Kick-Ass 2 (2013) / Avengers assemble, asshole

"Act like a bitch, get slapped like a bitch."

Once upon a time my ass was figuratively kicked by Kick-Ass. In other words, I really got a great kick out of the movie. And it really was damn awesome, wasn't it? I remember sometimes calling it my favorite superhero movie, next to The Avengers. 'Cause it's just great fun. The sequel continues to entertain, it makes me laugh out loud, and also cringe, because some of the stuff they pull is pretty yucky. Lawn movers and all. I don't thoroughly enjoy all the violence and the obnoxious deaths, but let's face it, Kick-Ass wouldn't be Kick-Ass if someone didn't get decapitated or their guts spilled out in a hilarious way every once in a while.

Some spoilers.

I was hoping that in a new plot twist Dave Lizewski would have decided to grow a mustache. Sadly, that didn't happen, but luckily there's always Anna Karenina. Aaron T-J has been my wet dream for quite a while, with or without mustache, and I enjoyed him again, especially during those last frames. I will be rewinding those seconds and watching them again and again once I get my hands on a DVD. When I'm forty I will totally marry a 20-year-old Aaron Johnson. It is my ultimate goal in life.

But not even the flawless abs or the awesome scale of supporting characters (from the terrifying Mother Russia and Jim Carey's Colonel to the sweet Team Remembering Peter and Christopher Mintz-Plasse who delivers every time) can outshine the true star of the film: Hit Girl/Mindy Macready/Chloë Grace Moretz. Hit-Girl and Katniss Everdeen should unite to be the most ass-kicking teenage girl duo ever. They'd shoot squirrels and hit President Snow square in the face, with some awesome background music. Anyway. Fangirl brain, stop. Hit-Girl was a big part of the charm of the first movie, but now she has a more significant role, and she gets more meatier stuff, and I loved it. If Kick-Ass was a Kick-Ass movie, Kick-Ass 2 was a Hit-Girl movie. High school is tough, growing up is a bitch, and fitting in is pain, even if you are only the most bad-ass girl in the universe. But even Hit-Girl isn't completely immune to boy bands.

Kick-Ass 2 might be an action comedy sequel before anything else, but it ended up delivering a very sincere message, even if it was delivered via disgusting images of spilled guts and severed penises. You can choose what to do with your life; you can choose to be a super villain, or you can choose to do good with what you have. With no power, comes no responsibility, expect that isn't true. I stole that from the first movie, but it's a cool thought. It's what the whole franchise is about: choosing to fight for good, even though you're probably going to get your ass kicked, because you have no superpowers whatsoever. "You don't have to be bad-ass to be a superhero, you just have to be brave."

By the way, Bechdel test passed! Not bad for a superhero movie. The two most bad-ass characters were female, and I seriously doubt there's ever been a more terrifying villain in anything ever than Mother Russia. And Hit-Girl, she's a total cowboy. In the end, she kisses the good-looking guy, and drives off to the sunset in a motorcycle. I want to be Hit-Girl when I grow up. And I can't wait for Chloë Grace Moretz to grow up and do more amazing movies and blow everyone's minds away. But, you know, not with weapons, but with her talent. I also can't wait for Kick-Ass 3. Not to mention The Avengers sequel. Aaron T-J is going to be in it, as if there weren't enough heartbreakingly beautiful men involved in that franchise already. I'm not sure if my ovaries will be able to handle it, but I will be so pleased to give it a try.

Before Before Midnight

I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this! The sucky thing is I don't know when my coordinates will match those where the film is playing. I know it's opening in the US on May 24. Guess where I will be on APRIL 24, but NOT on May 24. Damnit. How about an early premiere, just for me, a month in advance? Thanks. God know if it'll ever come to Finland. Uuugh, pain!

I don't appreciate a spoilery trailer, but I still like this one very much.

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"If there's any kind of magic in this world, it must be in the attempt of understanding someone, sharing something."

"Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"Actually, I think I'd probably have gotten off the train in Salzburg with someone else."

"I'm gonna take you picture. So I never forget you or all this."

"I's amazing what perverts we've become in the past nine years."

"You want to know why I wrote that stupid book? So that you might come to a reading in Paris and I could walk up to you and ask, 'Where the fuck were you?'"

"I guess when you're young, you just believe there'll be many people with whom you'll connect with. Later in life, you realize it only happens a few times."

"I want to see if you stay together or if you dissolve into molecules."

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P.S. Talking about sequels I'm looking forward to: Last night I got an exclusive sneak peak to the Avengers sequel. I really had no idea what was going on, and Tony Stark was really lame, he was just sitting by a wall and moping. The whole thing quickly turned into some haunted mansion mystery tale, and then I went to see a play at my old primary school. Also, Captain America was seriously flirting with me, so I hope they won't cut that from the theatrical release.

Preparing for the Oscars 2013

Oscar night is tonight. This year I won't be blogging my way through the night, which is a relief for anyone who attempted to read my running commentary for last year's gala. I will, however, as tradition goes, eat until I burst, and enjoy the heck out of myself, even though they will, as tradition goes, be rewarding all the wrong films and people.

I am unusually undetermined this year. I don't have a clear favorite, or even definite instinctive preferences. Only that I don't wish Argo to win. I'm not really on track about which film is expected to win, but I think Argo has won many other awards, right? I hope Argo won't win. That would be boring. Kind of like the movie. Okay, boring is not the right word. Underwhelming is.

Here are some categories that I have opinions about. They are very sophisticated and reasonable opinions about who I have determined should win. As you will see, I have really put much thought and consideration on this.

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Visual effects: The Avengers. And the Oscar goes to Captain America! What's the category? Who cares!

Make-up: The Hobbit. The little brother of Lord of the Rings deserves at least one Oscar, right?

Costume design: Anna Karenina. Mm-hm. Excellent costume designing here, yes. I'm not talking about Anna's dresses. I'm talking about uniforms that go great with the hottest mustache in history.

Cinematography: Life of Pi. I'm thinking about that underwater shot where Pi sees the sinking ship. That was a cool shot. Oscar-worthy, perhaps.

Animated film: Brave. I haven't seen any of the other animations, but I know for sure none of them features as much amazing hair as Brave.

Adapted screenplay: Life of Pi. Just a hunch.

Original screenplay: Django Unchained. Tarantino screenplays are hard to beat in originality!

Directing: Ang Lee. The Academy needs to make amends for robbing Brokeback Mountain that damn Best Picture Oscar. They need to make amends until the world ends. And then some.

Supporting actress: Anne Hathaway. For looking so damn miserable. And losing all that weight for a film that featured her only for what seemed like fifteen minutes.

Supporting actor: Christoph Waltz. He should get another Oscar for Hans Landa. That role was a bingo.

Actress: Jennifer Lawrence / Jessica Chastain / Naomi Watts. I love J-Law. Loooove her. But Jessica Chastain is so cool, too. And damn me, if she wears a dress as gorgeous as the one last year... I'm sold! But Naomi Watts is the only nominee in all the categories representing The Impossible. That film was crazy, I'd give it the Best Picture Oscar just for making me cry so much. So much. So insanely much. But Jennifer it is. Because she's my hero and my girl crush and she's such a dork.

Actor: Um. I really don't know. I mean, isn't it sort of given that Abraham "DDL" Lincoln triumphs? But I don't know. That would be boring.

Finally, an in-depth analysis on every Best picture contender:

Amour. Haven't seen it. It's French. So maybe I wouldn't like it. I'm intimidated by French films. Expect for silent black-and-white ones, featuring a dog.

Argo. I just don't want this one to win. It was so underwhelming. Bad, bad Middle-East. American heroes, blah. Okay, let's pretend my biggest hero of 2012 was not called Captain America.

