• Tag Archives world war ii

  • Canister X Movie Review #88: Ultimate Avengers: The Movie (2006)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

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    Ultimate Avengers: The Movie (2006)
    Written by Greg Johnson
    Directed by Curt Geda and Steven E. Gordon
    Runtime 71 min.
    4 out of 5

    In World War II, the Nazis tried to launch an intercontinental missile and was thwarted by Captain America, but at great cost: Captain America fell into icy waters and was presumed dead. Some sixty years later, he was found and revived by S.H.I.E.L.D., who ends up convincing him to join their fight against the alien Chitauri. When the Chitauri attack, S.H.I.E.L.D. implements Project Avenger and begins assembling together Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to take on the Chitauri and put a stop to them once and for all.

     

    This ensemble flick is one of the greats and is a solid introduction for the uninitiated to the Avengers—Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Giant Man, Wasp and Hulk—all led by Nick Fury.

    It’s evenly paced, exciting, and gives each member of the team enough screen time to give them a chance to lock in with the viewer and make that viewer-character connection before moving on to the next guy.

    Marvel’s direct-to-video efforts have been lacking and haven’t been that great because they’ve been very busy—albeit very successfully—focusing their efforts on bringing their heroes to the big screen. Ultimate Avengers and its sequel are the major exceptions to their animated shortcomings and this movie is every bit as good as their live action counterparts. I also think that’s the secret to making a good animated movie: treat it with the same care and seriousness as a live action film and you’ll hit it out of the ballpark every time. It works in Japanese animation. No reason why it wouldn’t work here in the West.

    This movie was good start to finish. Had a story that spanned decades, and made you care about what was going on from first frame to last.

    You have multiple plotlines going on, ranging from the Avengers dealing with the Chitauri to Bruce Banner trying to find a cure for the Hulk, to Captain America trying to find his place in the world. The amazing thing is they fit all these plotlines into a very short runtime (just over an hour).

    The art direction was superb and I enjoyed how everyone looked in this, especially Hulk. (For me, he’s one of those guys that don’t always come out well.)

    While there’s a pretty good dose of violence in this movie, it’s much more kid-friendly than the majority of DC’s animated features and is safe for kids (depending on your household rules for this sort of thing). Personally, I let my kids watch it but don’t let them watch the DC movies.

    Whether a Marvel fan, an Avengers fan, or a superhero fan in general, Ultimate Avengers is a fantastic flick worth watching many times over. What’s cool is it’s basically part one of two and goes right into its sequel, Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther, without missing a beat, so if you have both, you’re in for a doubly-good time.

    Recommended.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #37: Hellboy (2004)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

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    Hellboy (2004)
    Written by Guillermo del Toro
    Directed by Guillermo del Toro
    Runtime 122 min.
    4.5 out of 5

    A baby demon comes through an interdimensional portal originally created by the Nazis near the end of World War II, but is rescued by the Allies before he could fall into enemy hands. Fast forward some sixty years later to the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. The baby demon is grown up—now called “Hellboy”—and he works for the BPRD.

    When an evil hellhound known as Sammael is unleashed, Hellboy and the BPRD are sent to stop it. What ensues is a supernatural battle between Good and Evil.

     

    This movie is a superhero monster movie, two of my favorite genres rolled into one. You got Hellboy (Ron Perlman), the lone gunman type but with a heart of gold; Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), the intellectual who is a humanoid amphibian; Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), who is a distraught young woman with major issues and also has a hard time controlling her pyrokinetic abilities; and Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt), the scholar and father-figure who guides the group.

    As an amateur scholar of the supernatural world myself and all that that entails, the idea of the BPRD really appeals to me as I think modern society is very close-minded on the subject when the very world we live in—never mind all that’s beyond it—suggests that there is much more to our existence than what we can perceive with our five senses. Too many accounts of supernatural happenings to discount that. But that’s not what this review is about, so onward.

    Hellboy is an exciting movie with loads of action. Watching Hellboy fight is, well, just plain cool. Very brutal, and is sheer brawn mixed with skill. (He also wings things, too.) There’s some real good humor in this flick, as well.

    With certain superhero movies you could swap out the lead with someone else and wouldn’t miss a step, but with Hellboy, Ron Perlman did such a fantastic job with the character that it’s hard to envision anyone else. Kind of like how Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark or Hugh Jackman is Wolverine. It’s difficult to picture someone else in the role. Perlman played it straight, played it tough, and played it fun all the while making you believe this big red creature is a real person with real heart.

    I’m so glad they made a sequel and as of the writing of this review, there’s rumors of a third one starting up to round out the trilogy. I, for one, can’t wait to see it.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #22: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

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    Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
    Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
    Directed by Joe Johnston
    Runtime 124 min.
    4 out of 5

    It’s World War II and the US Army needs to up its game in its war against the villainous Nazis under the command of Adolf Hitler.

