Post Oscar Bliss 2011

Another year, Another Oscars

Here's to hoping they return to using comedians to host the show instead of using movie stars. It worked with Hugh Jackman. Alec Baldwin had Steve Martin with him. James Franco and Anne Hathaway? It didn't work. Although, it might have. Anne Hathaway alone would have worked better in my opinion. I like James Franco, but they didn't use what he's best at. And one would think Seth Rogen would have popped up somewhere in a bit. Hathaway was charming and funny, but yelled "Wooooo!!!" FAR too often. All in all, it was still an entertaining 3 hours.

I can't really complain about my #3 movie of 2010 winning Best Picture, although it did end my streak of having my #1 and Best Picture syncing up. (If you can call 2 years in a row a streak). The King's Speech is a fine film. But I think The Social Network will be considered a classic. Several Oscar pundits compared a King's Speech victory over Social Network to How Green Was My Valley beating Citizen Kane. In yesterday's blog, I compared it to Rocky beating Network, but I would say now it's more akin to No Country for Old Men beating There Will Be Blood. Both highly respectable movies, but the latter simply expected to be more memorable as time passes. I mean, I doubt anyone in 1941 thought Citizen Kane would be regarded as the greatest movie ever made, so you can't really fault the Academy for not getting it right at the time. I would have liked The Social Network to have won, but The King's Speech isn't exactly an embarrassing choice.

I have to admit though, early on in the night, I was thinking King's Speech might not win. Art Direction and Cinematography were two categories where it was a strong contender. Alice in Wonderland winning was not as big a surprise as Inception taking Cinematography. In fact, at that point, I was anxiously awaiting Original Screenplay. If King's Speech lost there to Inception, there might be an upset of epic proportions, i.e. Inception as Best Picture. But it didn't happen.

5 biggest surprises of the night:

1. David Fincher losing Best Director. It shouldn't be a surprise since Tom Hooper did win the DGA, but to me, it was a surprise. I did learn that Hooper directed half the HBO miniseries John Adams, so maybe he's not some noob who just got lucky and we'll never like anything else he ever does. (I'm looking at YOU, John Madden!)

2. Randy Newman gets a 2nd Oscar for a song that sounds like it could be about stalking. He won for "We Belong Together". His first win was for "If I Didn't Have You".

3. A rock star wins Best Score. It's rare when rock stars are nominated, period. Daft Punk got snubbed this year. Danny Elfman and Clint Mansell have been snubbed repeatedly. Oscar geeks still gripe about the There Will Be Blood snub. So, it was nice to see the Academy give a non-traditional score recognition, especially to a very non-traditional rock star.

4. True Grit goes 0 for 10. I would have gotten 15 right if I avoided True Grit. It should also be mentioned that this is the second year in a row that the Coen Brothers got a Best Picture nomination and didn't win a single award. Although, A Serious Man going 0 for 2 was not as surprising.

5. Almost HALF of the 10 Best Picture nominees went home empty handed. Four to be exact. Last year was the first year of the experiment of returning to 10 nominees. How many went home empty handed last year? 4. I'm detecting a trend.

And now, for the most popular segment of my annual Post Oscar Bliss, your nominees for Best Picture at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

Before I get to that though (channeling Kirk Douglas here), here are the films I picked to be nominated for last night:

Hereafter
How Do You Know
Tree of Life
Love and Other Drugs
The Social Network
Secretariat
The American
Eat, Pray, Love
Inception
The Debt

So 2 of them were actually nominated for Best Picture. (The Social Network and Inception. Yay me!) Hereafter got a single nomination. Secretariat had its supporters, namely Roger Ebert. The American and Eat Pray Love failed to live up to expectations. 2 got pushed back to Summer 2011 (Tree of Life and The Debt). How Do You Know and Love and Other Drugs were outright bombs.