Beasts of the Southern Wild. Haven't seen it, yet.

Django Unchained. Wouldn't mind if it won, not at all. It's quite a movie. It would actually be pretty awesome if it won. I promise I would cheer. But that's not going to happen, right? It would be too good if it did.

Les Misérables. I just went to see this one, in the afternoon before the Oscars, so I can't really say anything about it, because I'm too busy humming Do You Hear the People Sing in my head.

Life of Pi. Strange. I feel like I might be rooting for this one. That one little twist at the end of the film has definitely stuck with me.

Lincoln. Missed it in theaters. Points for American history. Points for the emancipation of slaves. But I can't imagine connecting with a film like this very much, if at all. Let's just say that I'm prejudiced, and won't be voting for America's favorite president.

Silver Linings Playbook. I've been having a hard time with this film. I wanted to love it. I didn't. I just liked it. But then again, I was really tired when I saw it. And even if I didn't love the film, I do love Jennifer Lawrence. So I will rooting for SLP as well. Not quite as much as I will be rooting for Life of Pi, Django Unchained and perhaps Les Misérables, but anyway. It's a romcom, in its core. Romcoms don't win Oscars. I'd love if for once they would.

Zero Dark Thirty. This was a really cool and interesting film, and Jessica Chastain's girl power was amazing. I would totally approve if it won. With all the controversy, though, I doubt it ever could.

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So. I am wonderfully non-opinionated about everything. All I know is that I don't want Argo to win. Which means it probably will. Well. I got what I wanted last year, with The Artist, so maybe this year it's time for another King's Speech scale travesty. This Social Network fanatic will never forgive you, Tom Hooper! Now, if you'll excuse, I'll go listen to On My Own and pretend you didn't have anything to do with all the goosebumps I experienced at the cinema today.

2012: A Summary of a Year

Another year over. It was a good one. I think I say that every year, but never mind. When it comes to films, and getting excited about them, 2012 was actually hands down better than 2011, for me.

Here's what you will find in this post: three films from 2011 that I have to mention now, because had I seen them last year instead of this year they would've been in my top films in 2011; an honorable mention, because I didn't blog and thus give away top spots in 1997; TV shows that I was hooked on; some people, both real and fictional, that I liked this year; seven films that I liked the most in 2012.

(The picture above is from Lust, Caution, which I actually saw in 2011. I wanted a picture to reflect something of my 2012 in total, just like I chose such pictures to the equivalent posts of 2010 and 2011 (Chaplin, and The Wizard of Oz). I needed a very Chinese picture, because that's what my year was. I remember really liking Lust, Caution, so there I got my necessary Chinese picture.)

The Avengers (2012) / super cool, super fun, super handsome

directed by Joss Whedon / starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson

If you're looking for two hours and twenty-two minutes of fun, who you gonna to call? The Avengers.

Poor Earth. I bet there is no other planet in the universe that hostile extraterrestrial forces have more special interest in. Those evil things are always attacking us! What have we ever done? Luckily, the Earth also seems to inhabit an unusual amount of super people. And they're all funny and witty and cool and extremely good-looking. So Earth should not worry.

I don't know what it is about superheroes, but they are so incredibly cool, aren't they? Even if they weren't technically super. Maybe it's the dark, troubled stories they usually have in their past. Maybe it's because they can do things ordinary people can't, and that makes good action. Or maybe it's just because of their beautifully superior physique? Haha. Seriously though, once again I found myself wondering why more women are not into superhero movies. Even if you are not that much into action or the super scientific fantasy aspect of it, who wouldn't be into those flexed, perfectly built biceps, the sweat pouring down those handsome, strong facial features and the intense looks in the deep, fearless eyes when they charge into action, performing all kinds of incredible stunts, wearing tight, cool uniforms that really do justice to the beautiful, beautiful male body. Ahem. Not that I'm personally into superhero movies just because of that. Hahaha, okay, moving on!