    Enter Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a little guy from Brooklyn with all sorts of health problems, but who has possibly the strongest sense of morals and courage than any man on the front line. Unfortunately, due to his fragility, Steve is not allowed to join the American army despite multiple tries. A scientist experimenting in a super soldier serum for the US army notices this and offers him a chance to take part in a dangerous procedure that, if it goes well, will grant Steve superhuman-like abilities and enable him to be an ultimate man, athlete and warrior. Steve accepts and transforms into the world’s first super soldier: Captain America.

    Meanwhile, the first test subject of the serum, Johann Schmidt—aka the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving)—has come into possession of the Tesseract cube, a powerful energy source rumored to be from Asgard. His plan? Nothing less than overthrowing Hitler himself and taking over the world.

    If only we had a super soldier to stop him. Wait . . . we do.

    His name is Captain America.

     

    Like all good fanboys, I saw this movie in the theatre. Having grown up on the cheesy Captain America movies starring Reb Brown and, later, the 1990 version with Matt Salinger, a part of me, I admit, was waiting for a repeat of the 1990 film (in the general sense). I was more interested in how Captain America: The First Avenger would tie into the then-upcoming The Avengers and this movie didn’t disappoint.

    The introduction of the Tesseract—which would be key in The Avengers—was real smart on the filmmakers’ part because not only did it point to the forthcoming ensemble film, but also gave a quick link to the Thor movie as well.

    Watching Chris Evans as Steve Rogers was fantastic. He really suits the role and played it perfectly. I wasn’t sure how the once-Human Torch—all witty and sarcastic—would fare as the famous super soldier, and I’m glad Chris Evans proved he can play a kind of Superman-like character as well. Seeing him play both the small, frail Steve Rogers (facially, anyway, as someone else’s body was used), to playing the suped-up Steve made the film truly a story about how our greatest power lies within as opposed to externally.

    Likewise, Hugo Weaving as Red Skull did a great job, especially since playing villains is no strange task to Weaving (Agent Smith, anyone?). Even with the German haircut he looked different never mind later when his red skull visage was revealed.

    The story was simple and, like the first Spider-Man movie, I left the theatre underwhelmed. After seeing it a second time, I saw it for what it was and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the end battle was anti-climactic. It didn’t need to be an all-out brawl between Cap and Red Skull, but it felt brief considering these two are the heads and tails of the same coin. Some sort of super soldier/titan clash would have punched up the ending. Speaking of which, the ending of this movie has one of the best last lines to a flick ever. It was the kind of line I try to end my own novels on, one that finishes the tale but also has a punch to it.

    As far as superhero stories go, the World War II setting gave the genre a breath of fresh air movie-wise as, thus far, pretty much every super flick to come out recently is all set in the modern day. Alternate times and/or worlds with a superhero figure are few and far between. The Spirit is the only one that comes to mind in this regard.

    After this movie and The Avengers, I’m excited to see Captain America: Winter Soldier, which is presently set for 2014.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #21: Captain America (1990)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

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    Captain America (1990)
    Written by Stephen Tolkin
    Directed by Albert Pyun
    Runtime 97 min.
    3 out of 5

    Taking part in a secret super soldier experiment in the 1940s, Steve Rogers becomes the American icon Captain America. After an altercation with the Red Skull, he is trapped in ice for fifty years before being thawed out in 1993. Upon awakening, Steve must come to grips with being a man out of time and also that the Red Skull is still alive and is leader of a powerful crime family. Steve must track down the Red Skull, with each clue giving more insight into his own past and bringing him one step closer to his arch enemy to settle a fight that began half a century before.

     

    This flick is your classic Captain America story, that is, his origin, his World War II beginnings, battling Red Skull, being frozen, awakening in the future and reconnecting with his old enemy who is still active.

    I remember seeing this as a kid and liking it. Saw it recently a few years back and still liked it. It’s not the greatest superhero movie, but it still holds its own all these years later.

    It’s very much Steve Rogers’s story as he’s Captain America for a little bit then isn’t for a good while, then is again in terms of him getting into costume. As a kid, you don’t care about story and just want to see the superhero. As an adult, you see the big picture so don’t mind the non-costumed parts. It’s a story about a journey, both for Steve and even for Red Skull as you watch Steve wrestle with himself for being from the past and how everything’s changed, and also the different things he finds out as he searches for his enemy.

    The Captain America costume is very rubbery, but it’s way better than the one that appeared in the 1979 movies and looks pretty good overall. The shield rocks and when Captain America throws it, it’s got that cool swooshing-through-the-air sound effect, adding to its power.

    I was totally fine with Matt Salinger as Steve Rogers. He had that all-American sensibility about him, was naïve in the right ways, learned in others, and filled out those big red boots nicely.

    This is a solid Marvel movie that was made well before the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe of today and should be on the shelves of every superhero movie enthusiast out there.

    Recommended.


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