The Avengers: Bum Numbing Sense Bombardment of Awesome!

So this may not be the best or most objective review of the Avengers out there for the mere fact that I had sat through 12 hours of Marvel movie madness at the theater directly preceding the screening of The Avengers. Starting at noon, a few cohorts and I (including my 6 and 9 year old sons) braved achy behinds to sit in a theater for both Iron Man movies, the Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America before the grand unveiling of The Avengers at Midnight. Now this was either the coolest thing, or the stupidest but it was definitely the nerdiest thing I’ve done in a while. Is till can’t tell if it will sway my review more to the positive since it was like being injected with super-movie-watching-serum right before the premiere, or it dulled my senses due to the mind numbing monotony of explosions, muscles and testosterone. But here it goes anyway.

The Avengers is AWESOME! There I said it. Now, I am coming at this film they way it was intended. It will never be a cinematic masterpiece, a brave commentary on society, a showcase for the finest acting of our time or and artistic portrayal of existentialism…but as pure entertainment, this is one of the best out there. If you haven’t seen the film then you should just go out and see it. Judging by the opening weekend numbers it seems like the entire planet pretty much has already seen it. If you have not, I will briefly explain why you should.

ACTION: Seriously, an action scene that lasts like an Hour!! I know that may sound tedious but its done with so much bravado, expert pacing and smart exposition it feels like the scene keeps refreshing itself into even bigger, badder and better.

CHARACTERS: Yeah, we’ve seen all the other movies so we know who they are, but here each of the superheroes gets to grow into themselves. Much more is revealed about the Black Widow and Hawkeye, and we get great glimpses of all of their greatest weaknesses since putting them all in the same room together is akin to pacing them in a mirrored funhouse to their gigantic ids…cool

SPECIAL EFFECTS: This could be tied to the action scenes but there are so many ludicrous things going on it could have easily have delved into cheesy. Instead, it’s pure over-the-top-mind-blowing rad!

HUMOR: I’m not talking slapstick here but the wit of Downey Jr. coupled with the hodgepodge cast of misfit-bruised egos creates some genuinely funny banter. It’s the site gags that draw the biggest laughs though and thank goodness for the Hulks not so subtle strengths.

With that being said, I don’t think I will be doing a movie marathon like that again anytime soon. But for a once in a blue moon experience it sure was a blast. I don’t know if my kids will be grateful that I rubbed my nerdy off on them in the future or not, but I do know that the avengers are in good hands for the foreseeable future.

P.S. let me know if you want me to get more specific in my reviews (even include some spoilers). They seem a little vague to me….

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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The Hunger Games: Raw and Violent Beauty

I’ve decided to write a review of Hunger Games even though most of the known world has already seen it. 3rd biggest opening of all time? That’s crazy! I guess this is one of those rare times where pop culture (the book), the tween audience (AKA twilight fans), women (like the love triangle), men (like the violence), geeks (awesome nerd factor) and Hollywood (stellar cast) all combine to create an ultimate box office champ if you will. I am not going to bother with a brief plot synopsis because if you don’t know already you have been living under a rock, or in Russia.

The Hunger games opens unexpectedly on a conversation taking place on a television show with all its glitz and glamor then cuts to the decrepit plight of those living in District 12, one subservient area that are oppressed by the Capital. It's this juxtaposition that builds the strength of the film. The constant sense of unfairness, of unnecessary opulence by the capital, of underlying fear and horror for anyone that lives in one of the tribute districts that bring the tension and power of the film.

It’s no secret that Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers as tribute for her district in the 74th annual Hunger games, which pits two children from each district against one another to the death. What the movie brings is a subtlety to the emotions running through Kat, through Her friends, through the other tributes (except heavy-handed Cato) and through her family. Everyone knows the games are a farce, a dreaded punishment and yet everyone participates. “What if we all just stopped watching,” proposes Gale, the one constant in Katniss' life. It’s enough to question our own motives to take part in exploitive behavior and even in some sense to even be watching a movie about kids killing one another.

