Comic Con Day 3 Report

Doing lines is unavoidable at Comic Con.

Today, we stood in three lines, and only one of those lines got us anywhere.

We got to the convention center around 11 and went straight to the back of the line to the consistently crowded Ballroom 20, where we stood in line for three hours to get into the Vampire Diaries panel, which you can see the live blog of here.

After scooting out of the Vampire Diaries panel, we jumped in another line, this one for Marvel's movie panel. Unfortunately, the line didn't move, and ten minutes before the panel started, we escaped and made our way back to the Exhibit Hall to scour for more free stuff.

While trolling for handouts and giveaways, we caught a few pictures of Taraji P. Henson, for those Baby Boy and Tyler Perry fans out there, during a signing for CBS' Person of Interest. Taking pictures of celebs at Comic Con is the equivalent of being a red carpet paparazzi. Teeming crowds converge on a less than 100 square foot booth. Hands raise above heads, dangling cameras at odd angles. Flashes pop as the crowd some random soul screams for a distracted star's attention, and all you can do to get a shot off is slide your hand between a pair of bodies and push the button blind, hoping you caught a picture with the star facing you.

I was lucky. I managed to get a picture with the star actually facing me.

Other highlights of the day:

• The Vampire Diaries panel was great for the fans but ultimately revealed very little about where the fourth season was going.
• Marvel debuted footage of Iron Man 3 and announced the titles of the upcoming Thor and Captain America movies, respectively: Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: Winter Soldier.
• Marvel also announced movies for C-list hero Ant-Man (Spider-Man but not) and cosmic superteam The Guardians of the Galaxy.
• Warner Brothers debuted footage of Zack Snyder's Superman: Man of Steel, Guillermo Del Toro's giant robots vs. giant monsters epic Pacific Rim, and Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit.

 Pictures from day 3 are forthcoming. Also, check back tomorrow for the report on the last day. 

After-the-fact Review: The Avengers

Grade: A

Most days, it doesn’t pay to be an optimist. Such a quality inevitably leads to heartbreak. But, there are days, like no other, when positive thinking pays phenomenal dividends. Today, is one of those rare days.

Joss Whedon’s adaptation of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee’s, with a twinge of Mark Millar’s Ultimates, Avengers is pure, unadulterated fun. A random audience member two seats down from me, may have summed up the Avengers better than I ever could, “If I told my younger self that there would be an Avengers movie of this quality, she would never believe it.”

Unfortunately, a few naysayers may have felt that the Avengers was little more than a curious, if impossible, prospect before seeing Whedon’s summertime masterpiece, but rest assured, Whedon has done what seemed impossible. He has made a balanced, respectful superhero flick that remembers exactly what superheroes should be: fun.

Avengers essentially recounts the first meeting of Marvel’s famed dysfunctional supergroup and their first encounter with an otherworldly force that no one hero can withstand, in the case Loki (Tom Hiddleston) the petty, mischievous brother of Asgardian God of Thunder, Thor (Chris Hemsworth). When faced with Loki, who possesses the a glowing cube with cosmic power, The Tesseract, and an army of alien Skeletors, one-eyed super spy, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) goes about assembling four of Earth 616’s mightiest heroes and two kinda-superspies. Man out of time, Captain America (Chris Evans);god from another world, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), anger personified, The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo); and cocky techKnight, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) join Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and, eventually, Green Arrow pastiche, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to become the most functionally dysfunctional superteam, one that has time bicker incessantly despite facing down alien armies and nuclear strike teams. As with any confluence of superheroes, the question becomes: will these heroes be able to put aside their differences to save the world? Of course, they can...

Whedon’s Avengers has a simple plot, but he uses that decision to do what he does best: build unforgettable characters who play off each other phenomenally well. Granted, the Avengers are well-defined enough that they don’t necessarily need Whedon’s, who also snagged a screenwriting credit, deft touch, but it doesn’t hurt. Every character, from Cap to Iron Man to fan favorite Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), is remains true to the core qualities developed in decades of comics and writ large in the individual Avengers prequels. Cap is as noble and principled as expected while Tony Stark reveals heroism beneath unflinching snarkiness, and those are only two of the most memorable examples of the exemplary character work Whedon puts on display. Whedon balances character and spectacle so well in the Avengers that one wonders why Marvel doesn’t just hand him their slate of big screen endeavors from here on out. Whedon orchestrates character and chaos with equal aplomb. The sheer quality of the mayhem--coherent, clear, and consistently thrilling--that unfolds on screen is astounding. The attack on Manhattan that composes the last hour is easily the superhero flick equivalent of Helm’s Deep, only better. In fact, The last hour plus of Avengers somehow crams more action--with exceptional geography--than any superhero flick ever has, and for that audiences really need to thank Whedon and Marvel for making this happen. 