The cast is full of huge names, big stars, many of whom have played their characters before and established a fan base. It must have been such a challenge to fit all those stars and personalities in one movie, trying not to favor anyone too much and give everyone their moments in the spotlight. And I think they succeeded. I'm sure there was a temptation to raise RDJ's Iron Man above others, him being the best-known, extremely popular actor, and the character's two films having been such hits. And of course he got many of the funniest lines and dramatic scenes, but who also got his share was Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye, a hero previously unknown to non-comic book freaks, including me. So yay, good job.

Robert Downey Jr. is a king, of course. That charisma is just hard to match, and so is his ease of stealing the spotlight. Iron Man is not really my type of superhero, but Tony Stark, in the capable hands and with the fast-talking mouth of RDJ is irresistibly charming, and oh so hilarious. He is the natural leader of the gang, but like I said, luckily he saves some space in that spotlight for the rest, too. I've said so much about RDJ over the years of my fangirl life, that I'm just going to stop right here.

I thought Thor was a very boring movie, and the story is not that interesting to me. I mean, demigods? Blah. Haha. Anyways, I did kind of like Chris Hemsworth's Thor in this movie. I liked how he fitted together with the others. And I like that hammer. It's so cool, just flying around. (And I have a Thor themed shirt. It says, "IT'S  HAMMERTIME!". And I made a quiz online, determining which Avenger I am, and I got Thor.) But if we talk looks (and we do, since we are talking about a movie with an insane amount of very handsome men), he's not really my cup of tea. Lovely arms, though.

It must be tough to be Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow. You are the only woman in a movie bursting with super masculine men with huge personalities. You have to wear a super tight, super low-cut costume, because the audiences will also be bursting with more or less masculine males. You have to work really hard to get to play with the boys, and you still don't have quite as big a role in saving the world as the rest. You even get a minimal amount of jokes. And they all asume you are good in communication and relationships ans persuation, just because you're a she. That all being said, I did like the character. She was quite the badass, and she didn't have nearly as many stareotypically girly moments as she could have had. She wasn't even thrown into a forced love story, although for a while it seemed like she would. That's another great thing about this movie: no unnecessary romantic subplots! And not a single sex scene! Yay! (Oh, wait, why am I happy about that again...?)

Like I mentioned above, I wasn't familiar with Hawkeye before, so I had no expectations about him. But he won me over pretty much the second he slid down on that rope. Ah, there's some silent, subtle charm about him. And the eyes! Jeremy Renner has really intriguing eyes. Makes sense that he was cast in this particular role, heh... Anyways, Hawkeye was a very pleasant surprise. It's so cool how nothing shakes him, and he is so completely fearless that it comes across almost as indifference. He's just so cool. And that bow. Damn. Why are bows so cool? First Katniss and now this fellow. I bet by the time Brave hits cinemas I will be roaming in the woods trying to make myself one...

I really hated Eric Bana's Hulk back in the day, and that's why didn't see the Edward Norton version. So I'm not really one to make comparisons, but still, Mark Ruffalo's performance stood out. Bruce Banner must be the most complex character of the bunch, and Ruffalo made him oddly lovable, yet implicitly dangerous, unpredictable and strained. Banner/Hulk caused the only proper goosebumps I got (that line towards the end before he turns green). And some of the best laughs, too. Hahaha. The epic Loki versus Hulk showdown. And the little moment of bro-bonding with Hulk and Thor. Hahaha. And well, there's something really enjoyable about watching Hulk just go and, well, smash.