So, you're 2011 Best Picture nominees will be:

1. Tree of Life - Rather than rehash what I said last year, here's the trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi612735001/

2. The War Horse - Steven Spielberg seems like a shoo-in most any year. Particularly in years where he puts out 2 films: A serious picture and an audience pleaser. It worked in 1993 (Jurassic Park/Schindler's List) and 2005 (War of the Worlds/Munich), but not in 1997 (Lost World/Amistad) or 2002 (Minority Report/Catch Me If You Can), but it can easily be argued that in a 10 picture year, Amistad and Catch would have made the cut. Usually, however, it's been one film released in the summer and one at Christmas. Right now, and I can only assume this will change, The War Horse is scheduled to be released on December 28. Spielberg's other film, The Adventures of Tintin is scheduled for release on December 23. Peculiar.

3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - The first in the Millennium trilogy being directed by David Fincher has a lot of things going for it. For one, the Swedish version of the film did well at the box office. Two, the novels are still pretty popular. Three, it's a unique story in that it is a classic, Hollywood-style mystery told in a very, non-traditional way. And after The Social Network and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the Academy will be itching to give some love to Fincher.

4. Hugo Cabret - Speaking of mysteries, here's another one that I think could get some play. It's about a young boy who lives in a train station. He's very resourceful and solves mysteries with the help of a young girl. You're probably wondering what the hell I'm thinking even including such a childish movie on this list. It doesn't sound like an Oscar contender at all. Until you read who's behind it. John Logan, who wrote the screenplays for Gladiator, The Aviator and Sweeney Todd. How can it not, right? Oh. Did I fail to mention it's directed by Martin Scorsese? Yeah. I think I left that part out. :)

5. Anonymous - Sometimes, it's fun to throw one of these out there even though you know it sounds like it could be a spectacularly bad film. Choosing a film starring Rhys Ifans, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis and Vanessa Redgrave isn't exactly a huge gamble. All are respected actors. A fictionalized costume drama set in the Elizabethan era involving politics, greed and Shakespeare certainly has some Academy appeal, I'm sure. But, unlike Hugo Cabret, which gets on this list because of its director, Anonymous is a shocking addition to this list because of who is helming it. The reigning king of disaster movies, Roland Emmerich. God, I hope this makes it.

6. The Whistleblower - Academy award winning actors Rachel Weisz and Vanessa Redgrave. Academy Award nominee David Straithairn. Political film involving the UN cover up of sex trafficking in Bosnia. And it's a comedy? Okay. I'm kidding about the last part. But this does sound like Oscar bait to me.

7. We Bought a Zoo - Matt Damon, Scarlett Johannson and Thomas Haden Church in a film about a guy who buys a zoo and deals with his wife dying of brain cancer. Hey. It's the latest from Cameron Crowe. Why not?

8. Larry Crowne - Nia Vardalos, who's only known for My Big Fat Greek Wedding at this point, and Tom Hanks got together and did a script about a guy who reinvents his life after getting downsized out of job. Hanks co-wrote, directs and stars in this one. Julia Roberts is along for the ride. Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston seems like a perfect partner in crime for Hanks. Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson is in it as well. But so is Cedric the Entertainer. I guess it all depends on how much balance there is between the comedy and the drama.

9. Water for Elephants - This one only makes it if it connects with audiences (Yes, some movies get nominated that make no connection with audiences). The bestselling book did. But a sweeping epic romance set in a circus and the guy they get to direct it is the guy who made I Am Legend? It's a high wire act of a story (Honest, no pun was intended) but the job of writing the script is in the more than capable hands of Richard LaGravanese who's made a career out of making these stories work. Reese Witherspoon is a fine actress in the right roles and looks good in the trailers. The wild card here is Robert Pattinson. Sink or swim time, vampire boy. Fail here and your non-bloodsucker career is probably over. You do have to appreciate the irony that both Witherspoon and Pattinson made movies called Twilight early in their careers. Witherspoon got naked in hers. Pattinson, thankfully, did not.

10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow Part II - I really hope this makes the list. It's rare enough when a non-horror film series lasts 8 movies. Even rarer when they maintain the quality that the Harry Potter series has achieved over the last 10 years. Simply as recognition of a job very well done, this one should be given a place on the list. It's kept a LOT of British actors from starving.

Until next year.... Cheers.

The Final Go....

