UPDATED: Cap is Back! ‘Captain America 4’ in the Works with Malcolm Spellman

April 26, 2021May 15, 2021 Mike Manalo

It’s not a spoiler alert to say A LOT happens in six episodes of the epic The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series. So it would make sense for the story to continue in some way, shape, or form to explore everything it sets up. As such, it’s not surprising that today via The Hollywood Reporter it was announced that showrunner Malcolm Spellman is teaming up with staff writer Dalan Musson to write the fourth installment in the Captain America franchise.

Marvel, Reviews, Streaming, Television2 Comments

NOC Review: ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ Goes for Grounded Over Grandiose

March 18, 2021May 15, 2021 Mike Manalo

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST EPISODE OF MARVEL STUDIOS’ THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER

It’s easy to see why The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was originally intended to be the first of the Disney+ Marvel Studios series before WandaVision. And it is because, by comparison, it is a safer show and an easy toe dip for Marvel Studios into the world of serialized streaming shows. Many may see that as a bad thing, but, frankly, it’s not. The greatest joy in seeing the Marvel Cinematic Universe unfold the past 13 years is we can have a gritty political thriller like Captain America: The Winter Soldier AND a cosmic space opera like Guardians of the Galaxy, and have it all make sense together. And here we see that level of versatility on display again. The sheer fact that there’s room in our world for an insane, reality-bending sitcom/drama show about grief, and a realistic action drama about two people and their insecurities regarding living up to the mantle of their closest friend is nothing short of amazing.

Marvel, Movies4 Comments

Thankful for the Captain America: Civil War Trailer

November 25, 2015November 25, 2015 Keith Chow

Last night on a special all-Marvel edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live (corporate synergy, yay!), stars Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. were on to hype next summer’s Captain America: Civil War. Unsurprisingly, Disney and Marvel Studios used the opportunity to unveil the hotly anticipated first trailer, and predictably, the internet lost its shit. But in a good way!

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Marvel, Movies8 Comments

Captain America: The Winter Soldier, A Reflection

April 10, 2014July 9, 2014 Shawn Taylor

Bias Alert #1: I am a sucker for the espionage genre. After Sci-Fi, espionage and Spy-Fi is where you can find me. Favorite non-SF television shows: Spooks (BBC) and The Sandbaggers — another British show. Favorite non-SF comic book: Greg Rucka’s Queen and Country. Favorite espionage films: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Ronin, The Ipcress File, and The 39 Steps.

Bias Alert #2: I am hyper-vigilant when it comes to the portrayal of black folks on screens, especially in Sci-Fi/genre contexts. This is a trauma response induced by too many horrible portrayals.

Now that you are aware of the above biases, let’s get to it. (Minor Spoilers below.)

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Marvel, Movies, Reviews6 Comments

NOC Reviews ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’

April 7, 2014April 27, 2021 Brandon Easton

Saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier and really have nothing bad to say at all. There were a few issues with story logic but outside of minor nitpicks, I’d have to say this is as good as The Avengers and definitely the best “solo” Marvel Cinematic Universe movie to date.

The best way to describe this movie is “balanced.” It achieved an almost perfect balance between comic book-style action, humor, character development, and story sophistication. Taking a page from the Robert Ludlum/Tom Clancy school of 1970s-era Cold War espionage pop culture storytelling, The Winter Soldier (at the very least) establishes a formula for Marvel Studios that, if used repeatedly, should guarantee the cinematic dominance of Marvel IPs for the next generation.

Minor spoilers follow.

DC Comics, Marvel, Movies8 Comments

Step Your Game Up, DC/WB

October 29, 2013August 25, 2014 Keith Chow

In the last week, Marvel Studios released trailers for next year’s slate of superhero fare, and if these teasers are any indication, Warner Bros. is going to have some catching up to do — even if they did manage to shoehorn Batman into the Man of Steel sequel. Still, the only thing interesting about the Batman/Superman movie is that they filmed a football game between Metropolis and Gotham, this time without Hines Ward. Meanwhile, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (via Disney) and the X-Universe (via Fox) are simultaneously laying down the gauntlet for dope movie trailers (we shall see if the actual movies live up to the promise of the previews).

But right now, all we have are the trailers, and they’re both pretty spectacular.

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