What I really loved about the movie is the artistry and emotion. I truly felt for the oppressed, I truly loathed the access. I truly cared what happened to Katniss, Rue, Peeta and even some of the nastier characters. Aside from the acting, the filmmaking went beyond the book. Hallucinations from the tracker Jack stings were vividly realized, death is with reverence and beauty and even a killing field can be humanized by the appearance of a single butterfly that kisses the tip of your finger. The use of the ‘televised’ portion of the games came in handy to explain to a general audience the finer details of the dangers, but it is in the images of the trees, the smell of the soil, the stickiness of the blood and earnestness of the glances that the film really earns its emotion, and the involvement of its audience as well.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Titanic 3D: A lavish overhaul for a flawed classic

I don’t know if I am qualified to review this film since I can honestly say I never saw it in theaters on its original run. So, I really have nothing to compare it to other than my memories of watching it on VHS. The whole 3D conversion thing is big amongst earlier blockbusters (see Disney) but has yet to yield a bona fide hit other than the Lion King, which was respectable. I can honestly say that here, the 3D is magnificent, and not just for the spectacle of the sinking ship.

I’m not going to bother with the plot or anything, if you don’t know it you’ve been living under a rock for the past 15 years. I will extol the merits of seeing it on the big screen in 3D. What impressed me most were the close-ups of faces, every wrinkle, reflection and hair are given new dimension from the 3D. It’s a very personal experience. Images of the actual wreck become more eerie and magnificently hulking. Also, the interior shots of the ship before it sank are breathtaking. As the camera moves through hallways, staircases and atriums, there is a real sense of space and grandeur. It also lends becomes frightful during the sinking sequences where looking down a vastly deep corridor filling with water seems all but hopeless.

On the other hand, there were plenty of things the 3D couldn’t fix. The outdated special effects for one, or the atrocious dialogue both remain. The film is not great by any means and is truly a piece of manipulative popcorn fluff; but one thing can be said. James Cameron knows how to tell a story, and with his eye for stunning visuals, the 3D here not only improves the experience, but also leaves you wondering what he could have done had he been filming it in 3D from the start!

Final Consensus: 
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!! (for the 3D)
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Sundance 2012 Review: Wish You Were Here

My very first sun dance festival turned out to be quite a treat. The Aussie film 'Wish You Were Here' turned out to have quite a promising cast, a smart script and a few twists that made it more than you're average drama. The plot centers around a single couple who are dealing with the aftermath of a vacation where a mutual friend has disappeared. That, coupled with questions of infidelity, fears about their own relationship and the burden of trying to raise an ever expanding family make for a stewpot of unintended consequences.

Most would assume rising Hollywood star Joel Edgerton would be the main draw here...and while his films Animal Kingdom and Warrior bring in the audience, it's screenwriter and lead Felicity Price, playing his wife who steals the show. Her candid portrayal of a wife who is trying to care for her kids, deal with tragedy and attempt to save a crumbling marriage demands your full empathy. Joel does great as the torn and confused husband and Teresa Palmer does her part as the grieving sister who's boyfriend disappears. The ending provides quite a twist that resolves much of the moral ambiguities the movie introduces and proves that open communication and trust are needed in any marriage to make it work.

The film has problems with pacing and editing. The director could have chosen much better shots to establish location and mood. Also, the film seemed to drag at times as if the director was too in love with a lot of the content to leave it on the cutting room floor. This was detrimental to the film that seemed to waver between a crackling thriller and a domestic drama. If the director could decide on the film he was trying to make, and let the script tell the underlying story, this film would be very marketable. In the meantime we will have to enjoy the story and the acting...and wait for the filmmaking to catch up.