Whedon and company could not have made this happen without an top notch cast. Robert Downey Jr. is the undeniable star of the show here--though the Hulk probably truly deserves the title--as he dominates every scene with Tony Stark’s trademark asinine, cocksure quips. Chris Evans comes in a close second, further eschewing his own well-known cockiness to give Captain America and unflinching earnestness that makes him the hero really deserve. Mark Ruffalo steps up to plate to prove that third time’s the charm for the Hulk, making Bruce Banner far more engaging and palatable than his predecessors by subtly weaving Banner’s bookishness with a razor’s edge of intensity. Chris Hemsworth continues make Thor far more digestible than most Thor comics have by expertly balancing Thor’s Shakespearean bravado and the character’s own endless compassion for his brother. Speaking of which, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki proves even more threatening and nuanced than he did in Thor and makes for a great villain who does more than attempt to take over the world. Even Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is a far more improved character than she was in Iron Man 2, and thankfully, she’s focused more on kicking ass this time than posing. Sadly, Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye gets short shrift this time, and we never get to see the character’s well-known rebellious streak. 

Looking at that list, and the fact that Marvel and Whedon managed to wrangle so many actors and characters to create such an amazing display, one can’t help but be amazed at Marvel’s ambition. Sure the plot is basic--but so was the first issue of Avengers--and the original creators get minimal credit--by all rights, this should be Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Avengers--but this is nonetheless and exceptional achievement. Avengers has raised the bar for superhero flicks by going back to basics. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy may have been the most recent set of superhero movies to raise the quality of the genre by bringing pure artistry to the fore, but the Avengers does something that Nolan’s film rarely make audiences do: smile.

The Yin and Yang of It

Yang: Amazing character and action on display in Whedon’s blockbuster masterpiece. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and the Hulk are standouts amongst a cast of standouts.

Yin: Plot is a bit simple and the sheer existence of this film in the face of Marvel’s recent entanglements with the Avengers original creator, Jack Kirby, is an affront to creator’s rights, but these are minor quibbles.

In between: Hulk smash.

Top Ten Films of 2011

This year, I didn’t get to see as many indies and non-mainstream films as I wanted, but, in general, this was a decent, if less than momentous year for film. If anything, the best films of the year were those that simply made me smile. My top ten for the year are, uniformly, crowd-pleasers with one or two notable exceptions. While none of the selections in this list are in any danger of changing the way audiences think, feel, or live, each selection managed to entertain and keep the doldrums of the day jobs and drudgery of daily duties at bay.

10. Hanna








Grade: A
Thanks to a confident, atmospheric visual palette from director Joe Wright and disgustingly lethal beatings courtesy of waifish Saoirse Ronan, Hanna delivered an indie take on the Bourne series that easily overtook the farce that was Sucker Punch in the Girl Power division.

9. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol









Grade: B
Tom Cruise continued to tempt death in this exciting entry that expanded the scope and ambition of the series far beyond the previous installments. Kudos to Brad Bird, in particular, for translating some of the old animation magic into his first live-action feature.

8. Real Steel









Grade: B
Easily dismissed as the Rock’em, Sock’em Robots: The Movie--which it is—this Rocky for the Transformers-set is far more entertaining and affecting than it had any right to be. Despite having a grumpy lead and a precocious kid, Real Steel proved its mettle (sorry) with solid robot-on-robot violence and an underdog narrative that rarely fails.

7. Warrior









Grade: A
In training to break the Dark Knight, the man who would be Bane (Tom Hardy), shows raw physical and emotional range in this Rocky for the MMA-set. Hardy’s performance is thankfully only one of the many highlights, as Joel Edgerton and Nick Nolte both shine as Hardy’s brother and father, respectively.

