Review: Iron Man & Captain America Heroes United

Mitchell Stein- Following the events of Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United Captain America must team up with Iron Man in order to stop HYDRA and the Red Skull from taking over the globe with a new army of super soldiers. The two Avengers must face off the villainous Red Skull and his trigger-man, Taskmaster.

 From the moment it begins, Iron Man and Captain America is a visually stunning treat. Featured in a brand-new groundbreaking CG animation platform first unveiled in Iron Man and Hulk the film shows spectacular new animation which raises the bar in the direct-to-video superhero flicks, keeping Marvel ahead of the game once again, although the lip sync isn't very exact with what the characters are saying, the design and the animation, (especially in the battle sequences) are stunning. Kudos the entire VFX and animation team on the great work.

With Leo Riley, one of the men responsible for the brilliant short-lived television series Tron Uprising, it's not much of a shock of the greatness of this film. The entire film is fast-paced and hilarious, with a talented voice cast as well. Credit is also due to writers Henry Gilroy and Brandon Aurman for the story. Ever since Marvel's The Avengers, the studio has been on a roll, on and off-screen and expanding into their short television shows and direct-to-video films. With Guardians of the Galaxy released just last week, I hope the DTV universe will continue to expand to those franchises as well.

For Marvel fans, I'd highly recommend this film. It's a great new addition to the DTV Marvel universe, and is far more enjoyable than Iron Man and Hulk was and features longtime legendary Marvel antihero Taskmaster. There's not much of a shortage of fun to be had in this film. Strangely enough, there is no additional scene found at the end of the credits which the last film did have. I hope this is still more to come from this series and the team, even though there is no sneak pek at what is yet to come.

Unfortunately, unlike it's previous film, this feature is only available in Digital form through Disney Movies Anywhere and iTunes, and there's no bonus features. The film alone stands up greatly, but it does make me upset that this isn't available in DVD/Blu-Ray form and is missing the bonus features it deserves.

Hulk and Iron Man: Heroes United is now available to own on Disney Digital Copy 

Book Review: The Marvel Character Encyclopedia

Mitchell Stein- Well, DK Publishing has done a great job once again. In this latest revised and expanded (strong emphasis on expanded! This thing is huge) edition of The Marvel Encyclopedia, the folks at DK have provided us with in-depth analysis and info on much information throughout the entire Marvel world beginning from the early days of Marvel up until today, with the exception of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Encyclopedia gives us info on big-name characters like The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and Wolverine, as well as info on some more lesser-known characters whom I’ve never heard of. This book helps readers rack up knowledge on all aspects of Marvel, including some that are large in the cinematic universe. It helps really give some more insight on the Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise for example, which is being adapted into a film later this summer from Disney/Marvel, so if you are like me and didn’t really know anything about the Guardians prior to this movie announcement, this book is for you! This book is also for the die-hard Marvel comics’ fan who would like to read about new and old info about their favorite heroes and villains in a fun brand new way and all in one place. It also made me remember how many incredibly strange Marvel characters there are out there (Ego the Living Planet, Egghead, MODOK, Howard the Duck, Hammerhead just to name a few).

I would have to say it was rather disappointing to see the absence of any references to the current Marvel films, but of course the legal contracts surrounding those properties would just be far too complicated, and the chances of seeing live action Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) standing aside live action Captain America (Chris Evans) would probably be very unlikely. It does make references to newcomers like Agent Phil Coulson (in comic book form), Agent Maria Hill, and others. For a fan of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D this book sort-of comes in handy too. It gives valuable insight to characters old and recently created that are involved in the show, such as Deathlok, Victoria Hand, Nick Fury and others.

Overall, I’ve truly become more of a fan of the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU for short) and less fond of the comics, but overall this encyclopedia was insightful and entertaining throughout. A must-have for any Marvel comics fan! 

The Marvel Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded Edition is now available. 

