Last month, Captain America: Civil War hit and I saw it opening night... and was one of very few people who didn't absolutely adore it. In fact it left a very bad first impression on me -- which has toned down a little since and I'm looking forward to hopefully being able to ignore those things and focus solely on what I liked the second time round. But that opportunity has yet to come. Much like the opportunity to see Love and Friendship and X-Men: Apocalypse, both of which I still want to see, in spite of middling reviews for the latter. Unfortunately, extra time for theater trips is not readily available to me currently.
The month of June is looking very fine with three or four releases that if I don't get to the theater to see will still be watching at some point all the same. What movies look good to you this month?
Me Before You
Jun 3rd; PG-13
This romance's large British cast led me to read the book, and for the first time in my life reading a book before the movie came out didn't make me more interested in seeing the movie. I didn't love the story, and though it was well-written, sometimes funny, and very memorable, I don't care to see the story play out on the screen. However, I am still slightly interested, because the cast still is what it is. Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke in the lead, with supporting favorites like Jenna Coleman, Charles Dance, Janet McTeer, and Brendan Coyle. (I am disappointed that the actor playing Nathan is from Australia, not New Zealand though.) And there is an element of plain and simple curiosity to know how well it was adapted. So I may watch it someday, but not anytime soon.
Now You See Me 2
Jun 10th; PG-13
Haha! "We thought" (and hoped) "they were gone forever, but now they're back!" Minus Isla Fischer, but hey, that actually a good thing. If it weren't for me having sat though the original movie I wouldn't even be mentioning this one. I'm really surprised it even exists. Plenty of people may have enjoyed Now You See Me more than I did, but did anyone really enjoy it enough to warrant a sequel? This one certainly doesn't look one bit better then the first, in spite of having "cooler" tricks. It's all just movie magic anyway, so really, what's the point?
Warcraft
Jun 10th; PG-13
I'm not a gamer and have never played any Warcraft games. My brother tried to make me play Hearthstone once, but I was confused and bored within seconds. But, I want to see this move. No, it doesn't look like a great movie, but something about the over-the-top Lord of the Rings impression it evokes really really appeals to me. I like that motion-capture was used for the Orcs, and the CGI looks like real effort was put into it, which is a good sign. And I like the cast. Video game movies have never been good before, but with a movie like this it doesn't necessarily have to be good to be enjoyable. Early reviews are not boding well for the film's quality, but for the enjoyment part, I'm pretty determined to see for myself.
Finding Dory
Jun 17th; PG
For these upcoming movie posts, I make a list of all the movie I might want to talk about and then go watch the trailers. I got to this one and said a sarcastic and disappointed "Oh, great." Which says a lot about what I think about this movie already. I still haven't watched it. I don't want to. I don't want this movie to exist and add on to one of my childhood favorites -- even it if it turns out decently -- which I kinda doubt it will. Okay watching it now.... ..... ....Help me. Well... there was one good joke. Maybe I watched the wrong trailer, but I sure as heck aint gonna risk watching another. I'm done. Nope nope nope nope nope.
Independence Day: Resurgence
Jun 24th; No Rating yet
Man, this trailer gets me with the nostalgia every time during the speech from the first movie. This could very easily not be a worthy successor to the original, but for me the original wasn't too great for it to not be worth a good shot. Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman are back and Liam Hemsworth has been added, and there's nothing particular in the trailer that makes me thin it'll be really good, but there's nothing that makes think it'll be bad either. It's a good trailer that doesn't give away a whole lot and doesn't have to since everyone can figure out what it'll be about pretty much on their own. And I'm definitely interested to see this movie.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Jun 24th; PG-13
Now, this. This is my movie. This is my pick for June. If I could only watch one movie in the whole month it would be this one. If I could talk about only one film in this post it would be this one. I could tell you about how it's set in New Zealand; how the trailer makes it feel like a Wes Anderson comedy; how it has raving reviews and a perfect score on RT; or more personally, how it reminds me of another summer flick from three years ago that inspired this whole post series in the first place -- The Way, Way Back. But never mind all that. Just watch this trailer and see for yourself.
Have a lovely June everyone!
Showing posts with label Dominic Cooper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dominic Cooper. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Captain America: The First Avenger
Seeing Civil War in the theater sparked another re-watch of Steve's first adventure The First Avenger, and I figured it was about time I gave it a review. My opinion of it has shifted slowly over the past 5 years, as with each viewing my perspective was slightly different because of the films that came after it, but it has always been essentially the same -- a really quite good movie.
Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is the biggest Boy Scout character maybe ever -- certainly in the MCU -- and as such it's difficult to give his character conflict. Because he knows what's right and does it, it's hard to find a tight spot to put him in that would create a compelling story. His origin story deals with that problem in a way no later movie could. Instead of it being about how he fights for truth and liberty and how he helps people, this movie focuses on his struggle to get to a place where he is actually capable of doing those "Captain America" things.
We know that his heart always is and always will be in the right place, and The First Avenger proves that. As a skinny sickly kid he determinedly stands up to bullies to the point where he seems almost insane to do it, and relentlessly tries to make it into the army. I guess he knows what his heart is capable of. And fortunately so does Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who sees his spirit and his goodness and gives him a chance. To the raised eyebrows of Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) he is chosen to be the first test subject for a serum that turns people into super-soldiers.
Stanley Tucci is always a lightening aspect in any movie, and here he's delightful. As soon as Steve gets a body with strength to match his heart and soul though, Erskine is killed and the serum stolen by Richard Armitage! (This movie has so many great "hey, it's that person!" bit-parts. It's fantastic.) I love the proceeding chase scene. Suddenly Steve is who he was always supposed to be, and he immediately uses his new-found physical strength to do good. The scene action-wise is sometimes quite silly and no one had figured out Cap's fighting style yet, so it's missing the visual "oomph" it could have had, but I still love it.
The whole movie's production is often distractingly cheap in fact. Obviously there wasn't enough confidence in it to warrant the kind of budget a Marvel movie gets today. Green screens are obvious, fighting and stunts are cheesy and fake, and I remember the 3D as the worst I've seen. But, like Cap, this movie has its heart in the right place. It dwindles on the action and visuals side, but focuses admirably on character.
I didn't fall in love with Chris Evans' Cap until The Winter Soldier, but he's always done the part nearly flawlessly, and he hit on it so well with this first try. He's so convincingly kind and endearing and you can't help but feel so sad for him at times (when he's stuck selling bonds and drawing himself as a dancing monkey springs to mind) but he still exudes strength and bravery and is the kind of person you'd be afraid of if you were a bad guy. Hugo Weaving as the bad guy hams it up more than he should have, by the way. The movie has a strong comic book tone to it, but it's halfway in a way that fits with the later films, and halfway not.
Bucky, (Sebastian Stan) I didn't fall in love with until Civil War. When I first saw this movie I barely noticed him. He was a sounding board for Steve's early conflict, then he blended into the Howling Commandos, and his "death" completely convinced me. How things have changed. Now, the sounding board is the beginning of a very complex character. The two have a great friendship, and it's interesting to watch how it changes from Bucky trying to protect Steve from himself and from war, to becoming the one who needs to be protected, yet he doesn't hesitate to follow Steve, and never resents him. Stan has the "strong silent type" down pat but is also light and charming at the proper times. The bit where he tries to hit on Peggy and she doesn't even look at him is hilarious.
And even after Peggy got her own TV show, her character doesn't get any better than it is here. Strong and confident, and warm and lovely this Peggy knows her worth and doesn't care one bit if no one else does. I always liked Dominic Cooper's Howard Stark too -- one hundred percent rogue swagger and charm. Tommy Lee Jones is often the funniest bits of the movie while he helps the plot move along. And even though they're small parts, all the Howling Commandos are good, and I especially like that Neal McDonough and JJ Feild are a part of the group.
The one thing that has always bothered me the most about his film is how contrived and ambiguous the plane crash at the end was. I've tried to figure it out, but it seems like they just couldn't think of a hole-proof way of forcing Cap to make that choice and crash the plane, so they tried to cover it up by not explaining exactly why it was necessary to crash. It had to happen so it had to happen, but that always dampened the impact of that emotional moment for me.
The First Avenger is far from being a flawless movie, and most of its flaws are right on the surface for all to see, but with each viewing the characters become more and more endearing and deep, and show no sign of becoming obsolete as Marvel films continue to grow on the solid foundation they helped set. This early, light-and-breezy Marvel flick is a sincere and fitting origin for the most noble and patriotic of superheroes.
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| The Star-Spangled Man with a Plan! |
Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is the biggest Boy Scout character maybe ever -- certainly in the MCU -- and as such it's difficult to give his character conflict. Because he knows what's right and does it, it's hard to find a tight spot to put him in that would create a compelling story. His origin story deals with that problem in a way no later movie could. Instead of it being about how he fights for truth and liberty and how he helps people, this movie focuses on his struggle to get to a place where he is actually capable of doing those "Captain America" things.
We know that his heart always is and always will be in the right place, and The First Avenger proves that. As a skinny sickly kid he determinedly stands up to bullies to the point where he seems almost insane to do it, and relentlessly tries to make it into the army. I guess he knows what his heart is capable of. And fortunately so does Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who sees his spirit and his goodness and gives him a chance. To the raised eyebrows of Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) he is chosen to be the first test subject for a serum that turns people into super-soldiers.
 |
| "There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them." |
Stanley Tucci is always a lightening aspect in any movie, and here he's delightful. As soon as Steve gets a body with strength to match his heart and soul though, Erskine is killed and the serum stolen by Richard Armitage! (This movie has so many great "hey, it's that person!" bit-parts. It's fantastic.) I love the proceeding chase scene. Suddenly Steve is who he was always supposed to be, and he immediately uses his new-found physical strength to do good. The scene action-wise is sometimes quite silly and no one had figured out Cap's fighting style yet, so it's missing the visual "oomph" it could have had, but I still love it.
The whole movie's production is often distractingly cheap in fact. Obviously there wasn't enough confidence in it to warrant the kind of budget a Marvel movie gets today. Green screens are obvious, fighting and stunts are cheesy and fake, and I remember the 3D as the worst I've seen. But, like Cap, this movie has its heart in the right place. It dwindles on the action and visuals side, but focuses admirably on character.
 |
| Not a perfect soldier, but a good man. |
I didn't fall in love with Chris Evans' Cap until The Winter Soldier, but he's always done the part nearly flawlessly, and he hit on it so well with this first try. He's so convincingly kind and endearing and you can't help but feel so sad for him at times (when he's stuck selling bonds and drawing himself as a dancing monkey springs to mind) but he still exudes strength and bravery and is the kind of person you'd be afraid of if you were a bad guy. Hugo Weaving as the bad guy hams it up more than he should have, by the way. The movie has a strong comic book tone to it, but it's halfway in a way that fits with the later films, and halfway not.
Bucky, (Sebastian Stan) I didn't fall in love with until Civil War. When I first saw this movie I barely noticed him. He was a sounding board for Steve's early conflict, then he blended into the Howling Commandos, and his "death" completely convinced me. How things have changed. Now, the sounding board is the beginning of a very complex character. The two have a great friendship, and it's interesting to watch how it changes from Bucky trying to protect Steve from himself and from war, to becoming the one who needs to be protected, yet he doesn't hesitate to follow Steve, and never resents him. Stan has the "strong silent type" down pat but is also light and charming at the proper times. The bit where he tries to hit on Peggy and she doesn't even look at him is hilarious.
 |
| "I thought you were dead." "I thought you were smaller." |
And even after Peggy got her own TV show, her character doesn't get any better than it is here. Strong and confident, and warm and lovely this Peggy knows her worth and doesn't care one bit if no one else does. I always liked Dominic Cooper's Howard Stark too -- one hundred percent rogue swagger and charm. Tommy Lee Jones is often the funniest bits of the movie while he helps the plot move along. And even though they're small parts, all the Howling Commandos are good, and I especially like that Neal McDonough and JJ Feild are a part of the group.
The one thing that has always bothered me the most about his film is how contrived and ambiguous the plane crash at the end was. I've tried to figure it out, but it seems like they just couldn't think of a hole-proof way of forcing Cap to make that choice and crash the plane, so they tried to cover it up by not explaining exactly why it was necessary to crash. It had to happen so it had to happen, but that always dampened the impact of that emotional moment for me.
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| Interestingly, the sweeter part of their romance is when they are apart. |
The First Avenger is far from being a flawless movie, and most of its flaws are right on the surface for all to see, but with each viewing the characters become more and more endearing and deep, and show no sign of becoming obsolete as Marvel films continue to grow on the solid foundation they helped set. This early, light-and-breezy Marvel flick is a sincere and fitting origin for the most noble and patriotic of superheroes.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Agent Carter: Better Angels
Spoiler warning.
As Peggy (Hayley Atwell) searches for the stolen Zero Matter, she uncovers what may be a huge conspiracy involving a politician, Calvin Chadwick (Currie Graham), who is running for Senator, and his Hollywood star wife Whitney Frost (Wynn Everett). She is joined as always by Mr. Jarvis (James D'Arcy) and Chief Sousa (Enver Gjokaj), but Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) also drops by in a welcome return, and Chief Thompson (Chad Michael Murray) flies in from New York to antagonize their investigation.
I expected we'd see more of Dr. Wilkes (Reggie Austin) eventually, but I never expected it'd be so fast. He isn't dead, but isn't really very technically alive either -- he's like a scientific ghost (using the word "scientific" within the parameters of the show's version of science, of course). And I'm sure that they figure out how to bring him back to the physical reality so that the sparks between him and Peggy can be resolved one way or another.
Jarvis happily continues the be Peggy's most constant companion and loyal friend. Howard slipped in like he's always belonged (very characteristic of him) and made all his usual airy quips, sly remarks and fun nods, and I rather wish he'd stay for every episode, but that seems unlikely. He really round out the "team" effect though. Everyone else on the team who had their introductions two episodes ago seem to have eased comfortably into their respective places and found their groove. It's a good one -- this episode may not be the high quality of the average first season episode, but it feels comfortable and natural again.
The least natural thing was Thompson -- who may not be a bad guy, but is undoubtedly an antagonist -- coming to pry into our heroes affairs and make matters worse for them. He acts like he's Sousa's boss, and after forcing Peggy to go on the L.A. assignment, threatens to pull her out of it for... reasons I honestly don't remember, but it doesn't matter because the point of everything he does is what he does, not why. If the point were why he does thing, then the character would be much more acceptable and fitting in the narrative.
Peggy continues to be the Peggy we all love and appreciate. When she's adventuring -- sneaking and spying and generally being Peggy -- by herself was the more memorable parts of the show. An I felt the more slowed-down, richer pace I was hoping for in those scenes as well. She and Sousa have a more comfortable dynamic going right now as their drama in put on the back-burner. I approve of this. Don't milk it too hard -- seeing them work well together without tense, romantic undertones is quite enjoyable.
Whitney Frost is shaping up to be a big super villain of the season as her efforts to steal the Zero Matter resulted in it implanting itself in her forehead and now she can accidentally kill people by touching them. Crazy. The character is interesting and sufficiently creepy, but I worry for the potential cheesiness of her future. I watch Agents of SHIELD for superhero powers; I watch Agent Carter for throwback stylish mystery solving, so I hope they keep it all firmly grounded in that realm. This episode both begins to look up, and casually threatens to wander even further down.
As Peggy (Hayley Atwell) searches for the stolen Zero Matter, she uncovers what may be a huge conspiracy involving a politician, Calvin Chadwick (Currie Graham), who is running for Senator, and his Hollywood star wife Whitney Frost (Wynn Everett). She is joined as always by Mr. Jarvis (James D'Arcy) and Chief Sousa (Enver Gjokaj), but Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) also drops by in a welcome return, and Chief Thompson (Chad Michael Murray) flies in from New York to antagonize their investigation.
 |
| Peggy Carter approves of this plot. |
I expected we'd see more of Dr. Wilkes (Reggie Austin) eventually, but I never expected it'd be so fast. He isn't dead, but isn't really very technically alive either -- he's like a scientific ghost (using the word "scientific" within the parameters of the show's version of science, of course). And I'm sure that they figure out how to bring him back to the physical reality so that the sparks between him and Peggy can be resolved one way or another.
Jarvis happily continues the be Peggy's most constant companion and loyal friend. Howard slipped in like he's always belonged (very characteristic of him) and made all his usual airy quips, sly remarks and fun nods, and I rather wish he'd stay for every episode, but that seems unlikely. He really round out the "team" effect though. Everyone else on the team who had their introductions two episodes ago seem to have eased comfortably into their respective places and found their groove. It's a good one -- this episode may not be the high quality of the average first season episode, but it feels comfortable and natural again.
 |
| "You're brilliant!" No, you're brilliant!" |
The least natural thing was Thompson -- who may not be a bad guy, but is undoubtedly an antagonist -- coming to pry into our heroes affairs and make matters worse for them. He acts like he's Sousa's boss, and after forcing Peggy to go on the L.A. assignment, threatens to pull her out of it for... reasons I honestly don't remember, but it doesn't matter because the point of everything he does is what he does, not why. If the point were why he does thing, then the character would be much more acceptable and fitting in the narrative.
Peggy continues to be the Peggy we all love and appreciate. When she's adventuring -- sneaking and spying and generally being Peggy -- by herself was the more memorable parts of the show. An I felt the more slowed-down, richer pace I was hoping for in those scenes as well. She and Sousa have a more comfortable dynamic going right now as their drama in put on the back-burner. I approve of this. Don't milk it too hard -- seeing them work well together without tense, romantic undertones is quite enjoyable.
 |
| No surprise that the aging Hollywood film darling is the villain, right? ... Right? |
Whitney Frost is shaping up to be a big super villain of the season as her efforts to steal the Zero Matter resulted in it implanting itself in her forehead and now she can accidentally kill people by touching them. Crazy. The character is interesting and sufficiently creepy, but I worry for the potential cheesiness of her future. I watch Agents of SHIELD for superhero powers; I watch Agent Carter for throwback stylish mystery solving, so I hope they keep it all firmly grounded in that realm. This episode both begins to look up, and casually threatens to wander even further down.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Marvel's Agent Carter: Valediction
Spoilers.
The eight episodes have all been played, and milked for all their worth; Agent Carter's few weeks of fame is over and done, and this Tuesday we'll be back to watching Agents of SHIELD again, like nothing ever happened. But it did -- oh, it did.
Valediction wrapped the show up nice and neatly, but there was surprisingly and very interestingly a good amount of things left open-ended. Like, say, the amount of things you would want to leave open-ended if you wanted to maybe come back to the storyline sometime, but also not too much to make it necessary. Obviously, they'd have to be crazy to not bring this show back for a second season eventually. Or maybe they should make it a movie!
Anyway, I think this final ep was my second favorite to A Sin to Err, with lots and lots of vintage-styled action-ing and adventuring and drama. With all the good guys finally on the same side, teaming up against the villains to save the day and the city!
With his name finally cleared, Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) comes back for his fame and glory, and is promptly put in a way worse situation than he ever would have been under arrest for treason. Even though his appearances always took away from Jarvis' role (and this one was no exception) Howard is easily one of the most established characters in the show, and Cooper's performance of him is endlessly enjoyable.
And Jarvis (James D'Arcy) is by no means forgotten in this final round, and gets plenty to do and a very nice final scene with Peggy. There are a lot of great characters in this show, I know, but seriously, Agent Carter (the lady and the series) would have been lost without Jarvis. He was from the beginning, and still is my favorite.
Jarvis, Howard, and Peggy all started out great, but Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) has slowly been climbing up to their level for the past seven episodes. I'm not sure exactly when he made it, but he did, and I noticed it clearly this time when I was more interested in what he was going to do than any of the other characters. I wanted him to play an important part in saving the day, and he did; using brains instead of brawn. And, I wanted him to make some headway with Peggy -- and okay, there wasn't as much as I could have handled with great happiness, but the scene was adorable, and promised a lot. He finally gets up the courage to ask her out, putting aside his crutch before talking to her, and thankfully doesn't turn into a bumbling idiot for being nervous. He was perfect. And even though she really couldn't go just then, the huge grin on her face after he looks away said everything we needed to know.
I saved the best for last -- Hayley Atwell's titular heroine. This may not have been her best episode, but when you're so constantly awesome, who can even say? She gets a nice and exciting hand-to-hand combat scene with the evil villain Dottie, and then she got an even better dramatic scene about Steve. The previously mentioned grin I loved because it showed her feminine, romantic side. Sure she's a level-headed, sensible, strong woman who can beat people up, but she's still a woman. And she knows her own worth, as she says in a speech near the end. And she bravely takes that first huge step toward moving on from Captain America.
It was nice to see her do that, but as for us, we'd forgotten Cap from the very first episode of this show -- with all this vintage awesomeness fueled by Peggy and co. distracting us, we didn't miss him for a second.
Here are the rest of my Agent Carter reviews:
Now Is Not the End/Bridge and Tunnel
Time and Tide
The Blitzkrieg Button
The Iron Ceiling
A Sin to Err
SNAFU
The eight episodes have all been played, and milked for all their worth; Agent Carter's few weeks of fame is over and done, and this Tuesday we'll be back to watching Agents of SHIELD again, like nothing ever happened. But it did -- oh, it did.
Valediction wrapped the show up nice and neatly, but there was surprisingly and very interestingly a good amount of things left open-ended. Like, say, the amount of things you would want to leave open-ended if you wanted to maybe come back to the storyline sometime, but also not too much to make it necessary. Obviously, they'd have to be crazy to not bring this show back for a second season eventually. Or maybe they should make it a movie!
 |
| I will definitely miss this lady's upright character, heroism, and fantastic sense of fashion. |
Anyway, I think this final ep was my second favorite to A Sin to Err, with lots and lots of vintage-styled action-ing and adventuring and drama. With all the good guys finally on the same side, teaming up against the villains to save the day and the city!
With his name finally cleared, Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) comes back for his fame and glory, and is promptly put in a way worse situation than he ever would have been under arrest for treason. Even though his appearances always took away from Jarvis' role (and this one was no exception) Howard is easily one of the most established characters in the show, and Cooper's performance of him is endlessly enjoyable.
And Jarvis (James D'Arcy) is by no means forgotten in this final round, and gets plenty to do and a very nice final scene with Peggy. There are a lot of great characters in this show, I know, but seriously, Agent Carter (the lady and the series) would have been lost without Jarvis. He was from the beginning, and still is my favorite.
 |
| Two awesome men, and two self-absorbed men. |
Jarvis, Howard, and Peggy all started out great, but Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) has slowly been climbing up to their level for the past seven episodes. I'm not sure exactly when he made it, but he did, and I noticed it clearly this time when I was more interested in what he was going to do than any of the other characters. I wanted him to play an important part in saving the day, and he did; using brains instead of brawn. And, I wanted him to make some headway with Peggy -- and okay, there wasn't as much as I could have handled with great happiness, but the scene was adorable, and promised a lot. He finally gets up the courage to ask her out, putting aside his crutch before talking to her, and thankfully doesn't turn into a bumbling idiot for being nervous. He was perfect. And even though she really couldn't go just then, the huge grin on her face after he looks away said everything we needed to know.
 |
| My two favorite Agent Carter men. |
I saved the best for last -- Hayley Atwell's titular heroine. This may not have been her best episode, but when you're so constantly awesome, who can even say? She gets a nice and exciting hand-to-hand combat scene with the evil villain Dottie, and then she got an even better dramatic scene about Steve. The previously mentioned grin I loved because it showed her feminine, romantic side. Sure she's a level-headed, sensible, strong woman who can beat people up, but she's still a woman. And she knows her own worth, as she says in a speech near the end. And she bravely takes that first huge step toward moving on from Captain America.
 |
| Great job, Peggy. |
It was nice to see her do that, but as for us, we'd forgotten Cap from the very first episode of this show -- with all this vintage awesomeness fueled by Peggy and co. distracting us, we didn't miss him for a second.
Here are the rest of my Agent Carter reviews:
Now Is Not the End/Bridge and Tunnel
Time and Tide
The Blitzkrieg Button
The Iron Ceiling
A Sin to Err
SNAFU
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Marvel's Agent Carter: The Blitzkrieg Button
Mild Spoilers.
Episode 4 finally came, but I'm not at all satisfied. I only want more!
The Blitzkrieg Button saw the return of Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, and he was the highlight that saved this episode from mediocrity. Howard brought a lot of great humor to the episode, and his dynamic with Peggy (Hayley Atwell) is every bit as fun as hers and Jarvis's (James D'Arcy). I am loving the fuller fleshing-out of these characters I liked so well in Captain America.
