Captain America isn’t the best action flick of the season, and it surely wasn’t the most recognizable Marvel title this summer, but this introduction of our newest Avenger is really striking a chord with those writing the reviews.
Chris Evans (Fantastic Four) is Steve Rodgers in the 1940s tale of how a scrawny Brooklyn boy became the nation’s superhero, Captain America. While the country fought against the reign of Hitler in World War II, Captain America fought against the mad man Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), also known as Red Skull, and his scientific terrorist organization HYDRA.
Stop right there.
That summary paragraph tells us exactly why critics love this movie.
1. Nostalgia is the name of the game.
Critics love a good period piece. Take us back to the 1940s and you’ve got a solid basis for a good movie. Just look at Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and The Aviator – all movies critically acclaimed (though not as pulpy in story) primarily for their aesthetic creativity and depiction of the world according to the early 20th century.
2. America Wins!
Needless to say, this country thrives on the “We’re number one!” chant. Any movie that gives us a sense of pride, especially in a familiar realm like history and World War II, especially at a time when the country is fighting in wars and needs to see a winning military… yea, that movie will sit well with most critics. Other examples, Inglorious Basterds, and Valkyrie (though Tom Cruise plays a German, he’s still OUR Tom Cruise). Furthermore, this is a “little engine that could” story. You root for Steve Rogers not only because he is American, but because he is an American that is smart and courageous first, and later handsome and brawny. Talk about bootstraps.
3. Sitting on Grandpa’s lap.
Quite frankly, very few critics are as young as I am. This movie resonates with several of the older critics (and younger ones too) because they were either alive for World War II, or their parents were and might have fought or told them stories. It all comes back to nostalgia. Captain America is a movie that reminds us of that story Grandpa told before bedtime. Think Pearl Harbor, or Cinderella Man. Real events always strike a chord.
4. Marvelous Magic.
Lest we not forget, this is based on a comic book. Sure, there might be names of people that we recognize in Captain America (or really just one, Hitler), but the best thing about most comic books is their ability to create an alternate universe within the one we live in. So, while the war is going on, there’s this secret scientific invention that poses a threat to the ENTIRE WORLD (comic books are always about the world, never just about a city or neighborhood). Honestly, comic books are impressive. Not only must they keep up with the true events of the world, but they must create an alternate one that fits into the real one chronologically.
For most people, the end of the Harry Potter movie franchise will be a passing thought. But for some – those of us who have donned capes and lightning bolted foreheads to midnight premieres and book releases, who have gone hours without eating just to finish a Rowling book, and those of us who could easily teach a Defense Against The Dark Arts class – saying goodbye to this franchise is like sending an only child off to college. It hurts.
A bit dramatic? Maybe.
This dates me, but I’ve barely known popular culture without the wizarding world of Harry Potter. My first introduction to J.K. Rowling was in a public library in 1998, a year after the Sorcerer’s Stone (I knew it as The Philosopher’s Stone) was published. After reading the first book and enjoying it, I didn’t hear much about this brand new author and her characters again until the Sorcerer’s Stone film warranted a middle school field trip for my English class. That was all it took.
I’ve grown up with the young cast of the Harry Potter franchise (literally, Daniel Radcliffe and I are 3 days apart), and it’s been a delight to watch them grow and mature as actors. I’ve had the opportunity to meet and interview them in person, but nothing compares to the experience and the excitement of buying the latest Rowling book or seeing the latest Potter movie. That’s what I’ll cherish the most. Though I’ve always preferred books to their movies, here was a movie franchise that never strayed too far from accuracy. Led by amazing writer Steve Kloves, producer David Heyman and a foursome of great directors – Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell and David Yates, the Harry Potter Hollywood empire was the gift that kept on giving.
So, here we are, on the eve of the last Harry Potter movie release. I won’t say anything about the movie… this post is a reflection of the past 10 years. Because I can’t do a slow-motion movie montage set to the music of Vitamin C’s Graduation Song, I present to you true Harry Potter fans a compilation of some of my favorite moments from the past 7 movies.
The Magic Moments.
Simply Ron.
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”Checkmate.”
It takes a real man to navigate a giant chess board with such skill, such conviction, such manpower… eleven year-old Ron Weasley was that man in The Sorcerer’s Stone. In a game where you were as good as dead if you lost, Ron sacrificed himself so Harry could checkmate the White King. If this scene wasn’t the best part of that entire movie, I don’t know what was.
photo credit: mugglespace.webs.com
Ron always has his movie moments though. From the Howler letter, to the immense fear of spiders, to “Eat Slugs!” and “Weasley Is Our King,” to being under the spell of Romilda Vane, his love story with Lavender (who calls him “Won-Won”), and that cheesy confession about Hermione’s voice leading him back in Deathly Hallows. Perhaps he isn’t the main man, but Ron is the best wizard wing-man of all time. Just imagine how hard it must be to associate with Harry Potter.
