Why ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ Was the Best Marvel Film of 2014 (Sorry, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’)

Last year, Crooked Table made the somewhat controversial decision to declare Pacific Rim the summer movie event of 2013. That Guillermo del Toro film, of course, secured enough of a response from fans to warrant development on a sequel, but it was far from the universal slam-dunk that Legendary Pictures was likely hoping for. However, this year has been perhaps best defined by one studio and one studio only: Marvel.

The 2014 release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy has proven to be the biggest one-two punch for Marvel Studios thus far. Both films have earned more than $700 million worldwide and stellar reviews of over 90 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Guardians has particularly been the big story this year (and we’ve hashed out our thoughts on the film), considering its impressive feat of transforming a relatively obscure title into this generation’s Star Wars, but is The Winter Soldier actually the better film?
Continue reading Why ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ Was the Best Marvel Film of 2014 (Sorry, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’)

Crooked Table Podcast: Episode 5 – A Very Crooked Table Christmas

In Episode 5 of the Crooked Table Podcast, Rob and Kai break down the tremendous controversy surrounding the Sony hack that has dominated the news over the last week, as well as the studio’s handling of the Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy The Interview. In addition, they greet the holiday season with a candid discussion about what the season means to them and, along the way, name their favorite holiday films. Continue reading Crooked Table Podcast: Episode 5 – A Very Crooked Table Christmas