I'm not sure if it's the increase from 5 Best Picture nominees to 10, but this is the second year in a row where, the day of the Oscars, it almost feels like a toss up. In 2010, while I was pretty certain The Hurt Locker would prevail, I was far from 100% sure of it. This year, while it feels like The King's Speech will take the top prize, it sure doesn't feel like a lock. In fact, it seems the buzz when the final votes were submitted, The Social Network got the support it had the first half of the awards season. What's more shocking to me is how many categories are toss-ups. It's tough to say whether it's because so many excelled in different areas or no movie was particularly outstanding. (See nominees for Best Makeup) It's a tough year for guessing and I won't be surprised if I miss half the winners this year. Here's my final guesses.

Best Picture:

Who Will Win: The King's Speech
Who Should Win: The Social Network

Several pundits have compared a King's Speech victory over Social Network to How Green Was My Valley over Citizen Kane. What they mean is that the film that seems tailor made for winning awards prevailed over a truly brilliant and unique film. The difference with this year is that The King's Speech is a terrific, well made film on its own and more unique than the die hard Social Network fans would like you to believe. That said, it's still no Social Network. No, I would say a King's Speech victory is more akin to Rocky defeating...well...everything else it was up against. Rocky didn't challenge audience the way Taxi Driver or Network did, but it was still a respectable choice.

Best Director:
Who Will Win: David Fincher
Who Should Win: David Fincher

And this is how the Academy will rectify its choice of King's Speech.

Best Actor:
Who Will Win: Colin Firth
Who Should Win: James Franco

Colin Firth gives an amazing performance, with a speech impediment, which voters like. James Franco IS 127 Hours. Everything about the film could be perfect (and it almost is) and the movie would be a disaster if the actor playing Ralston failed. 127 Hours is not up for Best Picture if it weren't for Franco.

Best Actress:
Who Will Win: Natalie Portman
Who Should Win: Natalie Portman

This one is a gimme.

Best Supporting Actor:
Who Will Win: Christian Bale
Who Should Win: Christian Bale

Because Batman should have an Oscar in his utility belt.

Best Supporting Actress:
Who Will Win: No Idea
Who Should Win: Jacki Weaver

My paper ballot right now is empty. Melissa Leo seems like a good choice. But her Oscar campaign has been an embarrassment to the Academy. Hailee Steinfeld shouldn't even be in this category. She may lose because it's a lead role. On the flip side, the amount of screen time, the most fully formed character of the choices and that all of the non-adult actors who've won, won here gives her a good shot. Bonham Carter could win just for a strong quarter century of performances. Jacki Weaver doesn't stand a chance. But her performance in Animal Kingdom is akin to Joe Pesci's in Goodfellas. And the scene in the grocery store is worth an award by itself.

Best Original Screenplay:
Who Will Win: The King's Speech
Who Should Win: Inception

If for no other reason because The King's Speech should have been in violation of Academy rules for what is considered "original". While never produced as a play, the script was discovered at a play reading. But it's a technicality.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Who Will Win: The Social Network
Who Should Win: The Social Network

As big a lock as you'll ever see at the Oscars.

Best Animated Feature Film:
Who Will Win: Toy Story 3
Who Should Win: How to Train Your Dragon

Just part of my own personal bias against awarding sequels. Toy Story 3 is not as good as its predecessors and a little too self-referential. It's here because of the last 20 minutes, which, again, has as much to do with parts 1 & 2, as the third. And I'll say the same thing when HTTYD parts 2 & 3 are released.



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And the Nominees Will Be....And Now Are.....

Oscar nominations finally come out next week. Here's my predix. Sorry for the lack of commentary. Doing this in a rush.

By request, I removed the "other possibilities." What was once merely an informative posting is now a test of my psychic abilities. And if I get them all right, you must buy me a car.

Best Picture:

127 Hours

Black Swan

Inception

The Fighter
The Kids Are All Right

The King's Speech

The Social Network

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Winter's Bone

Total Correct: 10/10. Not a difficult year.

