What to watch: Oh Captain, my captain
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Happy Valentine's Day, Watch Party crew! It's a day all about loves and here's one of mine: I heart Captain America.
He's been my favorite comic-book character since I was a kid in the '80s – She-Hulk is a close second – and every iteration has been spot-on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Chris Evans' Steve Rogers was the moral center of his own solo films and the "Avengers" flicks, and Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson, the new guy with the shield, steps to the fore in "Captain America: Brave New World."
Speaking of throwbacks, the 50th anniversary of "Saturday Night Live" has us revisiting fave castmates and sketches, and while you're rounding up stuff to watch, catch up on the Oscar best-picture nominees so you can vote in our spiffy new Movie Meter.
Now on to the good stuff:
See Anthony Mackie do all the heavy lifting in 'Captain America: Brave New World'
If you're going to copy parts of a Marvel movie, there are worse ones to pick from than "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." The new "Brave New World" even borrows its 1970s-style paranoia thriller angle. Yet while Mackie and his cast members all do their parts – especially Harrison Ford, who turns into a Hulk (!) – the new adventure juggles too many subplots and too much fan service to form a coherent narrative. (Peep my ★★½ review.)
I've been covering Mackie in the Marvel movies since meeting him on the set of "Winter Soldier" in 2013. For a preview of "Brave New World," we chatted about what makes Sam Wilson a great superhero, Ford doing his own stunts as Red Hulk and why Mackie takes his little Captain America Happy Meal toy with him wherever he goes. "I'll never get past that," he says. "I'll never outgrow it. I'll never think it's not cool."
Stream the best of 'Saturday Night Live' before the 50th anniversary special
I've long held the belief that your "SNL" tastes forever hinge on when you first watched the show. Which is why, for me, the era of Eddie Murphy, Martin Short and Billy Crystal – and the original cast with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd – is far better than the show's recent years. Our TV critic Kelly Lawler put together pretty good rankings of the 50 best cast members (Murphy's a strong No. 1) and 50 best sketches ("What Up With That?" not making it is sacrilege). Be sure to head to Peacock's "SNL" hub and watch those greatest hits before Sunday's anniversary special.
I know what you're thinking: "Why are they celebrating in February when 'SNL' first aired in October 1975?" It doesn't make sense to me, either, but there's certainly much remembrance to be had. Be sure to watch the docuseries about the show's history of musical guests and also the movie "Saturday Night" for an entertaining and fictionalized look at the behind-the-scenes chaos of the first episode.
Vote now in the inaugural Paste BN Movie Meter
Sadly, most of us do not get to vote for the Academy Awards. That's why we want to hear from you – yes, YOU! – about what you'd pick to be this year's best picture. The just-launched Paste BN Movie Meter is a way for you to rank and choose your faves among the Oscar contenders, including "Conclave," "Dune: Part Two," "Anora," "Wicked" and more. Then on March 3, the morning after the Oscars, we'll announce the inaugural Movie Meter winner on NBC's "The Today Show" while the real victors will probably still be sleeping. (Afterparties, baby!) So catch up on the movies you haven't seen yet and let your cinematic tastes be heard.
Even more goodness to check out!
- Original "Karate Kid" stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka discuss how their characters have come "full circle" for the series finale of Netflix's "Cobra Kai."
- A new "Bridget Jones" movie is out, so I ranked all four of the rom-coms with Renée Zellweger as the infamous British singleton. (You're welcome!)
- Does this awards season seem really toxic to you, too? We investigate.
- In lighter Oscar news, "A Real Pain" filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg talks about how he recruited co-star (and likely best supporting actor winner) Kieran Culkin to play his cousin.
- Fernanda Torres was a surprise Golden Globes winner, and now's the time to get to know the Brazilian star of "I'm Still Here" in case she pulls off an Oscar upset.
Got thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns, compliments or maybe even some recs for me? Email btruitt@usatoday.com and follow me on the socials: I'm @briantruitt on Bluesky, Instagram and Threads.