6. Fast Five









Grade: B+
Fast Five is a trade off: it relinquishes the negligible street cred—as if it ever had any—of focusing on underground street racing to become Toretto’s Seven, using any trick in the heist flick glossary to put on a show like no other Fast &Furious movie has before. It takes a moment to accept that a Fast & Furious movie can be guilt-free fun, let alone, good, but this one is both.

5. Hugo
G







Grade: A
Touching to a fault and submerged in a wonderfully luminous visual style, Hugo takes two well-worn narratives--the young orphan in search of a home and the idealistic youngster who
warms the heart of an old curmudgeon—and weaves them into a moving story that honors the early days of film while making at least 90% of the audience cry--almost.

4. Attack the Block









Grade: A
In the vein of Scott Pilgrim (which was directed by Block’s producer Edgar Wright), British import Attack the Block is a unique, underrated vision that never got the attention it deserved. More people probably saw this movie for free than any other flick this year. For those who did, they were treated to a topical twist on the alien invasion narrative that speaks to anybody who lives in a ‘ignored’ part of town.

3. Rango








Grade: A
Somehow, Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski managed to roll up Spaghetti Westerns and Gonzo journalist adventures into a visually stunning and idiosyncratic take on Chinatown that was aimed at kids, but easily entertained all ages. Easily Johnny Depp’s best animated performance this year, with Captain Jack’s return in On Stranger Tides a slightly distant second.

2. Captain America









Grade: A
Easily the best superhero movie this year. Possibly the best Marvel movie since Blade II. Joe Johnston’s Captain America was a throwback to an era where heroes were uncomplicated and unashamedly earnest. Evoking memories of Johnston’s 90’s cult classic, The Rocketeer, Captain America, played ably by Chris Evans, showed audiences that heroes can be heroes without angst, armored suits, or ambiguity.

1. The Artist








Grade: A+
An all-around crowd pleaser fronted by two of the most winning leads of the year (Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo). Following the tale of a falling silent movie star and the rise of the spunky young starlet he’s fell in love with, The Artist is light-hearted but affecting and a wonderful experiment in the power of performances and visual over dialogue. Filmed in the manner of silent films that predated Hollywood’s golden era, The Artist may seem like it’s based around a gimmick, but rarely is a gimmick attached to such an entertaining and touching narrative.

Review - Captain America: The First Avenger

Grade: A-

Good: Good old-fashioned superheroics with an earnestness missing from most superhero movies; Anchored by solid, likable performances from Evans, Atwell and Jones; Cool Easter eggs for comic fans

Bad: Some weak CGI and needless special effects; rushed ending

Ugly: When the Red Skull loses his face.

When I was about ten, my favorite superhero movie was not Superman or Batman, but Disney’s adaptation of The Rocketeer. I didn’t recognize the nostalgia for what it was at the time, but I knew Nazis were bad and a guy with jetpack strapped to his back, which was as likely to kill him as propel him into the air, would never be anything but cool. Seeing the movie again earlier this year, I realized how great it really was. It was an earnest piece of nostalgia—almost twenty years later and I get it—that was unafraid to be simple, good old-fashioned superhero fun. Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger is the perfect heir to the Rocketeer’s legacy, delivering a plain old fun superhero tale that recalls the virtues of Golden Age comics with little of the angst and pretense of most superhero movies.

Captain America breaks the cycle of rote origin stories to become Marvel’s best movie since the first Iron Man thanks in large part to its likable cast and commitment to unabashed, uncomplicated superheroics. Chris Evans, the former Human Torch, stars as the titular Sentinel of Liberty, Steve Rogers, who begins the movie as a 98 lb. weakling desperate to join the allied effort to battle the Third Reich in 1942. Evans plays Rogers perfectly as a hero with a heart bigger than Spider-Man’s and easily more willpower than Green Lantern. Evans’ Rogers is tough and patriotic, but not overbearing as one might expect from a hero draped in the flag, and this is all before he becomes Cap. After four failed attempts to enlist, Rogers is handpicked by genteel, noble German refuge Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci, playing another sublime variation on the world’s coolest mentor), at the Stark Exposition no less, for an experimental procedure. With the help of austere British agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and the father of the future Iron Man, Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), Erskine subjects Rogers to a super scientific procedure that basically equates to an injection of steroids in an industrial strength tanning booth. Rogers emerges as the picture of human perfection, with peak human agility, speed and strength. Ironically, he’s the embodiment of Hitler’s Aryan ideal sent to sock Hitler in the face.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the result of Erskine’s first experiment, Nazi malcontent with a severe skin condition Johann Schmidt aka The Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), is building an army known as Hydra that will break away from the Third Reich and bring the world to its knees. As the Red Skull plans to take over the world with the help of a cosmic device yanked from Odin’s treasure room—see, it’s all connected—Cap slogs through a stint as a USO mascot and war bonds salesman before single-handedly rescuing a unit that includes his best friend, one James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan), and setting himself on a crash course with the Skull and Hydra.

