Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

We've moved well past the era of the known, popular superheroes and are now delving into new ones that the public may not be so familiar with. This summer we got Thor and Green Lantern, two comic heroes that are not as well known to the general public. Now Captain America, who everyone knows by name, but many don't know the story. You can count me as part of that group, as I had no knowledge of the mythology surrounding Captain America, the first junkie.

I'm being cruel. Captain America establishes the character of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) as a 90-pound weakling, a kid who keeps getting beat-up despite his courage, and who keeps enlisting in the army despite his multiple rejections. His plucky attitude catches the eye of eccentric mad-scientist Stanly Tucci, affecting a wonderfully overdone German accent, who convinces him to undergo a (dangerous) new test that will make him a super soldier. Tommy Lee Jones provides a gruff colonel character, and Hayley Atwell puts her clothed assets and wonderfully red lips on display.

The experimental test goes well, and we receive Captain America, the idealized American hero who will not bat an eye in the face of evil and has the courage and resolve to sacrifice himself for his country (an early scene with a grenade is the filmmaker's way of practically punching you in the face with what the Captain will do later). But on the flip side is the villain, Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving, returning to the evildoer's chair after 8 years), who finds a cosmic blue cube thingy and then harnesses its energy into crazy super weapons that vaporize its targets. His scenes with Dr. Zola (Toby Jones) are Grade A pulp fun, as he develops his own breed of soldiers to usurp even Hitler. You know he's a bad guy when the SS's commanders come investigating, and he murders them.

The movie has a beautiful look to it, harkening back to that city of the future model we saw in a prior super hero film (wink wink, guess which one), and the production design's retro 40s outfitting is warm and welcoming. The goofy sets are great fun, and though they are primarily CGI, they are still wonderful to behold. It kind of fits this alternate take on our past anyways.

Roger's development as a character and hero is well done in this film, and is something we haven't seen in superhero films in awhile (though I can't speak for other offerings this summer, as I have yet to see them). His can do attitude and resolve in the face of adversity is admirable, and we spend a great deal of the first hour with Evans in his 90-pound CGI body. (I have to give the artists big kudos here, I thought they simply grafted Evans' face onto a skinny person. Instead, they actually reconstructed Evans' body, a truly remarkable feat).

But once Rogers becomes Captain America, and Schmidt pulls of his face to reveal he is the Red Skull, the movie lost me. No, I wasn't confused, I just suddenly wasn't emotionally invested anymore. The film establishes both the hero and villain quite well, and then suddenly begins rushing events as the Captain begins tracking down Red Skull, in a rather boring, though explosive, montage. It felt like the filmmakers realized they had to keep the film within a two-hour running time, and began condensing later events. The result is choppy and detached.

And there's no real relationship between Captain America and Red Skull. Oh sure, Skull has someone executed who matters to Captain America I guess (I shan't reveal who, but the character is gone before you know it). But they don't share a connection like Peter Parker and Norman Osborne, or a contest like the Joker and Batman. Besides threatening to blow-up America, Red Skull doesn't quite strike you as truly evil beyond his blasé plan to conquer the world, and he's hard to take serious in that silly red make-up. Hugo Weaving is way more terrifying as himself then spaghetti sauce face.

Ultimately its an enjoyable flick, but as far as the comic book film canon goes, it is below other superhero fare. This has all, of course, been building to Marvel's tentpole event of next summer, The Avenger, where we will see the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America unite. I will of course see Thor to better prepare myself for this coming film. I do look forward to that film.

Final note: The biggest crossover in the Marvel films occurs here, with Dominic Cooper playing Howard Stark, father to Tony Stark/Iron Man. He plays a large role in the film, and is one of the pleasures of Marvel's big giant crossover fest.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

It's odd to finally say goodbye to something that has been apart of my life for so long. The series of Harry Potter truly ended four years ago with the release of the seventh and final book, something we all anticipated with baited breath. That came out when I was making my transition from High School into College.

Now I have graduated College, and so it seems like fitting timing for the final of the Harry Potter films to be released, and for me to finally lay to rest and bid adieu the series that will define my generation. Truly, there have been few things in pop culture to rival the popularity of Harry Potter. We may never again have a book series so exciting that it causes all ages, kids to adults, to line up at midnight to purchase the new entry in the series.

And the films themselves are a remarkable achievement. True, they don't come close to rivaling the books, but the fact that the same core stuck with the film for so long, and that the only recasting came from Richard Harris' death is remarkable. The films have been magnificently successful, and the fact that Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson have grown to embody these three iconic characters is owed in large part to the casting. Ginny Weasley is one of the few characters who was ill cast (Bonnie Wright has never been particularly compelling).

And how does the final film hold up? It opens right where the last one left off, with Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) stealing the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's grave. Then we pick up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione staying with Ron's brother and plotting their next move, a break-in at the great Wizarding Bank Gringotts to infiltrate Bellatrix Lestrange's vault, in the hopes they will locate another Horcrux.

