It's Wonder Woman and her Amazons vs Team Captain America in the championship match..

Here we go with the championship match...Wonder Woman and the Amazons (10-2) vs Team Captain America (8-4). Poll closes Wednesday evening at 6pm

THE TOP TEN FILMS THAT I AM SO READY TO SEE IN 2012

These are the top ten films I am most anxious about to see in 2012. I'm hyped to see a lot more films but these ten are the ones I am really stoked about. And I think I may have a good shot at breaking my record of movies seen in theaters. I was on pace last year but sputtered out at 28 thanks to a soft fall/winter schedule. The record is 36, set so long ago back in 1992. Anyway, here are my picks for 2012. For a comic book and action enthusiast lover, this year is a dream come true.

Dwayne Johnson looking all bad ass as Roadblock for GI JOE 2

10.) G.I. JOE 2 - I thought the first GI JOE was a good enough action flick, but I think the sequel is poised to be even better. Two words: THE ROCK. And two more: BRUCE WILLIS. 


9. ) THE HUNGER GAMES - Futuristic yarn where young kids must battle each other to the death to stay alive. Oh yeah. count me in for this one.


8.) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN - OK, so the first trailer was kind of under-whelming. Spidey did not look right, a little too CGI-ish. But I'm still excited for this one. It's Spider-Man for crying out loud. And we finally get to see The Lizard come center stage after being hinted at in Sam Raimi's original trilogy.


7.) THE HOBBIT - Finally the beginnings of Bilbo Baggins can finally be told. The Lord of the Rings is one of my favorite film series ever and I'm so ready for some new adventures with hobbits, elves, wizards, and monsters. 

The lovely Rosamund Pike..one of the reasons why Wrath of the Titans

will be better than Clash of the Titans

6.) WRATH OF THE TITANS - Damn, it just felt like last month when the first Titans movie came out. I liked that first one a lot, but this new one looks ever better. The effects look better and the action seems to be amped up to another level. This should be really good. Plus it has Rosamund Pike in it. She can never hurt a film's appeal.


5.) PROMETHEUS - The unofficial prequel to Alien is eagerly awaited as famed director Ridley Scott is at the helm. I know he has stated that this was in no way a new Alien movie, but the cat has been let out of the bag ever since the trailer premiered weeks ago. And I'm so cool with that. Bring it on Ridley!


4.)  THE BOURNE LEGACY - The action franchise gets a new player in Jeremy Renner who takes over as a different character. Renner who knocked audiences for a loop in the latest Mission Impossible movie and also stars in The Avengers is poised to become a major star.

HE'S BAAAAAACKKKKKK!

3.) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - OK, we all know that Chris Nolan won't be able to top his masterpiece, The Dark Knight. But there's no denying that his third Bat film promises to go out with a bang. Tom Hardy as Bane and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman join the mix as the villains. And Christian Bale returns as Batman. But look at the supporting cast: Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and Matthew Modine. Stellar indeed!


2.) SKYFALL - Bond is back. And I'm so primed for this one. Daniel Craig returns for the third time and he's backed by the best cast for a Bond film ever assembled: Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Naomie Harris and the returning Judi Dench. The film is being talked about as a throwback to Goldfinger and From Russia With Love. Color me excited!


1.) THE AVENGERS - I have waited for this movie basically my entire life. A gathering of Marvel's biggest super-heroes in one movie: Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, The Hulk and with good high quality actors like Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Renner. Oh yeah. I can't wait for this bad boy.

The Dream Team Assembled!

CAPTAIN AMERICA is another winner from Marvel Studios

I keep waiting for Marvel Studios to drop the ball and release a stinker. Well they are three for three this year with Thor, X-Men:First Class, and now Captain America. The story is set in 1942 and centers on a young man named Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) who is repeatedly rejected for enlistment in the army due to his numerous health problems and physique. But when a scientist named Dr. Erskine (played by Stanley Tucci) recruits him for his super soldier project to turn him into the perfect weapon to defeat Hitler, he accepts. Rogers is not the first person whom Erskine has tried his experiment on. Years ago Johann Schmidt (played by Hugo Weaving) was subjected to the treatment but had a dangerous side effect as his skin was mutated into a horrible red and skinless shape. And now he is power mad to rule the world, even disobeying orders from his superior Hitler himself. He calls himself The Red Skull now. Flash forward a few years and now Rogers survives the process and gains superhuman strength, speed and endurance to become a super soldier. His initial training sequences while he is still the scrawny recruit under Colonel Chester Phillips (a scene stealing performance by Tommy Lee Jones) are priceless. Rogers also catches the eye of British agent Peggy Carter (played by Hayley Atwell who shines in a great role). Also on board is Howard Stark , yes Tony Stark's dead. He is played by Dominic Cooper and like father like son, has a weakness for the ladies and drink.

The first half of the movie is structured as the origin and more plot driven before it gives way to the action packed second half. Not to say the first half doesn't have action. There is an exciting chase sequence by Rogers after some enemy agents who have destroyed the location of the super soldier research building. Rogers is at first kind of worried and unsure that he can become the hero we all know he can be. So a lot of his early scenes are him learning on the go. Very comparable to Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

When he finally dons the uniform of Captain America, awesome and indestructible shield included, you can't help but swell up inside and say here we go. His fight scenes with Hydra agents and then finally The Red Skull himself are pretty intense. But this movie is more than just about the action. The budding and tender romance between Steve and Peggy is not normally seen in a comic book movie and it is very well done. You really care and hope that these two will hook up. The finale wraps up with a slam bang aerial showdown aboard Red Skull's huge aircraft as he intends to strike multiple targets all over the world with it's destructive power.

This was pure comic book bliss and the ending sets up the forth coming Avengers movie perfectly. As Cap will be joined by fellow heroes Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye under the guidance of Nick Fury (once again played by Samuel L. Jackson). AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! But we have to wait until next year for that. In the meantime we can enjoy Captain America till our hearts content.
B+

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: