Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Dirs. Joe & Anthony Russo (2014)

The merry Marvel movie making machine chugs along as Phase 2 is fully underway. Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World scored at the box office as they capitalized on the runaway success of The Avengers, the third highest grossing film of all time. If you had told a comic book fan decades ago that Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America would be at the center of a billion dollar franchise, they would probably think you were crazier than Deadpool. Despite being integral parts of the Marvel Universe for nearly half a century, they were considered B-list characters while Spider-Man and the X-Men were the publisher's big sellers. The landscape of the comic book and movie industries has changed.

Captain America: The First Avenger wasn't as critically praised as some of Marvel Studios' other releases, but it stood out in the deluge of superhero movies thanks to a period setting and a strong nostalgic feel courtesy of director Joe Johnston, who also helmed the underrated Rocketeer. Since then, Captain America (Chris Evans) has been thawed from his icy slumber, joined the Avengers, and emerged victorious against an alien invasion. In The Winter Soldier, he still finds himself acclimating to a modern world where black and white has merged into shades of gray. After rescuing a freighter ship from a band of pirates, Cap is disgusted to learn that the vessel was a SHIELD installation covertly spying on other nations. He's even less pleased when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his superior Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) drop the bombshell of a new operation that will launch additional Helicarriers into a connected network of surveillance and devastating weaponry.

Cap's concerns are validated when Fury is attacked by a masked mercenary known as The Winter Soldier, who is revealed to be best friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), left for dead after a raid on a HYDRA train. Barnes has been brainwashed by the secret organization that has infiltrated SHIELD at the highest levels. Hunted down by nearly every resource at SHIELD's disposal, Cap must rely on a skeleton crew of allies that includes Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), and pararescue trooper Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) aka The Falcon.

Marvel made a risky choice when they selected Joe and Anthony Russo as the directing team. The only substantial credits on the resume of the Brothers Russo were several episodes of Arrested Development and Community. Despite a background in sitcoms, the Russos excelled at creating a vibrant superhero film. Unfortunately, Winter Soldier suffers from an overreliance on shaky cam and rapid editing when it comes to hand to hand fight scenes. Luckily, the camera is allowed to breathe during many of the more elaborate set pieces and there are plenty of them. This time around, Captain America proves why he is a super-soldier during the opening prologue as he takes down a team of mercenaries before a showdown with MMA fighter Georges St. Pierre as Batroc the Leaper. Cap sends a man flying into the air with one kick while slinging his trademark shield off parts of the ship to knock out numerous opponents. He also fights a dozen HYDRA agents inside an elevator and single-handedly destroys a quinjet. Cap's supporting cast also gets their chance to shine with Black Widow kicking ass and the Falcon soaring through the sky with a winged jet pack. Mackie, by the way, is exceptionally charismatic.

Samuel L. Jackson gets more to do here than in past pictures, including an exhilarating car chase through the streets of Washington D.C. Even the use of technology has added to the cool factor with Fury driving an SUV with a heads-up display and automated driving system. There's also a face reveal that puts anything in Mission: Impossible to shame.

Make no mistake, Winter Soldier isn't a hollow series of explosions, there's a lot of heart and gravitas underneath all the CGI. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have imbued the film with the gritty nature of a 70's political thriller. The casting of Robert Redford from All the President's Men and 3 Days of the Condor will certainly attest to that. The geeks have truly won when you have Robert Redford in a Marvel movie saying, "Hail Hydra." Hot button topics like the war on terror, the use of drones, government surveillance of its citizens, and Edward Snowden have inspired the crux of the plot.

In the face of all this turmoil stands the unwavering integrity of Steve Rogers. It's refreshing to see a protagonist who is so earnest and filmmakers who do not shy away from those traits. This is a stark contrast to Warner Bros' attempt to darken the image of the Big Blue Boy Scout, Superman. Though there's an added dimension of humor to Cap through his banter with Widow and Falcon, Chris Evans has truly grown into the role of the super-soldier. The most heartbreaking moment where Cap visits the bedside of an elderly Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and you discover that she has Alzheimer's. Evans and Atwell are excellent in the scene and the CG used to age Atwell is utterly convincing, light years ahead of the shoddy make-up in Prometheus or J. Edgar. At the same time, producers have not forgotten this is a comic book movie. The story takes a turn for the bizarre when Cap and Widow find a hidden chamber containing an archaic computer system housing the consciousness of Arnim Zola (Toby Jones). Thanks to a little voice modulation and a cartoonish accent by Jones, the scene becomes a distinctive method to dump exposition.