Harry, the Ladies Man.
photo credit: famouspeoplepic.blogspot.com
I always found it adorable when Harry’s teen angsty love life was on display. Sure, he only really dealt with two girls (three, if you count taking Parvati to the Yule Ball), but how cute was he? That awkward door-dance with Cho in Goblet of Fire, the way he quickly blurts out “Ijustwonderedifmaybeyouwantogototheballwithme?” Ahh, love. I’ll admit I didn’t like Cho Chang much at all. The actress who plays her was okay, but the character… ugh. What an airhead. Thankfully, Harry ends up with the ginger we all know and love.
Hermione’s Awesomeness.
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The last 30 minutes or so of Prisoner of Azkaban is like an ode to Hermione’s awesomeness. After Ron and Harry keep noticing that she had been appearing out of nowhere in several of her classes, Hermione is forced to reveal that she had been given a time-turner, and the trio use it to save both Sirius and Buckbeak. Emma Watson takes the lead for these last few scenes, and it’s the first time that we see Hermione as a major character on screen, instead of just being a wing-woman to the boys.
Also, this happens.
(Cue: Smokey from Friday, ”You got knocked the f*** out, man!”)
Harry vs. Draco
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Remember the moment they first met in the Sorcerer’s Stone? Draco Malfoy must have been the cutest little villain of all time. But it was okay to love him because he was never really the villain of the movie, was he? In any case, the most intense Harry vs. Draco moment had to have been in The Half-Blood Prince, where Harry uses the “Sectumsempra” spell at the end of their fight. The immediate remorse he has after using the deadly spell, compared with the anger and utter loathing he had just moments before – that scene is the truest explanation of their relationship.
And The ‘Best Teacher’ Award Goes To…
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Professor Trelawney. I know you’ll probably disagree on this, but I absolutely loved professor Sybil Trelawney and her false sense of clairvoyance. Sure, she was a nut case, but she was an earnest one. I also love her character partially because I think Emma Thompson can do no wrong.
Second place goes to Firenze… because he is, like, the hottest centaur in the universe.
The Knight Bus.
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Wizards got around, man. There was Hagrid’s too-tiny motorcycle, the coveted Nimbus 2000 and other broomsticks, the Weasley’s flying blue car, and good old-fashioned floo powder or portkeys. No mode of transportation was cooler than The Knight Bus. The quick scene in Prisoner of Azkaban was an embellished nuance by director Alfonso Cuaron, but the characters in that scene were some of the most memorable. Stan Shunpike, aloof Ernie, the talking shrunken head… come on, who wouldn’t want to take a ride on that triple decker. *Jamaican accent* “Take it away, Ernie!”
Tear Jerker.
photo credit: images.wikia.com
I didn’t cry when Dumbledore died. I did, however, sob uncontrollably when Cedric Diggory died. It wasn’t because I cared much for Robert Pattinson or Cedric Diggory, but how could you not feel something when his dad, Amos Diggory started howling “my boy!” Harry was crying, Hermione and Fleur were crying, Cho was crying (but who cares)… it was emotional man.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
photo credit: images.wikia.com
There were quite a few nuances throughout the movies that really stood out as directors’ efforts to capture the world of Harry Potter. Little things, maybe irrelevant to the overall plot, but still things that made us realize that their world isn’t like ours. Take, for example, the telephone box that transported Harry and Mr. Weasley to the Ministry of Magic in Order of the Phoenix. Later, toilets did the same for Harry, Ron and Hermione in Deathly Hallows Part 1. Even in the beginning of the franchise – the way the young wizards and witches got through to Platform 9 3/4 (and the fact that it was even named that) was so cool. And Butterbeer – even if you don’t know what it tastes like, you know what it tastes like. What about the way that Dobby drops a cake on the visiting Masons in Chamber of Secrets, or when Harry blows up Aunt Marge in Prisoner of Azkaban. It never ends: The Monster Book of Monsters, the golden Snitch, the Cornish Pixies, the ugly little Mandrakes, the yawning headmasters, Rita Skeeter’s self-writing notepad and Umbridge’s skin-writing spell. The moving staircases, the singing Fat Lady, Peeves the Ghost, Moaning Myrtle, Kreacher the other House Elf…
It was the little things that brought this story alive,
Here on TGOTV, we celebrate Will Smith Day on the 4th of July, for obvious reasons. Roland Emmerich’s alien action flick goes down in box office gold history, and Smith’s performance marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship between him and the action adventure genre. Though Sir Willard had done Bad Boys a year before, the Fresh Prince proved he could roll with the big boys in Independence Day. This Fourth of July favorite is playing on HBO today, but you can always head over to Netflix and start a Will Smith action queue.
Nod Ya Head.
