Some of my favorite Captain America comic book covers..

Since Captain America is my comic book character of the month, here are my favorite comic book covers featuring him. Here we go, in no particular order:

Action Movie For The Day - DR. NO (1962) - The first James Bond film

The first James Bond film is a good, if not great entry. Sean Connery is perfectly cast as 007. There are no hi-tech gadgets or sensational over-the top action but a simpler adventure which has Bond dealing with bad guy Dr. No. Set in Jamaica this movie is filled with gorgerous scenery and the women are very beautiful. Ursula Andress is drop dead gorgeous as Honey Rider and Zena Marshall as the scheming Miss Taro is quite the beauty also. A fine start for the longest running movie series in history.

B-


Slyvia: "When did you say you had to leave?"
James: "Immediately...almost immediately".






 

Diane Kruger joins the fun in the two NATIONAL TREASURE films...

Star of the month Diane Kruger teamed up for the enjoyable popcorn National Treasure films as historian Abigail Chase who helps Benjamin Gates (played by Nicolas Cage) recover important historical documents. The first film had them looking for the Declaration of Independence while dealing with the terrific Sean Bean as a rival. Jon Voight is on hand as Gates's father. It's a fun and leave your brain at the door kind of film. Diane was pretty good as Abigail Chase too. I mean she's no Lara Croft but she handles her action scenes ok.
B

National Treasure 2 goes for broke with the fair sequel which isn't quite as good as the original. In this  one, the gang is on the hunt for John Wilkes Booth's diary containing information about the assasination of Abraham Lincoln. This time Helen Mirren joins the fun as Gates's mom. Ed Harris is not as good as the villain as was Sean Bean was in the original. But the sequel is still entertaining.
B-

SIN CITY is one hell of a movie...

Sin City is a superb and exciting visual treat of a movie. Based on the popular graphic novels by Frank Miller and directed by the electric Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Planet Terror). The film has several connecting stories featuring an all star cast. Bruce Willis is tough cop Hartigan who is the protector of Nancy (Jessica Alba, who has a terrific dance number at the local bar). As a matter of fact, Alba's scene is a showstopper.  Nancy was abducted by the creepy kid (Nick Stahl) of a powerful man. Hartigan ends up saving her life. Another story has a hulk of a brute named Marv (played by Mickey Rourke) who gets involved with a woman named Goldie (Jaime King) who was murdered and he took the blame. On the run, Marv tears through the city to find the true killer...a young man named Kevin (Elijah Wood) with a penchant for cutting up young women and a taste for human flesh. Kevin is super quick and never says a word. The third story has Dwight (Clive Owen) who teams up with the sordid ladies of Sin City led by the wild Gail (Rosario Dawson) to take on a corrupt cop named Jackie Boy (a terrific Benicio Del Toro).





All these stories are connected and combine to make a truly imaginative film. The entire cast is rock solid with an excellent supporting turn by Carla Gugino as Marv's parole officer who likes women and sleeping in the nude. Also on hand is Michael Clarke Duncan, Rutger Hauer, Josh Hartnett, and Brittany Murphy. And one more thing Nick Stahl stands out as the whacked out Junior. The look of this movie is amazing as it was filmed in black and white but with splashes of color to signify certain characters and themes. Stahl later becomes Yellow Bastard so you can imagine what he looks like. Sin City is one awesome movie.
B+

Action Movie For The Day: THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT (1996)

You see this is why there should be more women driven action pictures. Women can make credible action heroes just like men, if not better. Geena Davis is awesome as Samantha Cain, a women suffering from amnesia, who is living the quiet life with her young daughter and dating a nice guy. Samantha has hired low rent private eye Mitch Hennessey to solve the mystery of her past. When a man shows up at Samantha's house to kill her, her reflexes takes over and she kills him. It seems Samantha was a former CIA assassin named Charlie Baltimore who was left for dead. Well the bad guys want to finish the job this time and soon Charlie and Mitch are on the run, taking down bad guys left and right. This movie kicks ass and Geena Davis rocks it as the super assassin Charlie. If you thought Uma Thurman was one lethal lady in Kill Bill, you need to check out Charlie. Deadly with her hands and even deadlier with a gun. She mows down the bad guys with lethal efficiency. Samuel Jackson holds his own as the wise cracking detective Mitch, who gets in on the action later on in the movie. They end up making quite the team. I brought up Uma, because Kill Bill seemed to borrow a little of the plot from this film. A wronged lady comes back to exact revenge and to save her little girl. And this film delivers all the action you could want and then some. Loaded with devious bad guys, snappy one liners, awesome gun battles and fight scenes, Long Kiss is a must see. And also has a very cool music score that brings more energy to the already fantastic action scenes. Good selection of songs too. Geena shows she can hang with the big boys Mel, Arnie, Bruce and Sly quite easily. From the writer Shane Black of Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout.
B+



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Mitch Henessey: What I'm saying is, back when we first met, you were all like "Oh phooey, I burned the darn muffins." Now, you go into a bar, ten minutes later, sailors come runnin' out. What up with that?

Action Movie For The Day - LETHAL WEAPON 2 (1989)

This is back before Mel Gibson went off the deep end and was making some good action movies.
Actually one of the rare sequels that tops the original. Bigger action, loads of humor, great villians, and the chemistry between Mel and Danny is solid. The boys take on dirty South African diplomats that is on from the opening chase scene. And by bringing in Joe Pesci, LW2 ups the humor quotient. One of the best sequels and best action flicks ever made.

B+

Murtaugh: "I'm going die on a toilet, aren't I?"
Riggs: "Guys like you don't die on toilets."

Action Movie For The Day - TRUE LIES (1994)

After the dismal action film Last Action Hero the year before, Arnie decided to re-team with James Cameron for the wildly exciting flick True Lies. And all is forgiven as True Lies is awesome. He plays secret agent Harry Tasker who battles terrorists all over the world with his sidekick Tom Arnold. But its a secret life as his wife thinks he's a computer salesman. Jamie Lee Curtis is a hoot as his unknowing wife. Well when the bad guys target Arnie and his family, look out. True Lies is filled with over the top action mayhem such as an exciting shoot-out in a Washington hotel bathroom and then a chase on horseback. And the amazing finale involving some fighter jet action as the bridge running to the Florida keys is demolished. Which carries over to Arnie flying one of the jets and taking out the bad guys in a high rise. Look for Bill Paxton in a funny role as a smarmy car salesman and Eliza Dushku as Arnie's rebellious daughter. Oh and Charlton Heston as Arnie's boss. Good stuff.
B+

 
























And check out this nice pic of Jamie and her little friend

Action Movie For The Day - TAKEN (2008)

Liam Neeson is kick ass ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills who goes on a tear in Paris to find his kidnapped daughter Kim (played by Maggie Grace). She and her friend are vacationing in Paris when they are abducted and forced into prostitution. Mills go ballistic and comes to Paris to find his daughter. He tears through bad guys like a vicious animal that won't stop until his daughter is safe. Liam will remind you of an older Jason Bourne with his lightning fast reflexes and taciturn demeanor. He's all business and very efficent at what he does. Top notch action thriller that delivers. Can't wait for the sequel.

B+


Bryan: I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.



Marko: [after a long pause] Good luck.