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Topic: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Mark Lensenmayer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1605
From: Upper Arlington, OH
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 07-28-2011 09:33 PM

This is one of the best comedy films of the year. I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud here.

This is pure textbook old-fashioned melodrama. You have the unflinching hero (Captain America)[note the song lyrics: "Stalwart and steady and true!"], the virtuous maiden (Peggy Carter) and the ultimate in evil {Johann Schmidt/Red Skull). Good never loses, evil never wins. Every time the villain tries something, he is foiled by the hero. I wanted to literally cheer on the hero and hiss at the villain. This would make a great audience participation picture.

3D is really bad here. Not "Last Airbender" bad but pretty bad. No reason for this to be in 3D. In the early parts of the film, skinny Steven's face looks to be on a different plane from his body...very creepy. See it in 2D...it will be brighter and clearer.

I heard very little in the surrounds...was this intentional or just a bad setup at the theatre I attended?

If you painted Red Skulls head green. wouldn't you have Jim Carrey in THE MASK? And on that giant Flying Wing, why do you only hear the 2 jet engines and not any of those propeller?

I LOVED the STAR SPANGLED MAN song. Nice work by Alan Menkin. Especially liked the last shot of the "tour" at what is supposed to be Radio City Music Hall. Loved the line "Who’ll hang a noose on the goose-stepping goons from Berlin?"

A lot of the look of the movie reminded me of SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (2004)

My rating: As a classic melodrama, A+, as an action film, C
Wife Rating: D ("I just didn't get it.")

Oh, and the only real AVENGERS has Diana Rigg as Emma Peel.

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Hillary Charles
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 748
From: York, PA, USA
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 07-29-2011 07:09 AM

quote: Mark Lensenmayer
A lot of the look of the movie reminded me of SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (2004)

Yes I can see that. Maybe a combination of that and Joe Johnston's previous The Rocketeer. There was a similar feel to me of both of those Johnston-directed movies. His recreation of an era as filtered through pulp comics is wonderful!

Not a fan of fake 3D, but was pleasantly surprised with this. I didn't notice any disembodiement of heads or such. There might have been a few shots here and there where contours seemed odd, but overall it appeared fine to me.

I saw it on the same screen on which I watched Drive Angry, and even without the glasses, the screen was noticably darker than before. Me thinks they're stretching their xenons...

Other than that, I had a great time.

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Jonathan Goeldner
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1360
From: Washington, District of Columbia
Registered: Jun 2008

posted 08-05-2011 01:35 PM

even though the film was 3D post converted, I thought the 3D really added alot of fun to the film visually. Mazza's Sony DP presentation were excellent, enough light, bright and colourful - Mazza has not yet disappointed me

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Connor Wilson
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 190
From: Sterling, VA, USA
Registered: Jan 2011

posted 08-05-2011 02:27 PM

CINEMA: AMC Loews Palisades Center 21
AUDITORIUM: 4
PRESENTATION: Sony Digital Cinema 4K, I presume
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: None that I noticed.
RATING: Five (out of ten)

The 2D-to-3D conversion I thought was so fantastic, I forgot I was watching a conversion! Otherwise, this movie blows in heart and wit.

Star-Spangled Man is a good track, though.

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Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God

Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 08-05-2011 02:37 PM

I agree with Jonathan and Connor about the 2-D to 3-D conversion of CAPTAIN AMERICAN. I also thought the conversion of THOR to 3-D was also good. I saw both movies in Real D at the Regal Pearl Highland and the three 3-D auditoriums there are all excellent!

-Claude

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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 08-06-2011 06:03 PM

quote: Mark Lensenmayer
I heard very little in the surrounds...was this intentional or just a bad setup at the theatre I attended?

It was probably intentional since I think Captain America's director, Joe Johnston, prefers a more passive presence in the surround channels. Case in point: When I interviewed him back in 2004, he had this to say:

quote:
QUESTION: How important a role does sound (namely, multichannel surround sound) play in the effectiveness of a movie presentation?

JOE JOHNSTON: Sound plays a tremendously important role in presentation, but like all other bags of tricks, it should only be an accessory to telling the story. A talented sound designer can find ways to make sound evoke feelings that pictures can't. But the key here is subtlety and restraint. If every sound goes whirling around the theatre's surround sound system, the audience gets tired of it and it loses its impact. If you put one or two choice sound moments in the surrounds, it can have a shocking and memorable effect.

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Jonathan Goeldner
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1360
From: Washington, District of Columbia
Registered: Jun 2008

posted 08-07-2011 11:42 PM

in terms of the sound, the film was supposed to be on screen 2, but with 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II' being on that screen (3D and all) I guess it was doing boffo business that AMC decided to give Captain America the shaft, which was a shame since I was looking forward to hearing the 7.1 soundmix that auditorium 2 offers (oh well, guess I'll just have to wait and hear it as such when it gets released on bluray)

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