The Winter Soldier (a movie review post)

Let's have a discussion. Well, sort of. This is not going to be a typical movie review for me, because I want to talk about a lot of stuff that doesn't actually pertain directly to the movie but is stuff that is brilliant about the movie. If I had my way, this would be all of us going out after the movie and sitting around talking about the movie. So not a review, but a discussion. Like my wife saying, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I just step on your moment?" was her favorite part and my daughter responding with, "On your left. On your left. On your left." Not that I probably won't wrap it up with a bit of a review at the end, but, first, let's talk about some things.

Like the Winter Soldier.

Comic books were a big part of my life for a long time. Something like 20 years. But I've, now, been out of comics for something like a decade, and the Winter Soldier was introduced after I quit reading and following comics. I had no idea who or what he was, so that whole part of the movie was pretty cool. And I'm glad I didn't know anything about it, although it caused problems for members of my family who wanted to ask me questions (because if it's about comics, I almost always have an answer), and all I could say was, "I don't know anything about the Winter Soldier."

Then there's the whole Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. aspect of the movie.

Nick Fury is one of those divergences from the comic books. In the comics, Nick Fury, also, fought in World War II and is still alive today because he takes something resembling the super soldier serum that keeps him alive. The Howling Commandos actually ran with Fury during the war, not Captain America. But they've done a great job so far of twining the Fury/Captain America stories into something that works for the movies, and they did that again in Winter Soldier by bringing in major elements of the vs. SHIELD story. Being someone that read that story back in the 80s when it came out, I really appreciated that they worked it in here. And what they did makes me really want to see what's coming next (and makes me really wish I could watch the SHIELD television series and see what they're going to do with all of this there).

I was also gratified with the reveal on Arnim Zola, because I wondered about what they were going to do with him after the first movie. It will be interesting to see how that will play out in the future, too.

Possibly, the best thing, though, was the introduction of the Falcon. I have issues of Captain America going back to when the Falcon was Cap's partner. Or sidekick. Or whatever you want to call him. It's great to see them (Marvel) bringing in characters like this. It gives the Marvel Movie Universe so much more depth. Which brings me to what was probably my favorite line in the movie, "I do what he does... only slower."

That's about all I can talk about without giving actual spoilers, which is why it's too bad that you guys didn't go see the movie with me and are sitting around at a Round Table (pizza place) with me eating Parmesan twists and talking the movie. Maybe next time, right?

So, now, the movie:

Captain America: The First Avenger is one of the best super hero movies in terms of capturing the essence of the comic that has ever been done. Of course, Marvel is making it harder and harder to say "one of  the best" because they keep doing that over and over. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is easily of the same quality as its predecessor. I hesitate to say that it's better, but it might be. If nothing else, Chris Evans is as much Captain America as he's ever been and I'm beginning to think he may actually really be Steve Rogers.

One of  the things Marvel seems to be exploring is who their heroes are just on their own. Of course, Thor starts out that way, with Odin taking his hammer. Iron Man 3 asks the question of just who is Tony Stark without his armor. And The Winter Soldier not only poses the question, "I heard you're more than just the shield," it puts Cap up against a villain that is able to dismiss the shield as nothing more than a piece of equipment, forcing Cap to be just Steve Rogers. Of course, there's more to it than that, but, again, spoilers.

As I mentioned, Chris Evans is excellent. If nothing else, Marvel has found actors to be the perfect embodiment of their heroes, and it wouldn't actually surprise me to find out that Evans is just a cover for Captain America.

Samuel Jackson continues to be Nick Fury. He's more Nick Fury in this one than in any of the other Marvels so far. Not only is he more in this one than the others (except, maybe, The Avengers), but he really shows us who Fury is.

Scarlett Johansson is everything that you could hope for alongside Cap. And her goal of finding him a date adds humor throughout the movie and comes off completely naturally.

It was great to see Robert Redford in this. His physical presence on camera is just as strong as ever; he was excellent as Alexander Pierce. He oozed politician, and it was great.

But the greatest addition was Anthony Mackie as the Falcon. He was... well, perfect. Just a hint of young Will Smith cockiness but with his own maturity. He's another example of great casting, and I hope we see more of him in the future movies, both Captain America and the Avengers.

If you've liked (loved) the other Marvel movies, I don't see that there's any way that you will not enjoy The Winter Soldier. If you've found that the Marvel movies aren't your style, well, I think you should go home and re-think your life.
And, yeah, sure, I know that line is from a different franchise, but I mean it all the same.

Being Round Table (an IWSG post)

Pizza is a pretty miraculous thing. It comes in so many shapes, sizes and forms, but, yet, it is pretty much always recognizable as pizza. Even dessert pizza, which is in no way actual pizza, is recognizable as pizza and counted as such.

Possibly the best thing about pizza, though, is that kids are just as enthusiastic over cheap pizza as they are for expensive pizza. In fact, they often prefer the cheap pizza. Until just recently, my younger kids would generally choose Little Caesar's over anything else. Which, you know, is nice for the wallet. Not that we get pizza all that often, but, when we do, it is usually just for the kids (which has many causes but is frequently because there is something happening that will cause some kind of delay to dinner but they, my daughter especially, can't make it without something before the delayed dinner). Grabbing a couple of $5 pizzas is kind of a great thing.

