"This isn't Freedom... This is Fear."

Captain America: The Winter Solider, released Friday April 4th and this just seemed like a good movie to bring my blog back to life. This film is fantastic for the genre it is a part of, aka: The Superhero Movie. It is one of the better superhero action movies I've seen in a while. I really enjoyed Thor 2: The Dark World but I think I like this one a little more.

The first Captain America, which was released in 2011, in my opinion, was a decent film. However, I will say it was not my favorite superhero movie, but hey it showed promised. I think one reason I am sort of biased toward these movies is because I love Captain American. Let's be honest, he is one of the best superheros around. Yes, he has powers but at the same time he is a regular guy. He is easy to relate to and he's honest. He stands for truth, justice, and freedom. The thing I love about these movies is the fact that the creators don't take that away from him. If they ever corrupt him I will be so pissed because we need more classic heroes in movies today.

Chris Evans makes the perfect Captain, I don't care what anyone else says. He looks the part; he is straight up, "classic American". In this film you can see that Chris put on double the muscle mass, so he looked so massive, which helped with the fight scenes in this film. They made Captain America pretty BA. His fight scenes are amazing. They really let him show off and they show how awesome he really is, which I love. It's good to see some solid combat scenes as well. I mean I love Iron Man as much as the next girl, but these close combat fights were so intense it was a nice change. Let's not forget Black Widow, played by the beautiful Scarlett Johansson. She was stunning as usual and her fight scenes are just as awesome as in the movies before.

Samuel L. Jackson, reprising his role as Nick Fury was hilarious as usual. That man has so much sass I cannot take it. He as quite a few one liners that are so funny you will laugh at them throughout the whole film. Other characters have good one liners as well, but Fury is just one of my favorite characters so I was glad he was in this film. Anthony Mackie also co-stars in this film playing Sam Wilson and he does a great job. I don't want to ruin the purpose of his character for those who do not know the story, but his character's plot takes a fun little twist that is enjoyable to watch.

The best part of this film was the mystery. The plot in this film far exceeds the plot of the first Captain America. The first one was literally 90% exposition. In this film, they jump right into the action. From the beginning of the movie you are trying to find out exactly where the story is going. The writers keep you in your seat, that much is true. The Winter Solider in this movie is a great opponent for Captain America. Their fight scenes are some of the best scenes in the whole film. They are both fast, strong, and smart; all this together creates so much tension that you might catch yourself with sweaty palms. The special effects in this movie are also really good. It is a pretty action movie in the sense that even though jank is blowing up all around the characters, you can still see the art in what the effects team is creating. The movie works however, because there is a happy marriage between effects and a good plot.

Overall, I give this film a solid A. It was a good action film and does justice to the Marvel Universe. It will be interesting to see where the Marvel Universe goes from here. Also stick around after the credits to watch the special scene. I had no idea what that scene meant but I'm excited to find out. So when you have time go see Captain America face his greatest challenge yet, in theaters now.

- Megan O'Neal

"I have no idea what I'm suppose to do. I only know what I can do."

Star Trek: Into Darkness was released in early May was one of the best movies released this summer. I saw the first Star Trek and was sort of  impressed, but the sequel was amazing!! I felt every emotion in one 2 hour period. I left in awe and pleasantly surprised. If you haven't seen this movie in theaters yet you need to get a move on before it leaves theaters. You don't want to wait for this movie to come out on DVD because it will feel like an eternity.

To start off, the cast of this movie is simply fantastic. Zoe Saldana is simply breath taking and kicks some butt which is always great. And Zachary Quinto was simply fantastic in this film. The first movie he was pretty good, but this one he crossed a new level. He is so funny in this movie, which took me by surprise. He is sarcastic and witty and really helps make the movie better. Everyone in the cast is great and you get attached to every single character. But let's not forget Captain Kirk, played by the sexy and talented Chris Pine. Chris is exceptional in this movie. He is a good actor and I'm enjoying watching him grow as an actor. You root for him the entire time, even when he is being stupid and prideful, you cant help but love him. But even though Kirk can act stupid sometimes he redeems himself in the film. He is an amazing leader and loves his crew like family. It's nice to see a movie with a leader who puts his team before himself and his desires.

Now let's not look over Benedict Cumberbatch playing Khan! He was a great and that's all I can tell you. You will love to hate him, that's pretty much all I can say about him. On a random side note, I heard Cumberbatch is going to play Smaug in the new upcoming Hobbit movie, and I am sooooo excited about that. Even though we wont see Cumberbatch's face, he is still a major part of Smaug character and I just know he will make the character come to life. Speaking of the characters, Cumberbatch and Pine do a great job of using their facial expressions to convey their emotions. Both have such powerful facial expressions that one stare in the camera can make the audience feel so many emotions. When you see this movie, pay attention to what these actors do what their stories and their script.

This movie takes many unexpected turns. They threw me for a loop 20 times. I was curled up in a ball for most of the film, wondering how everything was going to turn out. This movie is fun, upbeat, intense, heartfelt, and just an overall good movie. The writing is very good. The plot is solid and keeps you guessing. And J.J. Abrams is a great director. He is smart and a beautiful director. He makes space look so vast but at the same time he makes us relate to the characters and their environments. ( I cant wait for J.J. to do Star Wars, I'm sure he will make them fantastic)

Do Not Miss one of the best films released this summer. Get to a theater and prepare to be amazed. Every one of my friends I've talked to all love this movie. I cant wait til it comes out on DVD cause I really want to buy it. So if you have a boring day or a rainy day, hit your local theater and see a movie you know will be good, and honestly how often does that happen. Enjoy!!

- Megan O'Neal