Reaction: Disney's Oscar Nominations 2013

Ryan Dosier - The Academy Award nominations for 2013 films were announced today and Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Marvel all received some great nominations. Check them all out below:

Animated Feature Film
   - FROZEN
     Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, and Peter Del Vecho

Makeup and Hairstyling
   - THE LONE RANGER
     Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

Original Score
   - SAVING MR. BANKS
     Thomas Newman

Original Song
   - "Let it Go" from FROZEN
     Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Bobby Lopez

Animated Short Film
   - GET A HORSE!
     Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim

Visual Effects
   - IRON MAN 3
     Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick

   - THE LONE RANGER
     Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier

As with every year, there were some major snubs as well. Here are the (Disney-related) snubs that shocked me completely...

• Emma Thompson not nominated for Best Actress - Emma Thompson received NOTHING for her role as P.L. Travers in Saving Mr. Banks. This is just an egregious error that I completely don't understand. Shutting out the strongest part of Saving Mr. Banks and one of the finest performances by an actress this year? Baffling. Many critics agree with me that Meryl Streep's performance in August Osage County does not merit a nomination. How she won out on a nomination over Emma Thompson I will never know.
• Monsters University not nominated for Best Animated Feature - What?! I just... HUH?! Nominating The Croods over Monsters University is just unbelievable. I'm stunned to see Pixar shut out of the Oscars completely for the first time since 2001. I never thought I'd have to say this, but Pixar was robbed.
• Tom Hanks not nominated for Best Supporting Actor - The fact that Tom Hanks wasn't nominated for Best Actor (Captain Phillips) is one thing, but to see him snubbed for Supporting Actor as well is crazy. I'm very disheartened to see that no one is awarding--or even nominating Tom Hanks for his turn as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks. Incredibly disappointing.

I could go on, but these are the biggest snubs that completely infuriate me this year. Seeing Saving Mr. Banks only receive one nomination is also ridiculous... but maybe I'm biased.

Nonetheless, huge, huge, HUGE congratulations to everyone at Disney for their nominations. Especially the folks at Walt Disney Animation, who have elevated the studio back to where it belongs. To my friends at the Animation Studio who worked on Frozen and Get a Horse!, I'm so proud to know you!

Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United Blu-Ray Review

Hulk is in a tough spot when HYDRA creates a creature, named ‘The Abomination’ off to catch him and combine their powers to create a Gamma-Ray creature, named Zzzax, which is a mouthful to say.

Avengers Hulk and Iron Man must team up to stop Zzzax from taking over Earth’s gamma fuel, which would ultimately lead to disastrous effects, including destroying all living humans.

The film centers Iron Man & Hulk as they battle HYDRA and their weapon, Zzzax, from taking over the world and includes everything you might expect from a Marvel superhero movie. The action sequences add great excitement to the film, and lots of comedy relief is provided by the unlikely duo. Some of the action scenes and unnecessary battles between Iron Man and Hulk could have been cut down to make space for some more plot elements, but overall, this was a fairly standard enjoyable Marvel film. If you’ve been a fan of the past Marvel movies, Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United might just be for you.

Hands down, the most incredible element of the film is its groundbreaking CG animation. The film is presented in an eye-popping animation and includes some incredibly amazing sequences.

The bonus features add to the fun with ‘Marvel Inter-Missions’, which was a technique which was first introduced with The Muppets Blu-Ray, and continues the fun even after you press pause. Marvel Team-Up pairs Ryan Penagos and Joe Quesada together to go in depth on various Marvel comics and their thoughts, and I guess it doesn’t hurt to have ‘Marvel Mash-Ups’ as well.

It may be safe to say the film may not live up to The Avengers or the recent Iron Man 3 or Thor: The Dark World or any other live-action Marvel film, but Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United finds a place in the Marvel cinematic universe and is worth checking out. It is far more enjoyable than most animated Marvel movies or TV specials. 

And of course as ALWAYS, especially with Marvel movies, make sure you stick around until after the credits are done for another incredible additional scene which will tease at what you can soon expect from Marvel, coming soon.

Iron Man & Hulk is now available at DVD retailers everywhere.