Among all these super cool and badass heroes, Captain America is still my favourite. I'm not sure what it is about those stars and stripes, but my little fangirl heart sure beats for the star-spangled man. Of course he's incredibly corny at times, with his unwavering love for his motherland and his ridiculous compulsion to do the exact right thing and be 100 % righteous and good and honorable 25/8. I mean, a superhero without a dark side? How lame is that? Only it isn't. I was a fan of Captain America in the 40s, and I'm a fan of him now. Some of my favourite parts of the movie were about him reacting to the strange place he'd been pulled into. I could've watched the whole two hours of just that. That flying monkey moment was the funniest gag in the whole movie. (Biased? Me? Yeah I am!) He is a fascinating blast from the past with his gentlemanly manners, his trust for comradeship and loyalty, and the dauntless hope and persistence of a true war hero. I looked at him and still saw that skinny little man who always used to get his ass kicked for the good of mankind. He's my captain, period. And of course I don't mind that Chris Evans happens to own the most flawless body in history. But that's not the point. Haha.

So, in summary... Favourite actor: RDJ. Favourite character: Captain America. Best performance: Mark Ruffalo. Best female: Poor Scarlett. Best-looking man: Jeremy Renner (!! What? I think I'm serious, though...). Best weapon: the hammer.

That enough? You done? No? Sorry, this became a super long post. And super rambling. And I'm not even done yet. I'll try to wrap up now. Here are the rest of my random thoughts, presented ever so randomly. It won't be pretty but at least it'll be over soon.

Loki is an amazing villain. He's super evil, but not pure evil, which is good, because pure evil doesn't usually make the best villains. We know there's a reason why he is evil, so in a way we can feel for him. But at the same time, of course, we can loathe him for being such a little diva. And laugh at him, because luckily the movie isn't afraid of making a fool out of him. That's another awesome thing about The Avengers: it doesn't take itself too seriously. Just seriously enough. I loved the scene in Germany. I love it whenever someone plays the Hitler card.

I also liked Agent Fanboy, or whatever his name was. And New York. Poor New York. While Earth is always hassled by various aliens and monsters, no city gets more punches aimed at it than poor New York. And, I never thought I'd say this, but I kind of liked the 3D. Kind of. It wasn't revolting. And I liked the action. I get a little bored when there's too much action, but I don't think I got bored more than once or twice. Because the action was pretty crazy and awesome and creative. Well. The interaction between the characters was even more awesome, so maybe I would've cut some minutes of the action to let the relationships develop still a bit further. But well, I'm a girl in that way.

I want more Avengers movies! And more Captain America! And more Marvel! More superheroes! Also, I want to read comic books. Now, quickly woman, click the damn button and publish this mess before some more interesting thoughts pop into your head and you naturally have to share them.

P.S. I'm not sure if I have clearly stated what my opinion of this movie is, so here you go: I think The Avengers was a hugely entertaining movie, with a kick-ass scale of fascinating characters and good-looking actors, with brilliant action scenes and awesome humor, and with that mystical something that made the movie work so well, even though there were definitely too many spoons in the pot, and too many cooks to potentially spoil the borth or the soup or whatever. So, bravo. As far as superhero movies go, this was the best I've seen since... ever? Or Kick-Ass.

"If we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn sure we'll avenge it."

The world will indeed be watching

If you like epic, and I do, there is a lot to look forward to.

The newest Hunger Games trailer came out some days ago. Still looking extremely good, still getting tremendous goosebumps, still not enough Haymitch. But Stanley Tucci, ah! And I'm starting to be very convinced that Lenny Kravitz will rock the role of Cinna, so shut up, haters.

Super Bowl also gave us another teaser of the upcoming Avengers. Whoa! Just, whoa! I mean... whoa! It's going to be simply... whoa! And my patriotic little fangirl heart is pounding very excitedly for Captain America. There's just something about those stars and stripes... and abs...

I haven't been too stoked about The Amazing Spider-Man, but the new trailer is beginning to tickle my fancy a bit. Good old Andrew will of course rock my world, no doubt about that, but also, it seems darker and more complex than the Tobey Maguire fun rides. P.S. I'm hoping Emma Stone will have something proper to do, besides being the damsel in distress.

Hey 2012, show me what you've got!