Best Director:

Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

Danny Boyle, 127 Hours

David Fincher, The Social Network

Tom Hooper, The King's Speech

Christopher Nolan, Inception

Total Correct: 3/5. Joel and Ethan Coen ("True Grit") and David O. Russell ("The Fighter") over Christopher Nolan and Danny Boyle?! Bad call, Academy. Bad call

Best Actor:

Javier Bardem, Biutiful

Jeff Bridges, True Grit

Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

Colin Firth, The King's Speech

James Franco, 127 Hours

Total Correct: 5/5. I haven't seen Biutiful yet, but I like the other choices.

Best Actress:

Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right

Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right

Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit

Total Correct: 3/5. I think The Kids Are All Right is pretty overrated anyway, so I don't mind the Moore snub. But Hailee Steinfeld is nominated in the wrong category. Nicole Kidman ("Rabbit Hole") and Michelle Williams ("Blue Valentine") are good choices.

Best Supporting Actor:

Christian Bale, The Fighter

Andrew Garfield, The Social Network

Pete Postelthwaite, The Town

Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right

Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

Total Correct: 3/5: Missed on Garfield and Postelthwaite. Perfectly fine with the noms going to John Hawkes ("Winter's Bone") and Jeremy Renner ("The Town")

Best Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams, The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech

Barbara Hershey, Black Swan

Melissa Leo, The Fighter

Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Total Correct: 4/5. I missed on Barbara Hershey because the Academy apparently thinks that a child is incapable of being a lead role.

Best Original Screenplay:

Another Year

Black Swan

Inception

The Kids Are All Right

The King's Speech

Total Correct: 4/5. "The Fighter" over "Black Swan"? Are you kidding?! Hey Academy!!! What is all that original about "The Fighter"? It's a recent and apparently well-documented true story. How much creativity even went into this script?

Best Adapted Screenplay:

127 Hours

The Social Network

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Winter's Bone

Total Correct: 5/5. And the right ones were chosen.

Best Film Editing:

127 Hours

Black Swan

Inception

The King's Speech

The Social Network

Total Correct: 4/5. The Academy must really love "The Fighter". If you'd asked me which of these I might be wrong on, the LAST one I would've picked is "Inception". Stunning.

Best Cinematography:

127 Hours

Black Swan

Inception

The Social Network

True Grit

Total Correct: 4/5. "The King's Speech" over "127 Hours"? I'm good with that. I hadn't seen "The King's Speech" yet when I made this list. Now that I've seen it, it's a good choice.

Best Art Direction:

Alice in Wonderland

Black Swan

Inception

The King's Speech

True Grit

Total Correct: 4/5. You know, I almost put "Harry Potter" on here instead of "True Grit". Definitely did not think "Black Swan" would be the one I got wrong.

Best Sound Mixing:

127 Hours

Inception

The Social Network

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Total Correct: 3/5. Hmmm. I really thought "127 Hours" would be nominated. And the Pixar films usually get a nod here. Instead, they went with "Salt" (Underrated film) and "The King's Speech", which, again, I had not seen when I made the list. It's a good call.

Best Sound Editing:

Inception 

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Total Correct: 3/5. And I'm sure you can see why. I thought they only nominated 3 films here. Whoops. "Tron: Legacy" and "Unstoppable" were the other nominations.

Best Costume Design:

Alice in Wonderland

Black Swan

Made in Dagenham

The King's Speech

True Grit

Total Correct: 3/5. I didn't even know "The Tempest" had been released. Go figure. And I had no idea "I Am Love" was even contending. Still, another category where "Black Swan" got dissed.

Best Original Score:

127 Hours

How to Train Your Dragon

Inception

The King's Speech

The Social Network

Total Correct: 5/5. And I thought I might be going out on a limb with "How to Train Your Dragon".

Best Animated Feature:

How to Train Your Dragon

The Illusionist

Toy Story 3

Total Correct: 3/3. One of the easier categories of the year.

Best Makeup:

Alice in Wonderland

The Fighter

The Wolfman

Total Correct: 1/3. I'm lucky if I even get one right in this category. Thankfully, the Academy LOVES to nominated Rick Baker, so "The Wolfman" was an obvious choice. "Barney's Version" and "The Way Back"? Whatever.