Without a doubt, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the best film rolled out by Marvel in the second phase of their slate. It could easily be considered one of the best overall, right alongside Iron Man and The Avengers.

Rating: **** (*****)

The Slammin' Salmon

The Slammin' Salmon - Dir. Kevin Heffernan (2009)


When it comes to comedy troupes, Broken Lizard probably won’t be mentioned in the same breath as luminaries like Monty Python or the Kids in the Hall. However, they’ve garnered a loyal following thanks to the cult success of their second film, Super Troopers. Since then, Broken Lizard has produced Beerfest and the horror spoof, Club Dread. Neither film was as well received as Super Troopers. The guys are back with the restaurant-themed comedy, The Slammin’ Salmon, which hit a handful of screens at the end of 2009 before going straight to DVD.

The Slammin’ Salmon takes place one night at the trendy Miami restaurant owned by former boxing champion, Cleon Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan). Salmon is deep in debt with the Yakuza and challenges his maitre d’ Rich Ferente (Kevin Heffernan) to come up with $20,000 before closing. Rich offers up an escalating series of prizes from a free trip to Key Largo to $10,000 for the server who comes up with the biggest take. Unfortunately, the waiter or waitress who comes up with the lowest amount gets a “broken rib sandwich” from the champ.

The wait staff includes Connor (Steve Lemme), who returns to waiting after a failed try at acting; Mia (April Bowlby), a trained ballerina who isn’t afraid to use her sex appeal; Tara (Cobie Smulders), a med student struggling to pay the bills; Guy (Erik Stolhanske), a tanned and obnoxious pretty boy; and the appropriately named Nuts (Jay Chandrasekhar), who transforms into a raging lunatic when he doesn’t take his medication. There are also the twin brothers, Dave and Donnie, both played by Paul Soter. One is the short-tempered head chef; the other is the newly hired busboy.

Many other stars make cameo appearances as the customers. You can watch out for Will Forte, Morgan Fairchild (as herself), Lance Henriksen, Jim Gaffigan, Olivia Munn, Sendhil Ramamurthy from Heroes, Carla Gallo, and Vivica A. Fox. Troupe member Jay Chandrasekhar has handled the directing duties for Broken Lizard’s previous pictures, but hands the reins over to Kevin Heffernan for his directorial debut.

The majority of the film is built around the various interactions between the staff and the patrons. Connor winds up having to wait on his former producer and co-stars. April’s beautiful looks are ruined when she accidentally gets a face full of burning hot soup. Guy is increasingly frustrated with a customer who just sits at his booth reading War and Peace.

Much of the comedy in Slammin’ Salmon falls flat on its face. At best, the gags are slightly amusing. One subplot involves Rich accidentally swallowing an expensive diamond engagement ring which allows us the requisite scatological humor. You just can’t do R-rated comedy without poop jokes. There are also at least three or four instances involving vomiting or implied vomiting.

Most of the acting is rather uneven. Cobie Smulders, who most know from CBS’s How I Met Your Mother, gives one of the better performances. Hers is the most realistic person in a sea of cartoon characters. The star of the film is most definitely Michael Clarke Duncan. The gentle giant of a man has already shown his comedic chops in Talladega Nights as Ricky Bobby’s pit crew chief. Here, Duncan gets a chance to let his improvisational skills shine. He manages to rise above the mundane material, turning Cleon Salmon into the love child of Mike Tyson and Tracy Jordan. Duncan launches into many funny non sequiturs and one-liners like, ”When you assume, you make an asshole out of yourself.”

I don’t count myself as a devotee of Broken Lizard. Though I have many friends who swear by Super Troopers, I personally didn’t get the poor man's version of Police Academy. I haven’t seen any of their other movies so I can’t judge how The Slammin’ Salmon might fit into their pantheon. Broken Lizard followers might find some enjoyment in this otherwise dreary and scattershot comedy.

Rating: *