There's no doubt about my most anticipated movie of the year. The Hunger Games movie will be so epic! I was a bit scared at first, about how easily it could be screwed up, but after the (mostly) solid casting choices, first promo pictures and the trailer, I'm quite positive that I will very much enjoy the film adaption. That world is so creepy and dark, yet cool, and they seem to have done a pretty good job transferring it on screen. March, come on, come on, come on!

Struck by Lightning is the love child (and the showcase) of my favourite Glee star, Chris Colfer. The story is written by Colfer himself, and he also plays the main character. After enjoying his performances on Glee, I'm so excited to see how he portrays a character other than the fabulous Kurt Hummel. And even more than that, I want to see him kick ass as a screenwriter, because that's where I think his glorious future might lie.

Superheros! Who wouldn't love superheros! For those of us who do, 2012 is a very good year. The Avengers is definitely the most exciting upcoming action epic. I'm thrilled enough to see my unexpected new favourite Captain America return and explore the modern world, but in addition, he will unite with other awesome old friends like Robert Downey Jr.! Also known as Iron Man, but for me, he's just good old RDJ playing RDJ. Brilliant. I hope they'll really feast on this delicious opportunity and actually let the characters properly interact with each other, among the undoubtedly impressive explosions and action sequences.

Brave will introduce Pixar's first ever female protagonist! As sad as it is how long it took for that to happen, my expectations towards the next adventure by the best modern animation studio are huge, to say the least. That red, curly mess of hair is awesome enough. At least visually this film will blow everyone's minds, let's hope the plot delivers, too.

Let's be honest. Andrew Garfield is pretty much the only reason I'm looking forward to The Amazing Spiderman. But well, there are worse reasons, I guess. Because have you seen Andrew Garfield in action? That kid is brilliant.

I guess I can't claim to be the biggest fan of Chris Nolan's Batman movies, since I've only seen half of Batman Begins, and for me The Dark Knight was all about Heath Ledger, not so much about that stupid Batman dude. Still, I will definitely go see The Dark Knight Rises, even though it has a really lame title, because Nolan is awesome, and I know the movie will be great.

What do Abraham Lincoln and vampire hunting have in common? I don't know. That's why I'm so eager to see the Wanted director's upcoming Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Because I don't have any idea what to expect. It sounds both odd and fascinating. And American history, oooh, droooool. Good old Civil War.

The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey. More Middle-Earth. 'Nuff said.

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3D rereleases seem to be the new trend. The most anticipated of such films is of course Titanic, oooh, can't wait, it will be amazing! Not because of the 3D, necessarily, but seeing it on big screen will be brilliant. Poor baby was too young when it first came out.

Also, I'll probably have to check out Phantom Menace. If it ever comes to Finland, I mean. The Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon/Darth Maul lightsaber battle should look pretty good with that extra dimension!

Beauty and the Beast returns to theatres already on January, and far as I know, in Finland, too. Naturally I will need to see my beloved Disney favourite, as a bigger and better and more expensive version. Finding Nemo is coming back as well, but don't know if I'm ready to pay for it, or if I'll even have a chance to.

Finally, some other more or less interesting films coming out this year. I need to check out Iron Lady, to see how Meryl Streep earned her third Oscar. (Yes. Please?) Might wait for the DVD, though. Albert Nobbs seems pretty interesting. And Woman in Black, oooh, Daniel "Post-Potter" Radcliffe, this should be good. I hope, for the poor boy's sake. Tim Burton's Dark Shadows is a must-see; oh, have I missed Burton+Depp+Bonham Carter.

The two Snow White adaptions, Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman need to be seen, because I dig classic fairytale modernizations, even though neither of them look too promising. Still, I will see both of them, because of Armie Hammer and despite Kristen Stewart. Speaking of K-Stew, Breaking Dawn Part 2. Sigh. One more, and then it's over!

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Alrighty, 2012. You look good. And epic. So bring it on!

