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The Walking Dead  - Season 2
The Walking Dead - Season 2
2011 | Drama
An engaging second season
Contains spoilers, click to show
The second season of The Walking Dead gets a bad wrap at times. Upon many a half drunken discussion in the pub about various nerdy franchises, TWD always crops up, and people always seem to mention season 2 as a weak season. (Usually people who are yet to watch seasons 7-8...)

I am extremely fond of this season. It's fairly slow but that's really not a bad thing. It devotes a lot of time to fleshing out the ensemble cast, and concentrates a lot on internal conflicts within the group.

The series starts with one of the children, Sophia, going missing after a zombie horde shuffles towards our heroes as they hide in a freeway under cars (a classic tense TWD scene).
Sophia, understandably scared, decides to run instead of hide, and the group sets off to find her. During their search, Rick's young son Carl is accidentally shot, and the group find medical help at a nearby farm.
And said farm is where the rest of the season takes place.

We're introduced in this season to fan favourites such as Hershel (literally my favourite TWD character of all time), Maggie, and Beth, adding some great characters to an already strong cast.
The conflict between Rick and Shane comes to a head as the season progresses, resulting in some really tense scenes.

The mid point of season 2 contains one of the best scenes to ever grace TWD. As the suspect barn at the bottom on Hershels farm is opened against his will, and well, the end of the episode contains a revelation that gave me goosebumps. For a show about zombies, it's really powerful television at times.

The finale is predictable zombie chaos, but it's a lot of gory fun, and leaves you hankering for season 3, even if we lose a couple of great characters along the way.
  
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
2011 | Action, Adventure
Captain America: The First Avenger is a return to form for the Marvel comic-book film universe, and a solid final lead-up to the multi-hero film The Avengers, coming next year.

Chris Evans does a fantastic job of introducing us to the wiry little guy with guts who eventually becomes Captain America. Such unashamed, honest virtue is different from the typical superhero movie we’ve come to see over the last few years, and for good reason: internal conflicts often make for dramatic films. However, I don’t think such unwavering idealism would have worked with any other comic-book character than Captain America. Stanley Tucci and Tommy Lee Jones add heart to the movie, but the soul of this movie really is the Captain. Hugo Weaving as The Red Skull plays a satisfying villain here, but his motives aren’t clarified enough to warrant his fervor for evil. Hayley Atwell, playing love interest and British agent Peggy Carter does a more convincing job in her role than Hugo Weaving does in his.

The plot of the film was pretty standard fare. Hero battles villain. The ending was more climactic and earnest than I had expected walking into the theater, and it gracefully sets up the Avengers movie. Like many of the other Marvel movies of recent note, there is a decent amount of self-deprecating comic book humor that helps break up the slower parts between action scenes.

The effects of the film were solid. They were pulpy enough to feel like a Marvel universe, rather than our own, but they still carried the action to an exciting level. The art department and cinematographer did a good job recreating the 40’s asthetic throughout the film, though there was enough exotic comic book elements to bring you back into a world where superheroes really do exist.

Despite its own flaws, this is one of the better Marvel films to come out since Iron Man, and count me in to watch The Avengers next year.