"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Review (MAJOR SPOILERS)
Also reviews for the latest episodes of Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D, Marvel's Avengers Assemble, Marvel's Hulk And The Agents Of S.M.A.S.H., Teen Titans Go!, Mickey Mouse, Once Upon A Time, Believe, Grimm, The Simpsons, and Power Rangers: Super Megaforce.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Holy poop! That just happened!
Wow. Great movie. I cannot believe Sitwell is Hydra. Not that he's ever given us a reason to place super trust in him before, it's just that he has been a fixture in this franchise forever. The absolutely scariest moment for was when the Creepo Senator from Iron Man 2 (played to smarmy perfection by Garry Shandling) whispered "Hail, Hydra!" into Sitwell's ear. As a Jew, that line must have been tough for Shandling, but because he is Jewish, it just made you realize that ANYONE in this universe could be on the side of Hydra. Yikes!
If Sitwell survived that fall, I demand an Agents Of SHIELD episode where he is the Big Bad. DEMAND.
This gave a little more context to me for Fury's "death" in Agents of SHIELD this week. I'm kind of glad the show didn't actually spoil that he was still alive. That was a smart choice.
Sebastian Stan was amazing. The biggest problem I had with the movie is that the next Cap film will be Avengers: Age Of Ultron, and there was SO much stuff to clean up after this movie, that I doubt an Avengers movie will be able to tackle it all. I want to see what happens next with Bucky. I want to see how SHIELD can possibly rise from the ashes of this. And if they somehow do it by the end of the season on the TV show, I'll be less than impressed.
I LOVED the first Cap movie, and while I won't say it was better than it, I will admit that this movie was more in my comfort zone, so I enjoyed it more.
Quick glimpes of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in the tag. I want to know how they can possibly explain their powers without being allowed to call them Mutants.
I like that the sexual tension between Cap and Black Widow was not acted on. I want to see them together like crazy, but don't you kind of like it when people take their time about that sort of thing? And it had nothing to do with soap opera melodrama, its just that their relationship isn't at that level yet.
I now am VERY excited to see what Agents of SHIELD does for the rest of the season. This was the third best Marvel movie after Avengers and Iron Man 3. *****.
Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Turn, Turn, Turn"
I was not happy about Garrett being the Clairvoyant (talk about predictable!) but Ward as Hydra? He was a good choice. Aside from the fact that I don't like him much, he is probably tied with May as the third most important character on the show after Coulson and Skye. There will be ramifications here. The only thing I'm not crazy about was the last thirty seconds which hinted Ward may have been brainwashed. Come on, Joss. Let your characters actually BE responsible for their bad actions. I hope I misread that last scene.
Totally relieved Simmons is in the clear. And I was glad that that "spoiler" about Fury in this episode was a misdirect. It helped not spoil a VERY important plot point of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Loved the Agents Of Hydra title card at the end. I love it when shows do stuff like that for special episodes and a Jossverse show hasn't used that since "Superstar" in Buffy. It's a really neat trick.
This is one of those episodes that I don't feel comfortable giving a definitive grade yet. I will be able to better judge it when seeing it in context with the rest of the season, the Captain America sequel, and what they are doing with Ward. As of now it gets my average grade for things I enjoyed. Three and a half stars. ***1/2.
Marvel's Avengers Assemble "Guardians And Space Knights"
Another point in favor of the idea that this series is a continuation of Earth's Mightiest Heroes and NOT a reboot: the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy have already met. I have a feeling if this WERE an actual reboot they would have reintroduced the characters to the kids in the audience properly.
I like how Tony defeated Galactus. I have never liked the idea that Galactus was completely unstoppable and could only be reasoned with. Because then every story is "Please don't destroy the Earth!." "Well....okay." Every. Dang. TIME. We need to be able to have characters able to beat Galactus. Otherwise his schtick gets old REAL quick.
Pretty good. ***1/2.
Marvel's Hulk And The Agents Of S.M.A.S.H. "Into The Negative Zone"
I'm pretty sure I missed this on the first go-round but I could be wrong. I have to say that this episode REALLY confused me about the rules of when Savage Hulk can and cannot appear. I don't read the comics so I couldn't say for sure.
Still, can't hate the Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Thing. Never. ***1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "Uncle Jokes"
Hey, I LIKE Uncle Jokes! They are funnier than sitting around and farting and dancing like an idiot at any rate. Raven gets it. ***.
