Here we are, movie number one in my Blu-Ray collection. And it just so happens to be a sequel in one of my favorite series; the Die Hard/John McClane movies. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this series, well I'm actually not sure how to finish that sentence without sounding like a jerk. The original Die Hard starred, an at the time lesser known, Bruce Willis as New York detective John McClane. But I'm not going to spend too much time on the history here as the Die Hard collection will be coming up in a future post but for now we are going alphabetically.
But now back to A Good Day to Die Hard. I enjoy Bruce Willis and most films he is in, probably because of Die Hard. So seeing John McClane back on the screen was fun although this movie didn't really have the same feel as the other Die Hard films. It did bring back the "fish out of water" scenario for McClane as now he appears to be out of his league, traveling to Russia to save his son. I say bring back because in the first Die Hard, John McClane is a New York detective but goes to California for the holidays to be with his family. And also in the original Die Hard, his son is a young boy exploited on TV by the sleazy journalist Thornburg played by William Atherton.
Overall the movie was entertaining with some cool action scenes which you come to expect from a Die Hard movie. But I don't think it really fits with the original or sequels. I don't know if they were trying to go the "pass the torch" route so Jai Courtney could take over the series as the younger McClane but for as Die Hard, it felt too big for John McClane. Don't get me wrong, Bruce Willis held his own as he always does but I don't think he was on screen enough. Die Hard is John McClane. I think, if anything, his son should have been helping him stop the terrorists. The way he had Samuel L. Jackson and Justin Long in previous Die Hard movies.
Hey Everybody, welcome back to the NEED blog! Sorry it's been a while since my last post but it's a new year and time for a fresh start. As you might have guessed from the title of this post, the pictures above are of my Blu-Ray collection. Kinda cool how the top 2 pictures almost line up perfectly right? Didn't even plan that . . . But I digress. I decided on an entertainment New Years resolution; to watch my entire Blu-Ray collection without skipping a movie. Now I know this isn't a terribly difficult task but this is an entertainment website about fun stuff so lay off, potential naysayers! :-) You can probably tell I have my movies in alphabetical order and I intend on watching them that way. I don't claim to have a very extensive or deep Blu-Ray collection either. I don't set out to own every movie and for a time, I was limiting the Blu-Ray movies I bought. If I owned the movie on DVD, I wouldn't buy it on Blu-Ray unless there was a big sale. Now that places like Best Buy and Amazon.com have such regular deals on movies, it's easier for me to let go of that restriction I put on my movie purchases. So who cares? So I'll be watching a bunch of movies over the next couple of weeks or months? Well first, don't be a jerk. And second, I plan on giving a small review or "Napallm's Take" of the movies I own and watch. Obviously most, if not all, will be generally positive as I try not to buy movies I don't like. As I said, I don't buy movies just to own them but then again, some of these movies I haven't seen since I bought the Blu-Ray. And some I bought the movie after watching it in theaters or on TV and enjoyed it but never watched the Blu-Ray. And some like Guardians of the Galaxy, I've watched countless times. So it's a mixed bag baby. Enjoy reading and as always, feel free to leave comments with your take on my posts or the movies I'm discussing.
Welcome to the first edition of Napallm's Take and actually the first post on The NEED Blog. Napallm's Take is going to be my posts where I fully jump into a movie and review it although I hesitate to use that word. My posts will not be your typical reviews as I am not going to go over the entire plot of the movie, or break down every single section. My view is that of a fan's view, not a critic's view. And in that same vein, I probably won't be posting about movies that do not interest me all that often because who wants to read just paragraph after paragraph of negativity? I know some people do but I don't. And I certainly don't feel like typing that.
Courtest of IMDB.com
So now on to the main Event! Captain America: The Winter Soldier. WARNING, there will be SPOILERS ahead. So if you have not watched this movie or Captain America: The First Avenger, keep reading at your own risk. CATWS follows Cap and friends after the events that took place in New York during The Avengers movie. Captain Rogers is now a fully functioning member of SHIELDand still trying to become the same to society as well. We are introduced to Anthony Mackie's Falcon right off the bat and organically so that he's not just the Falcon, but a soldier and person Captain America can actually relate to. This leads into a well choreographed and scripted action scene upon a SHIELD ship. The best part of this whole sequence, and of course it seems fairly obvious but I can also be a Captain, is the way Cap uses his shield as an extension of his body. And throughout the movie, while the organization SHIELD is slowly crumbling and not what it appears, Captain America's shield is still there and protecting what's good.
Courtesy of IMDB.com
One of the things I enjoyed most about CATWS was the integration of all these characters like Mackie's Falcon, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow and Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury. As said in the intro, I don't like to be negative or bring up negativity but we all know what happened with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3. I still highly value that trilogy especially the first 2 because it showed what true passion for the characters could accomplish with a matching budget. But the third movie fell short because Spidey and the plot were being pulled in too many directions. And thankfully Sam did make that small mistake because it gave a template for other directors on what not to do, at least in that circumstance. Back to CATWS, the directors Joe and Anthony Russo (Brothers? No . . . Yes! Nevermind, it's called Night at the Roxbury, watch it.) crafted a movie in which Captain America is obviously front and center but when there's a great action segment featuring mercenaries trying to take out Fury, you're not wondering "Where's Cap?" Instead, the Russo brothers invest you in all of these characters and moments.
Courtesy of IMDB.com
And let's not forget about the Black Widow, who doesn't have a lot of solo screen time but is a major, major player in this movie. Still, it all feels complimentary for Captain America and not like it's trying to be a mini-Avengers movie. The addition of Robert Redford as the SHIELD/HYDRA boss Alexander Pierce was excellent casting of course. It's awesome to see these serious actors like Redford and Michael Douglas in the upcoming Ant-Man, take on roles in comic books movies. And although I have nothing but respect for Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, I feel Sam Raimi broke the mold on that as well when he cast Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin.
Courtesy of Marvel.com
A character I did not mention yet but shares the title with good ol' Cap is The Winter Soldier. We are hinted to the possibility of the Winter Soldier character in CATFA when we are introduced to Bucky Barnes played by Sebastian Stan. In one of the most popular Captain America comic book storylines, Bucky is believed to be dead when he is brought back as the Winter Soldier. CATWS does follows this outline while updating certain details to go along with the Marvel Cinematic Universe story arc including the corruption and destruction of SHIELD.
Courtesy of IMDB.com
To wrap things up, I believe this is one of the best Marvel movies to date. And I don't just mean Marvel Studios movies. I mean all movies based on Marvel characters. CATWS delivers on multiple levels so that even if you haven't seen the first Captain America movie or aren't a fan of comic books but enjoy good movies, you will not walk away disappointed. CATWS feels like a James Bond/Jason Bourne spy thriller mixed with the French Connection mixed with The Avengers. The action is well shot and well scripted and the special effects are incredible but not overly used, which can make or break a movie these days.
My Favorite Scene: Captain America takes out a QuinJet single handed on the bridge leading to SHIELD headquarters. To me, it's a reminder that not only is Cap super compared to normal soldiers but why he also leads the big boys in the Avengers.