And the Oscar Winners Will Be....UPDATED 1/25/11

Have to rush through this one. May edit with commentary later. (Made an edit to Supp. Actress. I wrote this really fast the first time.)

UPDATE: I am merely updating the categories where my pick didn't even get nominated. My original picks got a strike through.Just for the sake of being a good sport, I did not change the categories I no longer think stand a chance, i.e., Annette Bening for Actress or most any Black Swan nomination outside of Natalie Portman.

Best Picture: The Social Network
Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Best Actress: Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Helena Bonham-Carter, The King's Speech
Best Original Screenplay: The King's Speech
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Film Editing: Inception The Social Network
Best Cinematography: Black Swan
Best Art Direction: The King's Speech
Best Sound Mixing: Inception
Best Sound Editing: Inception
Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland
Best Original Score: Black Swan Inception
Best Foreign Language Film: Of Gods and Men Biutiful
Best Documentary: Waiting for Superman Exit Through the Gift Shop
Best Visual Effects: Inception
Best Makeup: Black Swan The Wolfman
Best Song: Waiting for Superman 127 Hours

Eric Bird Movie Review: Let Me In

Who's In It: Some little kid, the little girl from Kick-Ass and Richard Jenkins (No relation to Leroy).

What It's About: Typical boy meets girl. Girl drinks neighbors' blood. Hilarity ensues.

What I Was Expecting: I loved the Swedish film, "Let the Right One In", of which this is a remake. In fact, the original may make my list of the Ten Best Films of 2001-2010. But, as director Matt Reeves is part of the JJ Abrams circle, I had faith that this would be a quality remake.

What I Got: A solid remake. There were some tweaks that made it interesting for people who've seen the original and they're in all the right places. What I did find interesting is that in some areas of the film, it's less subtle and in other areas, it's even more vague. There's also more focus, if memory serves me correctly, on the details of the relationship between the little girl and her caregiver. I don't recall knowing the details of how their relationship came about in the original. And that is a case of not needing to know that much back story. Does this little girl (boy?) really care about the guy/boy or is she just using them? The original didn't address it. The remake wants to imply she's just using them. All in all, still a good film, if not as classic as the original.

Grade: B+

Oscar Potential: If the rest of the year is slow, it might pull a Best Picture nom. Maybe editing, cinematography, score. But I wouldn't hold your breath on any of them.

Five Random Thoughts:

1. Movies just shouldn't have 12 year olds naked in bed with other 12 year olds. Just creepy. And yes, I realize that was the point.

2. How on earth are they shooting these scenes where the car rolls over and you can see it's not a stunt man inside?

3. The scene near the end where the vampire helps the little boy was kinda terrifying in the original. In the remake, the audience laughed.

4. Is this JJ Abrams crowd becoming the live action Pixar? Even if the movies aren't great, they are at least endlessly watchable.

5. Still not sure why they felt the need to change the title.

Trailer Park:

The Warriors Way: Crouching Cowboy, Hidden Donkey? Kung Fu in the Old West. Very curious.

Burlesque: I cringed. 

Due Date: Trailer still amusing. Nothing new to say though.

Saw 3D: Having only seen the original, I just don't know why anyone should care anymore.

Black Swan: Leave it to Darren Aronofsky to make an interesting looking movie about ballet.

Skyline: I'm always up for an alien invasion flick. They don't even have to good.

Eric Bird Movie Review: The Social Network

Who's In It: Jesse Eisenberg, some other guy and Justin Bleeping Timberlake.

What It's About: Guy decides to create Facebook. No one ever uses it. Hilarity ensues.

What I Was Expecting: I'm indifferent on director David Fincher. He's made more overrated movies than actual great ones. I am, however, a huge fan of Aaron Sorkin. Plus, one critic I respect called it the Citizen Kane of the new millennium. So, I had high expectations.