Mickey Mouse "Cable Car Chaos"
That was fun. It's kind of hard to review a three minute short sometimes, but I thought it was cute. ****.
Once Upon A Time "It's Not Easy Being Green"
And I thought Regina's backstory was ridiculous.
Zelena has even LESS reason to be evil as Regina did. The show obviously knows how to make sympathetic villains. They've done it with Rumplestiltskin, Captain Hook, and the Red Queen from Wonderland. They've even done it to a lesser extent with Regina by trying to redeem her. But whenever the show tries to come up with complicated origins and motives for their worst bad guys like Cora, Jafar, and now Zelena it fails miserably. It can totally make you sympathize with the Little Bads. But the Big Bads? It needs improvement.
My favorite part of the episode was the stuff with Killian and Henry. With Neal gone I have no objection to him and Emma anymore. And I forgot to note in my last review how moving his hug with Baelfire was last week, especially because I had guessed pretty early on that Bae was going to die. Killian has really become a special character for me.
Rumple's reason for choosing Regina over Zelena made perfect sense too. It kind of sucks that he was the person Zelena care about most. Once she told him that you could tell he knew that she wouldn't be the one to cast his curse. Robert Carlyle did an excellent job conveying this with just his facial expressions.
Regina's plan to trick the Wicked Witch was dead-clever. I AM impressed. And has there ever been a better romantic metaphor on this show than Regina offering Robin Hood her heart to keep safe?
Hook stuff: good. Wicked Witch stuff: not so good. ***1/2.
Believe "White Noise"
Best episode so far. If the series IS gonna keep having Bo help random strangers, they are going to have to make the audience think it is a good idea. In every episode before this, she just started obsessing over random strangers we met at the same time she did. By giving us no context for their problems, we were as upset as Tate was for unnecessarily jeopardizing their safety and their mission. But here they set up the couple she helped in the teaser. We WANTED her to get involved because we knew them a bit. I'm astounded the series hasn't been taking this tack from the beginning. And I do NOT have enough faith in this show to believe this is the start of a trend. But I'll take it.
Very enjoyable episode. ****1/2.
Grimm "The Law Of Sacrifice"
Good ending. They made sure how to continue the show without disrupting the status quo too much. Kelly taking the baby was the most logical thing to do. I don't think Adalind will forgive Renard for it anytime soon though. That REALLY messed her up.
Look forward to next week a lot (even if it looks like the baby stuff won't be a part of it.) ****.
The Simpsons "Luca$"
Why has this particular season of The Simpsons been so great? Am I imagining things? Are my reviews simply getting softer? The more I think about it, the less I think that's it. Family Guy and American Dad have both been having terrible seasons and I haven't been shy in pointing that out. It's just that The Simpsons hasn't had this good of a lucky streak since Season 15. This ep was written by Simpsons Goddess Caroline Omine so I can't even say the show is doing so well because it is hiring new blood. It just is really good this season and I can't for the life of me figure out why.
I'm betting Matt Groening hated and opposed the joke of revealing Snake's full (and real) name. But I always love it when the show does stuff like that. A lot.
I like that they weren't actually saying Lisa was dating Luca$. She's too young and I hate it when the show has the little kids acting like teenagers. No, it was a bit more simpler, and innocent than that. She was simply DRAWN to Luca$. She couldn't figure him out and wasn't going to let go until she did. That's something I believe a kid like Lisa would do. She HATES unanswered questions and always tries to fix problems. Frankly, I'm surprised she hasn't been more drawn to Nelson AND Ralph for this reason. The show seems to be pushing her and Milhouse together which makes no sense to me. Milhouse is an open book. He wouldn't ever pose a CHALLENGE for her. She's too good for him.
The best scene in the episode was Homer's righteous fury at Marge comparing him to the Newspaper Jumble. That was a LOW blow, Marge. Those. Things. SUCK. You should never compare a person to them unless you truly loathe that person. If I were Homer, I would have been just as offended, and for exactly the same reason. I laughed VERY hard at that joke.
This show has been knocking it out of the park lately. ****1/2.
Power Rangers: Suger Megaforce "Silver Lining, Part 1"
And the Silver Ranger is in reality!...
Wait for it!...
Someone I've never heard of.
Seriously, Power Rangers. You are doing this wrong. You should have gotten Tommy back. Anything else is a let-down. **1/2.
