Winter Soldier + Black Widow ?

I keep tricking myself into believing that this is a superhero free year but that's only because Iron Man, Supes and Thor haven't hit yet. Captain America, on the other hand, won't be back until 2014. Production commenced today on Captain America: Winter Soldier and here's the first photo.

Chris Evans is feeling shy, I guess.

What I didn't know, presumably only because I don't follow these things closely, is that he's bringing the Black Widow with him. Scarlett Johansson is his co-star in the sequel which makes good business and universe sense since she's the only Avenger (thus far) that they're never going to give a solo movie, too. They might as well indulge in teamsploitation post the behemoth success of The Avengers.

I stopped reading comic books regularly in college so I still primarily associate The Black Widow with Daredevil (with whom she was sexually entwined) rather than The Avengers. But it turns out she also had a fling with the titular character here.

No, not the good Captain but The Winter Soldier (aka James "Bucky" Barnes aka New Captain... played by Sebastian Stan). So are they setting up Natasha as the woman who comes between the former best friends and now enemies? Marvel Superheroes are largely sexless on the big screen (if not in the comic books) but since Chris Evan's Captain America is still a virgin just out of 1940s deep-thaw can't Sebastian Stan Scarlett Johansson do something about that?

Link Be a Lady Tonight

Film.com Excellent piece on the online coverage of Lynne Ramsay's no-show on Jane Got a Gun. There's just so much default anti-woman rhetoric online. Crazy that this rarely ever improves.
Slant Magazine Our friend Kurt recently visited Las Vegas and its glorious gawdy movie memories came with
AV Club Might HBO let people buy HBO Go without a cable subscription? That's such a good idea. A ton of people I know have dropped cable (too expensive) altogether since they use their computers more than their TVs. I would if I could, too.
Film.com strong list of 50 best opening sequences in movies ever. Love the inclusion of Cabaret, La Dolce Vita, and Manhattan. Bonus points: you don't have to click 50 times or even 5 to see the whole list.

MovieLine the opening credits of Oz: The Great and Powerful. I knew these would show up soon. Best part of the movie, easily showcasing charm, creativity, and wit.
CHUD "Hey girl... NO GIRL, PUT DOWN THE GUN!" Ryan Gosling is quitting acting for awhile
Empire Robert Redford could join the Marvel Universe starting with Captain America 2. (He would'a made such a great Captain America back in the 60s)
Timothy Brayton adss another toughtful thumbs up review to No's increasingly large critical pile. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Best movie of 2013 thus far. 
Coming Soon Wentworth Miller conitnues on as a screenwriter post Stoker. He'll adapt the thriller novel Scare Me. 

Art & Toons
Wimp.com a really amazing video about early animation process at Fleischer Studios. It's so crazy how much factory like manpower and technical innovation went in to things that are so computerized now.
i09 a neat very short animated cartoon on Marvel iconography from X-Men to Captain America

And... How webcomix make money, illustrated with 8 bit animation - thanks to Drawn for pointing it out

Review: "The Avengers"

This review was originally published in my column at Towleroad...

If Agent Natasha Romanoff can interrupt an espionage interrogation to attend...

If Thor can find a way back to Earth without his rainbow bridge...

If Tony Stark can stop erecting enormous arguably phallic odes to himself for a moment...

If Captain America can get back in shape now that he's out of deep freeze...

And if Dr Bruce Banner can come out of self-imposed exile to join Marvel's THE AVENGERS, than I really ought to be able to review some movies again. Let's go.

After roughly four years of movie-length commercials for The Avengers (formerly known as: Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger) "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" have finally assembled. To fans of the superhero genre, this probably feels like an impossible dream realized. To non-fans of the superhero genre this might play like the perfect time for a showstopping climax -take a bow and give mere mortals some movies again! The latter group should brace themselves. This particular blockbuster is lively enough to greenlight an even bigger movie family of men (and hopefully some women) in tights. MORE AFTER THE JUMP...

Click to read more ...

Captain the Second (and Hugo Awards. No, Not That Hugo)

The Hugo Awards for science fiction were announced over the weekend. While they mostly focus on literature, they do have one film prize. And the nominees are...

Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)
Captain America: The First Avenger, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephan McFeely, directed by Joe Johnston (Marvel)
Game of Thrones (Season 1), created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss; written by David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, and George R. R. Martin; directed by Brian Kirk, Daniel Minahan, Tim van Patten, and Alan Taylor (HBO)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, screenplay by Steve Kloves; directed by David Yates (Warner Bros.)
Hugo, screenplay by John Logan; directed by Martin Scorsese (Paramount)
Source Code, screenplay by Ben Ripley; directed by Duncan Jones (Vendome Pictures)

Here's a full list of the nominees if you're looking for reading suggestions. 

The Captain America nomination reminded me that another Captain America film was announced for April 4th, 2014 in case you plan two years in advance for your ticket purchases. Titling this one could be challenging. Imagine it: Captain America: The First Avenger... Two!  Captain America: The Second Avenger? I kid. Obviously they'll just go with Captain America 2... because the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn't get all Batman/DC creative with their titles.

What excuse will they come up with to get the good Captain's shirt off this time? He doesn't have to do any more super serum transformation. Pity. Bonus points to whoever comes up with the best plot point for disrobal in the comments.

Summer 2013 believes in the intricate body suit

While we're on the future blockbuster topic, after the jump is the summer calendar for 2013 and beyond...

Click to read more ...

May the Links Be Ever In Your Favor

The House Next Door Poster Lab: Cosmopolis "a tame puppy to the preview's rabid dog"
The Mary Sue a Captain America surprise for soldier and son. Awwww 
24 Frames the Genesis Awards, honoring animal friendly media, were handed out. Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Born to be Wild won best feature and best documentary respectively.
The Hairpin why 1995 was the best year for movies

The Wrap Frank Langella's new memoir dishes about other famous actors, including affairs with Rita Hayworth and La Liz.
The Sheila Variations anatomy of two pratfalls by physical actors Elvis Presley and Cary Grant.
The Wrap interesting. The great X-Men writer Chris Claremont also wanted Angela Bassett to play Storm when he first imagined his team on movie screens. And he wanted Kathryn Bigelow to direct. 

Hunger Links
Serious Film Michael's review of The Hunger Games 
Cinema Blend 10 differences between The Hunger Games books and movies. 
The Wrap the breakdown of the audience for this massive opening. Not the usual kind.