BAD BOYS and BAD BOYS 2 (1995/2003)
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My absolute favorite Will Smith role and movie(s). The sexy Mike Lowery, hilarious Marcus Bennett (Martin Lawrence), and in the sequel a fiesty Gabrielle Union joins them in kicking ass and taking names. Not to mention, the Bad Boys 2 soundtrack is solid.
MEN IN BLACK I, II, III (1997/2002/2012)
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The Black Suits’ comin’. Not only is it a successful movie franchise, the song “Men in Black” has found its place on cheesy wedding and Bar Mitzvah playlists across the world. The dance moves are just so catching.
I, ROBOT (2004)
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My second favorite Will Smith action flick. Futuristic Will Smith is dark and brooding, as a cop who doesn’t trust the technology humans have become dependent on.
WILD WILD WEST (1999)
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The movie is so-so, and definitely not his best box office performance, but… Sisqo, anyone?
I AM LEGEND (2007)
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Some have called it the best action thriller of 2007, and others completely thrashed Ben Lyons for saying that. Whatever, I thought it was pretty good for a one man Will Smith show.
Hancock (2008)
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Will Smith is the rude superhero reject Hancock. A good movie? Not particularly. A good Will-Smith-in-a-tight-suit movie?
You know, one where you find yourself waking up on a couch in an apartment you don’t recognize, or in Facebook pictures you don’t remember taking, with people you’ve surely never met?
Yea, me neither.
But if I were to have one of those nights, I would want the whole situation to be directed by Todd Phillips, written by John Hughes, and produced by the Coen Brothers. Somehow, I’d be hanging out with both Mike Tyson and Paul Giamatti, and we’d end up playing drunk poker with a bunch of Hells Angels in a dodgy East Village speakeasy.
A girl can dream.
Anyway, there are a bunch of movies who have taken the “It happened one [drunken] night…” concept and ran with it, and there are others that are obviously about binge drinking and partying. I prefer a well-done drunken scene. Whether it’s an overall concept or not, just one drunk scene can catapult a comedy from box office winner to cult classic. Here are some of my personal favorite drunken movies and scenes:
***Note: these are my choices, feel free to comment with yours. These are all comedies – so Nicholas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas doesn’t make the cut. And no, I will not include Beerfest on this list.
RAISE YOUR GLASS.
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The Hangover (2009) – Well, duh. Let’s get to the obvious right off the bat. As the title implies, the best thing about Todd Phillip’s misadventure masterpiece is that you don’t see the drunken night. Putting together the pieces of a night you can’t remember has never been so funny. I, too, wonder… “what do tigers dream of when they take a little tiger snooze?”
RUNNER UP: Knocked Up (2007)
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Sixteen Candles (1984) - Three words: Long Duk Dong. Come on, that morning after scene where he says to Grandpa, “no more yankie my wankie, the Donger need food!” Wrongfully stereotypical? Yes. Rightfully hilarious? Heck yes.
photo credit: roopevintage.com
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966) - Here’s a classy favorite. Two couples get together for dinner and drinks. Sounds easy enough, but when the liquid courage gets going, the truth starts flowing!
RUNNER UP: Swingers (1996)
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The Big Lebowski (1998)- Jeff Bridges will forever be The Dude. Beard, bathrobe, and White Russian in hand. The key to cementing an unforgettable drunken movie moment is to have a memorable character and memorable lines. Also, this movie puts some of the best Coen Bros. writing on display.
RUNNER UP: Jackie Chan in Drunken Master (1978)
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Sideways (2004) - Another classy one. For all us winos, Sideways is a much appreciated boozer. Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church are two men confronting their mid-life crises with a road trip to Wine Country. Their experiences are a much needed reminder that sometimes, you just gotta “drink the fucking Merlot.”
photo credit: engadget.com
Weird Science (1985)- Best scene of the movie, Gary, Wyatt and Lisa walk into a bar. After a a few drinks, Gary’s wearing a fedora, smoking a cigar, and tellin’ it like it is. Anthony Michael Hall is unforgettable.
RUNNER UP: Arthur (1981)
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National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) – There’s way too much here. Wayyy too much. From deciding what to do with a drunken under-aged girl sprawled on your bed, to a bunch of white guys ending up at the blackest bar in town, to the iconic John Belushi character Bluto… director John Landis created an often imitated monster with this one.
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Old School (2003) - Will Ferrell is Frank the Tank, my second favorite character of his movie career (Ron Burgundy being the first). You know what they say, you can take the frat boy out of college, but you can’t take the college out of the middle-aged married man. Yea, something like that.
RUNNER UP: Dazed and Confused (1998)
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The Best Man (1999) - Things fall apart at the worst possible time: the drunken bachelor party. Taye Diggs and Morris Chestnut star in the climactic scene where Chestnut’s character Lance finally learns of the secret his best man had been keeping for years. And then he kicks his ass.
photo credit: film.com
Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008)- And the award for best drunk chick in movie history goes to: Caroline. So gross.