Power Rangers: Super Megaforce "Silver Lining, Part 2"
Better than the first part, although the first part of this episode (with the flashbacks) was better than the second. I kind of got bored by the end of this. ***1/2. Two Part Average: ***.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Holy poop! That just happened!
Wow. Great movie. I cannot believe Sitwell is Hydra. Not that he's ever given us a reason to place super trust in him before, it's just that he has been a fixture in this franchise forever. The absolutely scariest moment for was when the Creepo Senator from Iron Man 2 (played to smarmy perfection by Garry Shandling) whispered "Hail, Hydra!" into Sitwell's ear. As a Jew, that line must have been tough for Shandling, but because he is Jewish, it just made you realize that ANYONE in this universe could be on the side of Hydra. Yikes!
If Sitwell survived that fall, I demand an Agents Of SHIELD episode where he is the Big Bad. DEMAND.
This gave a little more context to me for Fury's "death" in Agents of SHIELD this week. I'm kind of glad the show didn't actually spoil that he was still alive. That was a smart choice.
Sebastian Stan was amazing. The biggest problem I had with the movie is that the next Cap film will be Avengers: Age Of Ultron, and there was SO much stuff to clean up after this movie, that I doubt an Avengers movie will be able to tackle it all. I want to see what happens next with Bucky. I want to see how SHIELD can possibly rise from the ashes of this. And if they somehow do it by the end of the season on the TV show, I'll be less than impressed.
I LOVED the first Cap movie, and while I won't say it was better than it, I will admit that this movie was more in my comfort zone, so I enjoyed it more.
Quick glimpes of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in the tag. I want to know how they can possibly explain their powers without being allowed to call them Mutants.
I like that the sexual tension between Cap and Black Widow was not acted on. I want to see them together like crazy, but don't you kind of like it when people take their time about that sort of thing? And it had nothing to do with soap opera melodrama, its just that their relationship isn't at that level yet.
I now am VERY excited to see what Agents of SHIELD does for the rest of the season. This was the third best Marvel movie after Avengers and Iron Man 3. *****.
Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Turn, Turn, Turn"
I was not happy about Garrett being the Clairvoyant (talk about predictable!) but Ward as Hydra? He was a good choice. Aside from the fact that I don't like him much, he is probably tied with May as the third most important character on the show after Coulson and Skye. There will be ramifications here. The only thing I'm not crazy about was the last thirty seconds which hinted Ward may have been brainwashed. Come on, Joss. Let your characters actually BE responsible for their bad actions. I hope I misread that last scene.
Totally relieved Simmons is in the clear. And I was glad that that "spoiler" about Fury in this episode was a misdirect. It helped not spoil a VERY important plot point of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Loved the Agents Of Hydra title card at the end. I love it when shows do stuff like that for special episodes and a Jossverse show hasn't used that since "Superstar" in Buffy. It's a really neat trick.
This is one of those episodes that I don't feel comfortable giving a definitive grade yet. I will be able to better judge it when seeing it in context with the rest of the season, the Captain America sequel, and what they are doing with Ward. As of now it gets my average grade for things I enjoyed. Three and a half stars. ***1/2.
Marvel's Avengers Assemble "Guardians And Space Knights"
Another point in favor of the idea that this series is a continuation of Earth's Mightiest Heroes and NOT a reboot: the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy have already met. I have a feeling if this WERE an actual reboot they would have reintroduced the characters to the kids in the audience properly.
I like how Tony defeated Galactus. I have never liked the idea that Galactus was completely unstoppable and could only be reasoned with. Because then every story is "Please don't destroy the Earth!." "Well....okay." Every. Dang. TIME. We need to be able to have characters able to beat Galactus. Otherwise his schtick gets old REAL quick.
Pretty good. ***1/2.
Marvel's Hulk And The Agents Of S.M.A.S.H. "Into The Negative Zone"
I'm pretty sure I missed this on the first go-round but I could be wrong. I have to say that this episode REALLY confused me about the rules of when Savage Hulk can and cannot appear. I don't read the comics so I couldn't say for sure.
Still, can't hate the Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Thing. Never. ***1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "Uncle Jokes"
Hey, I LIKE Uncle Jokes! They are funnier than sitting around and farting and dancing like an idiot at any rate. Raven gets it. ***.
Mickey Mouse "Cable Car Chaos"
That was fun. It's kind of hard to review a three minute short sometimes, but I thought it was cute. ****.