Otherwise, this episode started to stagnate. The plot is basically that Howard comes, annoys Peggy to no end, and then leaves. She gets one thing out of the "deal" that will certainly be used later, but really, everything that happened could have easily fit into half an episode, instead of a whole.
They stretched it out by including all the investigating that Agent Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) is doing, something we want him to do well in because he's a good character, but also we don't, because the end of that line is Peggy and Jarvis's treacherous antics. I like Sousa alright, but not as much as our hero trio, so all that screen time paired with so little interesting character development felt slightly like a waste of time, and plot-wise, a stall for a later episode.
Chief Dooley (Shea Whigham) also got to waste and stall for some time, but it seems more worth it, since we know nothing about his character, at this point any screen time at all helps develop the character. Apparently, he's a little tricksy like Coulson, which is funny. Agent Thompson (Chad Michael Murray) had two purposes this time; to one-up Sousa, and, to say out loud, in the simplest, plainest terms possible (for the really dense viewers because there's no way anyone has missed it) Peggy's monkey; that she's kidding herself trying to find respect in a work environment dominated by men. He says it to her face in a totally unnecessary scene that left me tired, and feeling sorry for Peggy that they couldn't come up with a better plight for her to overcome, or at least put an interesting twist on the one they have.
In fact Peggy gets sadly little to do this time, especially on the action front; babysitting Howard is a full-time job, and those scenes were definitely the best. Peggy being exasperated is very amusing. Jarvis also gets nudged out a bit, by Howard (understandable), but not as I feared he would be, so that was a lovely surprise. Those three, the Hero Trio, are friends in real-life, and I can only imagine that is what makes them come across the screen with so much contagious fun, easily topping the list of reasons to love this show.
This great show, which has too short a run to waste time setting up for the next week, and therefore had better increase the cool content from here on out. I'll be expecting it!
Episodes 1 and 2 review.
Episode 3 review.
Episode 4 finally came, but I'm not at all satisfied. I only want more!
The Blitzkrieg Button saw the return of Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, and he was the highlight that saved this episode from mediocrity. Howard brought a lot of great humor to the episode, and his dynamic with Peggy (Hayley Atwell) is every bit as fun as hers and Jarvis's (James D'Arcy). I am loving the fuller fleshing-out of these characters I liked so well in Captain America.
 |
| Peggy and Howard do some catching up. |
Otherwise, this episode started to stagnate. The plot is basically that Howard comes, annoys Peggy to no end, and then leaves. She gets one thing out of the "deal" that will certainly be used later, but really, everything that happened could have easily fit into half an episode, instead of a whole.
They stretched it out by including all the investigating that Agent Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) is doing, something we want him to do well in because he's a good character, but also we don't, because the end of that line is Peggy and Jarvis's treacherous antics. I like Sousa alright, but not as much as our hero trio, so all that screen time paired with so little interesting character development felt slightly like a waste of time, and plot-wise, a stall for a later episode.
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| The secret meeting is blown when Howard recognizes the man behind the newspaper! Who could it be?! |
Chief Dooley (Shea Whigham) also got to waste and stall for some time, but it seems more worth it, since we know nothing about his character, at this point any screen time at all helps develop the character. Apparently, he's a little tricksy like Coulson, which is funny. Agent Thompson (Chad Michael Murray) had two purposes this time; to one-up Sousa, and, to say out loud, in the simplest, plainest terms possible (for the really dense viewers because there's no way anyone has missed it) Peggy's monkey; that she's kidding herself trying to find respect in a work environment dominated by men. He says it to her face in a totally unnecessary scene that left me tired, and feeling sorry for Peggy that they couldn't come up with a better plight for her to overcome, or at least put an interesting twist on the one they have.
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| The Hero Trio in action! |
In fact Peggy gets sadly little to do this time, especially on the action front; babysitting Howard is a full-time job, and those scenes were definitely the best. Peggy being exasperated is very amusing. Jarvis also gets nudged out a bit, by Howard (understandable), but not as I feared he would be, so that was a lovely surprise. Those three, the Hero Trio, are friends in real-life, and I can only imagine that is what makes them come across the screen with so much contagious fun, easily topping the list of reasons to love this show.
This great show, which has too short a run to waste time setting up for the next week, and therefore had better increase the cool content from here on out. I'll be expecting it!
Episodes 1 and 2 review.
Episode 3 review.
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