While Evans does a great job toning down his typical snarky charisma and imbuing Cap with a respectable, genuine sincerity, he is supported by a more than able cast that includes Tommy Lee Jones and a number of familiar, if not overly famous, faces. Hayley Atwell’s Agent Carter is a solid romantic foil for Cap. She is competent and tough, but shows feelings for Cap without being schmaltzy. Jones plays the Colonel of Cap’s unit with the rugged toughness that has defined Jones career. In Cap, he seems to be rehashing his Agent K persona from Men in Black while seeming to have as much fun in a comic-based film as he’s had in a long time. Sebastian Stan is great in a smart turn as Bucky Barnes. Comic fans will be familiar with Bucky as essentially Captain America’s Robin, a teenage sidekick thrust into a ridiculously dangerous situation. Here, Director Joe Johnston and a screenwriting team led by Christopher Markus make a smart move by aging Bucky to adulthood and establishing a more storied rapport between the two. Dominic Cooper brings a cocky spark to Howard Stark that mimics Robert Downey’s performance as Howard’s son Tony.

Hugo Weaving does a serviceable job as the Red Skull, a villain who is not as flamboyant as the Joker or the Green Goblin. Due to the focus Red Skull as the force behind on Hydra rather than a weapon of the Third Reich, Skull loses a bit of his edge. Weaving doesn’t help by dropping the German accent a few times and wavering between slightly over-the-top villainy and believable menace. On average, the performances in Cap are uniformly great in their balance between cockiness and grit that many, right or wrongly, believe defined the WWII era.

Director Joe Johnston was seen as a questionable when announced, but, as the man who helmed The Rocketeer, he’s actually perfect. With Captain America, he did a great job of recreating the visual feel of 1940s serials, complete with sepia filter and halo effect. It was an especially wise choice on his and Marvel’s part to avoid temptation to bring Cap into the modern age too soon. The war era setting makes the characters earnestness much easier to digest and seems to deflate any cynicism very quickly, mostly due to the rose-colored glasses through which many view WWII. Marvel Zombies will also be pleased with Easter eggs of some notable heroes and villains from the era and nods to classic Cap mythos, including a pretty faithful recreation of the original costume used in serials from the 40s—though, it must be said, the new costume is pretty cool and is probably the most practical superhero costume since Batman’s Dark Knight variation.

Captain America fails a bit with some visual effects that can be a bit hokey with the main offender being the CGI de-muscling of Chris Evans. One thing about Cap that Johnston may have missed is that he’s not superhuman. Cap is the peak of human physical ability, so there’s no need for him to toss guys around like superman. If Johnston and Marvel would have looked to the Bourne trilogy for inspiration, they could have made Cap a living weapon with a minimum of special effects. Captain America also suffers from a rushed ending that removes the possibility of some very necessary character development for Cap. In the Marvel Universe, Cap is known as a master strategist who has logged hundreds of missions. The movie glosses over the mission’s that would have built Cap’s legend in effort to jump forward. Hopefully, there will be a sequel that eschews a modern adventure for a look at the parts of Cap's legacy that Johnston skipped.

I don’t normally call for sequels, but I want to see more Captain America. Not many superhero movies have been this enjoyable, likeable and just plain fun. It may not have the edge that more jaded members of the audience are looking for, but it trades the snark and angst that defines Marvel for a genuineness that is sorely lacking in most superhero films. Many in know will only see this as another of Marvel’s 90-minute commercials for next year’s Avengers, but Cap, just like Steve Rogers, is so much more and that’s worth saluting.