I'm getting increasingly frustrated with Netflix. If you go to their site, the selection of movies that you can get mailed to your house isn't bad...but, their streaming selection, which they themselves are pushing, is increasingly anemic, and tends to be TV show heavy. The other day, I looked through the Netflix Top 100 movies, and only 7 of the selections were available for streaming online.
Thus, I found myself in front of Walgreens yesterday, perusing the selection at the RedBox machine. Since I failed to consult my wife first, I did my best make suitable his and hers selections: Captain America, and Bridesmaids.
Realising that at 10:30, my eye lids start closing on their own, we decided to start watching one of the movies before the kids went to bed, choosing the PG-13 Captain America over R-rated Bridesmaids.
Captain America was a good movie...not as good as the first Iron Man, or Thor, but a better overall movie than the 2nd Iron Man, and just as entertaining. They do a good job on the back story, although my wife thought the pre-transformation CGI unbuff Chris Evan's was a 'bit freaky'. She had no problem with the shirt off/tight shirt real thing though.
Tommy Lee Jones is a treat as the gruff Colonel, but, really...he's just being Tommy Lee Jones. Hayley Atwell plays the eye candy/ love interest, and God Save the Queen, because I am okay with British Girls. For all the jokes about bad teeth, your average British Actress is more likely to have a little curves to her...I'm not a big 'waif' fan. I'm certain her Army Uniforms needed a little custom tailoring.
Hugo Weaving does good as the Big Baddy, but then Hugo has 'menace' down to an art(note to self: watch 'V' for Vendetta....SOON). I like Agent Smith Hugo more than Elrond Hugo...but they are both good(of course, then there is Megatron Hugo...and I was okay with that replacement...not happy, but okay).
Solid Flick.
I''m glad we waited until the youngin's were in bed for Bridesmaids. It lived up to it's reputation...fairly naughty, and 'raunchy'...but funny, funny, funny. The kind of funny that my wife had to keep hiding her face behind a pillow because, you know if this was a real person, you would be embarrassed for them. Not for kids though, or anyone who is easily offended by sexual talk, or bodily function humor.
That doesn't include me...so I enjoyed it. The first half was more consistently funny than the second half. Because this movie was aimed more at women, then men, the second half has a half-hour stretch that is fairly serious...or at least 'down' as the main character deals with friendship and relationship issues.
Kristin Wiig is great...and another reason The Academy Awards confuses me. I have to say that I am more impressed by an actor/actresses ability to just play CRAZY STUPID FUNNY, without having it come off as 'campy' than I am someone doing 2 hours of staid and somber. The only part I have a hard time buying is the 'oh, I'm so sad and lonely and down on my luck. No man would ever want me' part. Umm...no. Kristin Wiig is funny, pretty, and has killer legs. Men would hurt other men for her if she asked them to.
In the end, I would say I liked Bridesmaids a little better than Captain America. Bridesmaids was a good movie by itself, but Captain America felt just a little too much like a building block for something else...2 hours of back story to make you appreciate what Captain America goes through in the upcoming Avengers...and bravo to Marvel for having the long range vision and motivation to make that happen.