Knitting at the Movies: Comic Books Galore

Not interested in comic book movies? There’s a giveaway at the end of this post. Scroll, people, scroll!

Captain America’s Villain, The Red Skull: if only someone had knit him a hat, a lot of trouble might have been avoided. Photo courtesy Marvel Studios.

People, I have knit at a lot of movies in my day. Romantic comedies. Action flicks. Independent documentaries. The horrible nightmare that was Elektra. And, this summer, the triple threat: X-Men: First Class, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger. [Let’s not talk about Green Lantern. That was 114 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.]

Though I’m certainly not suggesting that the only good movie is one with a colon in the title, I’d say Thor was the weakest of the bunch. The actors did their best, but the Thor story is weak already. Thor suffers from the same problem Superman does: if you’re near-invincible, what can we really do to you? Much as Superman’s issues were often of the heart, Thor’s issues in this film are largely emotional. He spends the film facing his baggage: a disapproving father, a jealous brother, a move to a strange new town. While all this angst is eminently relate-able to the average American moviegoer, it didn’t make for a great action film.

Thor is looking sad, possibly because he had to knit that whole cape himself.

Now, that doesn’t mean Thor didn’t make for good knitting. What you want in a good knitting movie is:

• A fairly simple plot; in other words, if you look down at your knitting briefly, you won’t miss a key twist.
• Enough special effects that the theater is periodically lit up by an explosion, enabling the intrepid knitter to pick up a dropped stitch.
• The merest hint of on-the-nose dialogue, occasionally even in the form of “Watch out, Ben! He’s got a gun! Oh, no!”

You can see that an action film is just the ticket. So Thor was just fine; I suspect my problem was just that I had high expectations. And, hey, I got a lot of knitting done on a Tea Leaves Cardigan I’m making for a friend.

The X-Men: First Class: James McEvoy sports some nifty hand-knit mitts. Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox.

As always, the X-Men had me waxing philosophical: is this really a story about the differences between American and European reactions to the horrors of World War II, or is it more about racism in America? Or both? More importantly: how do we know that Professor X would eventually win out over Magneto, morally if not actually? Well, check it out: he’s wearing hand-knits, while the man who can bend metal wears an alloy hat. Moving on: I’ve heard this described as the best X-Men film of the bunch, and I can see that. January Jones is pretty flat as Emma Frost, but otherwise – the tone is right, the effects are well-done, and James McEvoy is perfect as the young Xavier.

The Great Big Pile of Knitting: perfect for the movies.

Captain America really could have had more knitting. It’s World War II, people. Everyone should be knitting for soldiers. Am I right? At the very least, least we could have seen some nice retro sweaters on Cap’s love interest, Peggy Carter. Knitting aside, Captain America was my favorite of the bunch. Tommy Lee Jones has an excellent cameo as (what else?) a cranky drill sergeant, and Hugo Weaving was just right as the Red Skull (also? best villain name ever).

Meanwhile – what does one knit at the movies? For a long time, I knit ribbed socks – around and around, k2 p2 k2 p2…that worked well. Right now, I’m lugging this hilarious Pile Of Knitting that I’m making for the Saffron Walden Knitted Maze. I admit that I cheated a little: I grafted three hand-knit scarves together (Mr. Trask wasn’t wearing them) and am now adding more knitting in the edges. It seems to be working pretty well – and it’s a nice warm blanket to have in an air-conditioned movie theater.

So, what about this week? Do you guys think there might be any knitwear in Cowboys vs. Aliens?

Canopy Worsted: Delicious.

Giveaway News!  Last week’s winners were Robin (she’s on a roll!), affiknity, and Krystal. As always, the Random Number Generator selected the lucky knitters. Today’s yarn:

1. More Canopy Worsted: one skein in Orchid, one in Chiclet Tree, one in Cat’s Claw.
2. One skein of Dazzle from The Natural Dye Studio. This yarn is Bluefaced Leicester and carries the prestigious British Yarn label. Color: Spice. Yum.
3. One skein Dream in Color Smooshy in color Candy Floss (December Dream Club) and one skein Artyarns Supermerino in Color 114.
4. Two skeins of Mochi Plus: one in Feldspar and one in Autumn Rainbow (I think; no label).

Yarn Giveaway #86,014: left to right, Mochi Plus, Dream in Color, Artyarns, Natural Dye Studio.

As always, the yarn has been stored in airtight containers in my non-smoking, one-cat home since being purchased. Before mailing, I freeze the yarn for 24 hours. Comment on the blog by Saturday, August 6 at noon EDT for a chance to win: What movies have you watched this summer? Do you knit at the movies? And do let me know which yarn is most appealing to you – last week, I was able to send everyone the yarn they wanted!