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - heroes are made in America

directed by Joe Johnson / starring Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weawing, Stanley Tucci, Dominic Cooper

 I realized I need to catch up on my superhero movies. I also realized it's been a month since I updated this blog. So here you go!

Ever since I saw the first trailer for The Avengers (and it looks good, by the way, even to the eyes of a Marvel amateur like me (and it's not just RDJ that makes it look good, I swear (though it's a contibutor))), I've felt the intrigue I once held for superheros start creeping back. (Spider-Man used to be The Thing for me. My wardrobe still suffers from the consequences of that phase...) There is something about them, isn't there? The men and, well, mostly men, that somehow are given a great power, and a great responsibility with it. And the thing is that the most important power they have is not their psysical strength, or their freaky, supernatural traits; it's the power of their mind, and their heart, the power they'd had all along; the power that makes them transform into superheros, instead of supervillains. This is expecially central in the case of Captain America, and one of the reasons I liked the story so much.

Steve Rogers is a skinny young man, with everything from asthma to heart problems staining his medical records. But he is brave and humble and righteous, and oh, isn't he patriotic. World War II is alluring noble wannabe-heros to go to Europe to "serve their country", and Steve keeps trying to join the army, to do his duty, but no one wants to sent a skinny little boy like him to die in the shores of France. Then Steve gets his chance: he volunteers to be a subject in a top-secret experiment, which turns him into the ultimate supersoldier. Thus, oh say can you see, Captain America is born.

I'm not comfortable around patriotism. It is possibly the aspect about this country that feels the most alien to me. It also makes me a bit angry. "Serving their country", and so on, don't even let me get started on that. But I decided not to let it bother me too much. It it vital to the story that Captain America loves America, so I just went with it. I even found the stars-and-stripes costume pretty cool.

Here's something else I found pretty cool. Chris Evans as a skinny little boy. It was weird, at first, but once you realized it actually looked realistic, and not like Chris Evans's head had been attached to another man's body, it was pretty cool. Thank you, technology. I liked how Captain America was first used as a propaganda machine, and how ridiculous that was. I liked Chris Evans. He usually plays the cocky guy, but he did humble really well, too. I liked Hayley Atwell as the tough chick love interest. Hugo Weaving always makes a good villain. Stanley Tucci is pure awesomeness. And I don't at all mind looking at Dominic Cooper. I'm totally buying that he's related to one Robert Downey Jr.

I also liked how Steve Rogers remained Steve Rogers even after he became Captain America. He never really goes through any kind of mental transformation; the main character of the movie doesn't really learn anything, or develop into something better during the film. This would usually bother me, a lot, but actually it's one of the coolest things about Captain America: there is no need for Steve Rogers to develop or change, because he had the goods all along. The skinny Steve in the beginning would have done the same things Captain America did in the end. It was just the matter of getting the right tools. He might have turned into a superhero, but he was still awkward around ladies. I suppose there might be a sequel with him exploring his darker side, too, á la Spider-Man 3 (haha, yes, I kind of liked that movie), and that would actually be really interesting.

Speaking of sequels. I want one! Or two. You can't end a movie like that and not make a sequel. Or two. 'Cause I loved the ending! I loved the ending and loved the beginning. Wasn't so thrilled of all of what what in the middle, but that can blaimed on me being a stereotypical girl. Too much action makes me bored. I need some dialogue and relationships to keep me interested. Haha. It's true, unfortunately. I'm a girl. Guilty as charged. Anyway. I'll probably get my sequel(s) at some point, but before that, I'll get The Avengers. And I bet that will be a lot of fun. And a lot of not-at-all-bad-looking men to look at. Why, oh why are women intrigued by superhero movies, I wonder? (It's not just that, though. Seriously. (Really!))

(I love the posters of this movie. Kind of old-fashioned, but still modern and sleek.)

"Arrogance is not a uniquely American trait, but you do it better than most."