After the first five minutes, the remaining two hours take place over a single 24-hour period, as the trio infiltrates the bank in a wonderful sequence that finally, FINALLY gives us the scope of the caverns that lie beneath Gringotts, something that many criticized film one for leaving out. There is also a dragon, that owns its screen time and becomes quite a sympathetic character, yearning for sunlight and savoring its freedom once obtained. It's moment that could easily have been overlooked, but the CG wizards make it an emotional instant that works.

Harry then returns to Hogwarts to locate another Horcrux, and inadvertently begins the final standoff with Voldemort. It's a rather well executed final battle, and my only nitpick is that we don't get to see more of the resistance against Voldemort's onslaught (his army indeed outnumbers the forces at Hogwarts by 10-1). But there's also so many loose ends and back story to tie up that this can be forgiven.

Rather then continue summarizing, I will instead break off and mention what worked and what didn't. Probably the most important element that they nailed was Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), who is above all the most complex character in the Potterverse. The emotional impact his story has, the final revelation of his true colors, nearly brought a tear to my eye and definitely choked me up. It drives home the central theme of the entire series, that love conquers all. To see Snape's undying love for Harry's mother, and his allegiance to Dumbledore to protect her and her son, is a touching yet heartbreaking moment.

And Fiennes is finally given a lot of screen time (after being absent in Half-Blood Prince), finally making Voldemort the terrifying, fantastic villain he was meant to be. Not only does he strut about, sure of his immortality, but he is also allowed to express vulnerability as he realizes Harry is slowly wearing him down. The villain is always more fun to play, and Fiennes makes Voldemort a truly frightening presence.

There are also other great British actors, though Jim Broadbent (Slughorn) and Emma Thompson (Trelawney) are decidedly wasted and do nothing significant. But others including Maggie Smith, Jason Isaacs, Robbie Coltrane, Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham Carter, John Hurt, Warwick Davis, and Michael Gambon are put to good use and round out this terrific, powerhouse cast.

But the real pleasure has been seeing all the kids in the cast, including Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom, grow up into capable adults. Their lives have been presented to us in a sort of shortened Up Series, progressing from 11 to 21 (all the actors are around the same age as me). Years from now, they have the rare ability to look back upon these films, a time capsule of their youth (and ours).

Now, what the film did wrong: The whole final ten minutes, including Voldemort's death, is slightly underwhelming and doesn't quite pack the epic, satisfying punch that I was hoping for. Sure the movie delivers several cheer worthy moments, including the destruction of Voldemort's snake, but Voldemort's demise is more of a fizzle then a bang, though Harry and Voldemort's final duel is decidedly more action-packed then the novel (Harry talked down Voldemort for a solid ten minutes and explained a lot of things). But Voldemort simply dissolves into the wind and the next scene is simply all the characters sitting around drinking tea and recuperating, instead of joyously celebrating the fact that Voldemort has died. It's a moment that should have the audience on their feet, crazy with applause, and instead Voldemort just disappears. Disappointing.

And a moment that didn't work in the book or the movie is the 19-years-later epilogue, which while it provides the necessary wrap-up, feels like something out of an SNL sketch showing these characters nearing middle age (especially Radcliffe's make-up). It does provide a sweet moment between Harry and his son, and brings the series full circle, but I've always felt it make everything too perfect. Harry and Ginny stayed together, Ron and Hermione stayed together, and all was well. For a series with such a dark view of the world, the ending is decidedly optimistic.

These quibbles aside however, one must applaud David Yates, the man bequeathed the task of taking Harry into the final run by directing four of the eight films in the series. If he hasn't come out as a stylist, he has successfully created a continuity between the universes of the films, and ended the series as satisfyingly as he could. Alfonso Cuaron, director of part 3, still made the most stylistic Potter, and the most filmic. His hand has never been rivaled and everyone wished he would have helmed more, but hey, you can't always get what you want.

The films may have never achieved what the books did, but you have to admire Warner Bros. for sticking it out, through and through (how could they resist 7 or 8 easily marketable and definitely profitable films). Plenty of other popular children books have failed to translate (including the wonderful The Golden Compass), and the fact that this series made it is a feat in and of itself.

Harry Potter's end serves, I guess, as my final closure to the world that I have embraced for 12 years since I first discovered the books. I have left college now, and must look on to a terrifying yet exciting future, without any more Harry Potter films to look forward too. I have grown with these movies; I was 11 when the first movie came out, and am now in my early twenties, ready to bid adieu to the series. There will be no other film series like Harry Potter, that takes us through such a long, emotional journey that spans ten years and actually ends on a mostly fantastic note. This type of thing is once in a lifetime, and though I hate to do it, it is finally time to say a heartfelt farewell to the characters, the actors, the books, the movies, the entire world of Harry Potter. Thank you for providing escape to a magical, far off world, something that I will share with my children in years to come.