Once Upon A Time "It's Not Easy Being Green"
And I thought Regina's backstory was ridiculous.
Zelena has even LESS reason to be evil as Regina did. The show obviously knows how to make sympathetic villains. They've done it with Rumplestiltskin, Captain Hook, and the Red Queen from Wonderland. They've even done it to a lesser extent with Regina by trying to redeem her. But whenever the show tries to come up with complicated origins and motives for their worst bad guys like Cora, Jafar, and now Zelena it fails miserably. It can totally make you sympathize with the Little Bads. But the Big Bads? It needs improvement.
My favorite part of the episode was the stuff with Killian and Henry. With Neal gone I have no objection to him and Emma anymore. And I forgot to note in my last review how moving his hug with Baelfire was last week, especially because I had guessed pretty early on that Bae was going to die. Killian has really become a special character for me.
Rumple's reason for choosing Regina over Zelena made perfect sense too. It kind of sucks that he was the person Zelena care about most. Once she told him that you could tell he knew that she wouldn't be the one to cast his curse. Robert Carlyle did an excellent job conveying this with just his facial expressions.
Regina's plan to trick the Wicked Witch was dead-clever. I AM impressed. And has there ever been a better romantic metaphor on this show than Regina offering Robin Hood her heart to keep safe?
Hook stuff: good. Wicked Witch stuff: not so good. ***1/2.
Believe "White Noise"
Best episode so far. If the series IS gonna keep having Bo help random strangers, they are going to have to make the audience think it is a good idea. In every episode before this, she just started obsessing over random strangers we met at the same time she did. By giving us no context for their problems, we were as upset as Tate was for unnecessarily jeopardizing their safety and their mission. But here they set up the couple she helped in the teaser. We WANTED her to get involved because we knew them a bit. I'm astounded the series hasn't been taking this tack from the beginning. And I do NOT have enough faith in this show to believe this is the start of a trend. But I'll take it.
Very enjoyable episode. ****1/2.
Grimm "The Law Of Sacrifice"
Good ending. They made sure how to continue the show without disrupting the status quo too much. Kelly taking the baby was the most logical thing to do. I don't think Adalind will forgive Renard for it anytime soon though. That REALLY messed her up.
Look forward to next week a lot (even if it looks like the baby stuff won't be a part of it.) ****.
The Simpsons "Luca$"
Why has this particular season of The Simpsons been so great? Am I imagining things? Are my reviews simply getting softer? The more I think about it, the less I think that's it. Family Guy and American Dad have both been having terrible seasons and I haven't been shy in pointing that out. It's just that The Simpsons hasn't had this good of a lucky streak since Season 15. This ep was written by Simpsons Goddess Caroline Omine so I can't even say the show is doing so well because it is hiring new blood. It just is really good this season and I can't for the life of me figure out why.
I'm betting Matt Groening hated and opposed the joke of revealing Snake's full (and real) name. But I always love it when the show does stuff like that. A lot.
I like that they weren't actually saying Lisa was dating Luca$. She's too young and I hate it when the show has the little kids acting like teenagers. No, it was a bit more simpler, and innocent than that. She was simply DRAWN to Luca$. She couldn't figure him out and wasn't going to let go until she did. That's something I believe a kid like Lisa would do. She HATES unanswered questions and always tries to fix problems. Frankly, I'm surprised she hasn't been more drawn to Nelson AND Ralph for this reason. The show seems to be pushing her and Milhouse together which makes no sense to me. Milhouse is an open book. He wouldn't ever pose a CHALLENGE for her. She's too good for him.
The best scene in the episode was Homer's righteous fury at Marge comparing him to the Newspaper Jumble. That was a LOW blow, Marge. Those. Things. SUCK. You should never compare a person to them unless you truly loathe that person. If I were Homer, I would have been just as offended, and for exactly the same reason. I laughed VERY hard at that joke.
This show has been knocking it out of the park lately. ****1/2.
Power Rangers: Suger Megaforce "Silver Lining, Part 1"
And the Silver Ranger is in reality!...
Wait for it!...
Someone I've never heard of.
Seriously, Power Rangers. You are doing this wrong. You should have gotten Tommy back. Anything else is a let-down. **1/2.
Power Rangers: Super Megaforce "Silver Lining, Part 2"
Better than the first part, although the first part of this episode (with the flashbacks) was better than the second. I kind of got bored by the end of this. ***1/2. Two Part Average: ***.