What I Got: One of the best films in recent memory. I'm writing this review nearly a month after seeing it and I still feel that way. And the Citizen Kane comparison is fair. It's every bit entertaining as it is intelligent. A fascinating story that you would think would be more common knowledge in this era of mass media. Or perhaps, I just wasn't paying attention. And, much like Citizen Kane, the last 15 minutes loses the momentum of everything that's happened up until then. But it doesn't matter. It's as close to a perfect film that we have seen in years.

Grade: A

Oscar Potential: It will be a Best Picture nominee. Fincher could easily win for director. Aaron Sorkin should be a lock to finally win for Adapted Screenplay. It's an ensemble piece, or feels like one, so zero acting noms wouldn't surprise me. Jesse Eisenberg could pull a Best Actor nod and, believe it or not, Justin Timberlake might get a supporting nomination as recognition for the whole cast. (I call this the "Kim Basinger Theory") Editing and Cinematography are likely. And possibly a music nod for Nine Inch Nails' mastermind Trent Reznor. That would be interesting to see.

Five Random Thoughts:

1. Is Jeff Zuckerberg autistic? Or is Eisenberg playing him like he is?

2. I'm beginning to think Justin Timberlake is a dork who's had sex symbol status thrust upon him. Not a bad performance at all.

3. I want a business card like that someday.

4. For those who expect the standard Aaron Sorkin banter, they do it right in the first moments of the film.

5. For events that are taking place so recently, this sure feels like a period piece.

Trailer Park:

The Tourist: Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in... a remake of The Man with One Red Shoe? Umm. Interesting.

True Grit: Typically, I cringe at the idea of remaking a classic. The Coen Brothers have failed at doing this before. Looks like they've learned something. Looks amazing.

Hereafter: I usually appreciate not giving away too much in a trailer. This one is a little too vague however. This is one of my "Calling My Shot" picks for Best Picture back in March. I think I missed on this one.

Love and Other Drugs: Curious looking romantic comedy with Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway.

The Dilemma: Standard Vince Vaughn fare. Didn't look any different than his other recent stuff.

The Tourist: Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. Funny, I'd SWEAR I've seen this trailer somewhere before.


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Capsule Reviews

Dear John - C+

Well, it's no "The Notebook", as desperately as it wants to be. Both are based on books by Nicholas Sparks. But what is seriously missing here is threefold: 1. Anything resembling a sense of humor or even an attempt at it. 2. A much more compelling leading man. 3. Lead actors who have actual chemistry. That said, there were some genuine surprises in the story. Plot twists that you don't see coming, but are true to the story and its characters, so it was refreshing in some aspects.


From Paris with Love - B

A surprisingly entertaining action flick. John Travolta is some sort of spy. CIA? I don't think they made it very clear. Essentially, it's a spy version of Training Day with Travolta showing the ropes to Jonathan Rhys-Myers in what would probably go down as the worst day in Myers' life. But it's exciting. Moments of genuine high tension and a couple of gotcha plot twists I wasn't expecting. I was pleasantly surprised by this one.


Kick-Ass - B-

Fun flick, but not nearly as cool as it thinks it is. And more than a tad over the top with some of the violence. Particularly the fight scene in which a grown man beats the tar out of an 11 year old girl. As a parent, that kind of thing is a little hard to watch. But there are plenty of funny moments and, despite its premise, probably isn't too far off from what it would be like if someone actually tried to make themselves into a superhero today.


The Wolfman - B+

Nearly everything you could possibly want from the Wolfman story. Terrific acting from Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving (although the accents tend to stray). A very moody feel with great special effects. The score and costumes are top notch. Great writing. So why only a B+? Well, I blame director Joe Johnston. I don't know what it is exactly about his movies. "Jurassic Park III" is, let's face it, basically the same as the other Jurassic Parks, but just isn't. "Hidalgo" was an entertaining movie, but just seemed to be missing that certain something. The same is the case here. Some day, I will figure out exactly what Joe Johnston is doing wrong. The really funny thing is that I thought Guillermo Del Toro had directed this and actually said at one point, "It's missing something. I can't explain it. It's like a Joe Johnston movie." Just making a movie nerd joke to myself. So you can imagine my laughter when the words "Directed by Joe Johnston" appeared at the end. Here's to hoping he figures out what's wrong before he's done with Captain America.