nowadays love stories are either miserably predictable or create romantic comedies; my most hated movie genre. However, the story with Her is completely different and I think it is my favourite romance film.

A story about a man who falls in love with an operating system can seem far-fetched when described in the way I just did, but I found myself 100% emotionally invested in it to the point where I shed a few tears towards the end. The reason why you can invest yourself within these characters is due to the excellent world creation. Based in Los Angeles in the near future, I found myself beholding the world in which the film took place and I completely bought the location. I could see myself living in a world like that, thus I could also see a relationship like that happening between a human and an OS.

The direction from Spike Jonze is spot on this time and is very still and character centred. The movie's colour palette is fantastic as well. There is a huge range with the colours that are used and had they been flashy, the location wouldn't have sold. The colours used are not too flashy and make the location look beautiful yet real at the same time.

Joaquin Phoenix inhabits his character Theodore so well and proves once again just why he is one of the best actors we have working today. He is completely nomination worthy throughout the movie and I really did like his character, even if he was in practically every frame of the film. There were times where he would joke with Samantha leading to a genuine reaction of laughter from me, whereas other times he'll be delivering a beautiful monologue about how he is emotionally unfulfilled in life and that he struggles to open up to his partner when in a relationship leading to a genuine reaction of tears.

Amy Adams is very good with her time on screen as are other actors and actresses like Olivia Wilde, Chris Pratt and Rooney Mara, who play characters who are related to the overall progression of the story. Scarlett Johansson, is perfect choice for Samantha. If I ever dated an OS with a female voice, ScarJo would be the way to go! Using only her voice, she utilises the excellently written dialogue to flesh out her character to the point where you stop seeing her as a computer but as a being with emotions and desires.

I thought that Her handled perspective really well plus had some provocative social commentary in their about where our society is going in terms of technology. However, the film's most impressive feat is the fact that I was so invested within this relationship to the point where I could react emotionally to it. Bare in mind it's set in the future and is between a man and a computer. Yeah I know. Trust me and see for yourself...

A few minor complaints I have is that I would have liked to have seen more from some of the other supporting cast members and I think that the film's finale could have been wrapped up slower than it was.

Nevertheless, Her is excellent. It's bold, cute and unique and really got under my skin. It's fantastic. It's one I definitely recommend you see:


Rating - A


1 sentence summary - As romance movies go this is as good as they get; unique, funny and heart-warming with a relationship I was fully invested in!


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Don Jon Movie Review

Finally.

If you couldn't already tell, I have been waiting to see Don Jon for months now. At last my waiting has ended and I can finally give you my review.

Don Jon is written and directed by young talent Joseph Gordon-Levitt plus stars him in the lead role as Jon Martello. Nicknamed "Don Jon" by his over-the-top and cartoonish friends for his ability to pull attractive women at bars every single week, Jon is a handsome and an attractive guy who objectifies everything in his life. However, he kind of has an addiction to pornography leading to difficulties and unrealistic expectations from relationships. Jon starts to date Scarlett Johansson's character Barbara and his porn addiction becomes a problem for himself and his relationship. While Don Jon has it's flaws, it is still a confident, flashy and off-beat romantic comedy with some good social commentary in there.

Don Jon is at it's most effective through it's writing. The script and the dialogue that comes from it are masterfully and realistically crafted by Gordon-Levitt. Taking both sides of the argument into account, a lot of the things the characters said I sat there nodding along agreeing with it, which is testament to how real the dialogue is.

While it could have become just a romantic comedy with a potentially different twist, Don Jon excels further through it's social commentary. It just has so much to say about how men develop these unrealistic expectations about sex through pornographic videos plus how women develop unrealistic expectations about relationships through watching romantic movies. Both of them are the same despite pornography having a more graphic nature. Relationships and sex are both 2 way things and Don Jon explores that well.

The acting is good across the board and pretty much everybody does a sound job with the performances. Gordon-Levitt plays the likeable Jon with confidence, Johansson does a great job with her realistic take on a strong-willed New Jersey women plus Julianne Moore and Tony Danza do good jobs playing the emotionally-damaged Esther and Jon's traditional father respectively.

While at times the story can seem a little repetitive due to Jon's objective and articulate nature, the primarily same-old scenes begin to show you the bigger picture of Jon's pornography addiction plus the toll it takes on his life at various points. This does come across as an obvious method of story-telling but that doesn't effect you for long as Don Jon soon directs you towards the path of thinking about the stuff it's trying to tell you.

Jon's friends, as mentioned previously, are weak links within the story as they don't seem to fit with the realistic tone Don Jon set out at the start. Also, the character of Jon's sister probably doesn't even need to be in the movie at all.

The 90 minute movie sees Jon's sister say absolutely nothing throughout save one line towards the end. The line of dialogue she does say is important to the story but when she does say her point it is already apparently obvious. She was either under-used or didn't need to be there most of the time.

90 minutes was also very short and the ending is probably the weakest part of the entire story due to it's rushed and slightly inconclusive nature. Other than that the movie's editing is top notch.

For a first directorial effort Don Jon is a top notch effort from Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Some charged up song choices and top notch, quick-cut editing just goes to show the flair and confidence Gordon Levitt has in his own abilities. Also impressive was the camera detail and placement, which allowed the filmmakers to show pornographic clips without the pornographic content.

Overall, Don Jon isn't as great as I thought it would be and some minor problems with it's story and characters did throw me off a little bit. However as a first attempt Don Jon is top notch, moulding in some clever and balanced social commentary with sharp and funny writing, quick editing and camera work.

Don Jon has a few floors, but is a smart romantic comedy that I really enjoyed:


Rating - B+


1 sentence summary - A cleverly written, edited and shot romantic comedy that's a lot smarter than you think!


I hate romantic comedies, and the way Don Jon poked fun at them was incredibly satisfying for me personally. Solid movie, worth a watch.

Thanks for reading,
Matt