And Little Caesar's is great for birthday parties and play dates and stuff. I mean, basically, every kid will eat either a Little Caesar's cheese or pepperoni pizza, but, if I get something more expensive, there are always kids that respond with "I don't like that kind of pizza," even if it's cheese or pepperoni.

So, see, cheap is good. It's... mass level pizza (it's good for the masses, see?). Even adults, who may not prefer it, are generally willing to eat it. Well, except my wife. She has standards. She won't go for anything less than Round Table. But I'll get to that in a moment.

It's been interesting to watch my kids develop, to watch their tastes mature. Here's a basic rundown of how it went:

• At some point, all of the kids preferred Little Caesar's. (So we'll call that the "lowest common denominator pizza.)
• My oldest is at that age where he will eat almost anything (I think I could squirt some ketchup onto cardboard and sprinkle it with cheese, and he would eat it); however, he prefers this place called Mombo's, which I think is awful (I'm pretty sure they do use cardboard for their crust which is why I think I could get that past my son).
• My younger boy still loves Little Caesar's (because, hey, it's pizza), but, when he gets to choose, he picks Papa Murphy's. (I'd call Murphy's a good mid-range pizza place. Their most expensive pizza is still cheaper than Round Table's cheapest (at an equivalent size).)
• My daughter has moved all the way up to preferring Round Table (but, then, she is our child that is most invested in food). If not Round Table, though, she prefers Little Caesar's, while the boys would both pick Papa Murphy's (because Mombo's, although not as expensive as Round Table, approaches Round Table and, well, no one other than the oldest will eat it).
• My wife eschews it all if it isn't at least Round Table (I say "at least" because my wife prefers an even more expensive pizza from a place called La Vera, which is not a place the kids like at all (my younger son mostly refusing to eat any of their pizza) and, although I will eat it (it's good, just not that good), I prefer Round Table.)
• For a short while, the family liked, as a group (including my wife), Papa John's (my daughter, especially, loved it for the stuffed crust and dipping sauces), but the owner guy started spouting off at the mouth, and we no longer support them.

Here's the thing, though, everyone (in my family) pretty much agrees that Round Table is the "best" pizza even if it isn't the particular "favorite" pizza of that person. For instance, my younger son agrees that Round Table has better pizza than even his favorite pizza at Papa Murphy's; it's just that Papa Murphy's has a particular type of pizza that Round Table doesn't offer that my son really likes. My wife agrees that Round Table has better pizza because it doesn't cause moaning from the kids. My oldest agrees that Round Table is better because they have all kinds of extras that Mombo's doesn't have. And my daughter and I just like Round Table better anyway.

But, see, if we're going to the mass appeal thing, I can't do something like serve Round Table at a kid-oriented birthday party for one of my kids (as opposed to the family-oriented party), because 1. it's too expensive 2. not all the kid guests will eat it.

Which brings me to my point, some books are very "Little Caesar's." They appeal to a broad spectrum of people and, although many people may not think it's the best, they'll eat it. [Of course, you have people like my wife who just won't and people like me who sometimes might but, later, will wish they hadn't.] It's low quality but easy and cheap. And you have books that are "Mombo's" or "La Vera's," which appeal to a much thinner spectrum of people but people who really love it. And there are "Papa Murphy's" books which are bit higher quality than Little Caesar's but require more work (you do have to cook it yourself) and some people just aren't interested in that kind of time investment. And, then, you have the "Round Table"s which most people will agree qualify as "good" books but not all people are willing to read (because, we'll say, of the intellectual investment; those are more complex). And, of course, you get the "Papa John's" which people boycott because the author is a complete gashole (which is the hole you use to put the gas in a car, see) no matter how good the product is (like the controversy surrounding Ender's Game).

Authors have to decide where on that spectrum they want to be. Cheap and easy with mass appeal or higher quality which places them out of the intellectual price range of some people. Maybe most people. Or, even, some niche market where the author may develop very loyal fans but there won't be very many of them. Or be so high concept that most people just won't care (sort of like Moby Dick). I say it's a choice because it's very rare that a Rowling will come along and present something that is both high quality and have mass appeal. Her further endeavors have shown just how rare a thing like Harry Potter is. Of course, sometimes, the author doesn't get to decide, because the author just isn't capable of writing anything other than the kind of thing that the author already writes (like, I think it pretty unlikely we will ever have any high quality, literary work from E. L. James (so, yeah, that's a judgment, but I think it's a safe one)).

Personally, I'd like to be Round Table. It's quality pizza but affordable enough that people can, at least, splurge on it for special occasions. It's not going to turn most people away other than kids that are still stuck on the blandest of cheap pizzas (like Little Caesar's and, from what I remember (though it's been years since I had one), Domino's). I realize that means that I'm not aiming for some blockbuster, mass appeal novel, but you know what? I'm okay with that. I want to be the pizza that people remember and wish they had more of, not the pizza that people settle for.

Now, speaking of pizza...
I think I'm hungry...

This post has been brought to you in part by Alex and the IWSG.