Sundance notes: at the screening was the director, producer and cast...who were very friendly and seemed genuinely excited to be at Sundance. They fielded questions after the screening. I was able to meet Joel Edgerton and ask how he was cast. He actually went to school and trained with the director, but had to ask to be in the film after seeing his friends notes and realizing they had proposed another actor to play the part he wanted. He is still pretty cut for anyone who remembers him as Brendan in Warrior.

UPDATE: Wish You Were Here was just aquired by Entertainment One and is expected to be released in theaters in the U.S. and Canada in fall 2012.

Final Consensus: 
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol - A live action cartoon roller coaster

I’m Back. I know, its been a really long time but I have re-resolutioned myself to write some actually compelling reviews with deep insight and modern interpretations….in very short form. The year begins with Mission Impossible 4 colon Ghost Protocol. No clue why they added the colon or the by line as the name Ghost Protocol merely is a mission terminology meaning that the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) has been disavowed by the government. This disavowal comes after Ethan Hawke, i mean Hunt's (couch jumper Tom Cruise) team gest set up and the Kremlin explodes. Of course a whole lot of chases, action sequences and explosions later, the final object of the team is to prevent a madman (don’t remember his name) from blowing up the world.

Nothing in this movie is remotely believable from the sets, to the stunts, to the damage a human body can take, the beauty of the participants or even the snarky humor injected under extreme duress by the assistant (Simon Pegg, whom I met in the Bathroom at a theater in Austin TX…but that’s another story). But you know what…that’s what makes the movie so gosh-darn fun. It’s a bigger, bolder, better experience in the theaters precisely because all the laws of physics and common sense have been thrown out the window. It’s like watching Looney Tunes in real life, which makes sense considering it was directed by Brad Bird (of Iron Giant, Ratatouille, The Incredibles fame). What a thrill ride. It doesn’t matter that I could care less for any of the characters; I really am not that emotionally involved with the cart I’m sitting in on a roller coaster either but I sure like the trip it takes me on.

Acting aside, it’s the special effects that steal the show. The stunts are incredible and the pace is unrelenting. Its not all testosterone either…more like dodge ball with ballerinas than a football game. The women of the movie are sadly given nothing to do but glare and act like pillars of wood, but everyone else seems to be having fun. Have a good time with it and if you can…watch it in IMAX, the audible gasp of the audience as you peer 120 stories down is worth the price of admission alone, that, and knowing it’s one of many hills this soulless yet bombastically creative roller coaster is gonna take you on.

Final Consensus: 
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Pirates of the Caribbean 4: Fun with absolutely no substance

For some reason, Superhero movie seem to have gotten into a rut where the first ones pretty good, the second is great and the third is a jumbled embarrassment. (X-Men, Spiderman etc.) If only Pirates of the Caribbean could have had the problem. Instead it suffers from Matrix fatigue where the first is awesome and the next two devolve into silly confusion. The last two Pirate movies were atrocious so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to a 4th dose.

Fortunately, it’s amazing what a simplified plot can do. It can re-introduce something into the series that was missing from the last two films…that is Fun! Now don’t get me wrong, this is not a good movie by any means, in fact it’s even sillier than its predecessors. It’s almost completely devoid of thrills. The scariest part is when Jack jumps off a cliff (oh, and psycho mermaids). It’s plot is dumber than dumb “A bunch of people are trying to get to the Fountain of Youth including Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) Captain Barbossa (Geoffry Rush), Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Angelica-Blackbeard’s Daughter (Penelope Cruz) and a bunch of Spaniards”. There, sorry If I ruined the movie for you.

Out of the inept action sequences, silly dialog and ridiculous sincerity, comes a watchable and fun film. Granted it makes Thor look like a Terrance Malick movie, but the silliness is all a part of what we signed up for right? We want to see things blow up; pirates make for the high seas, Cannon battles (oh crud, none of those) and mystical legends. It’s exactly what we get. Credit Depp and Cruz for literally carrying the whole movie on innuendoes, and a romance between a mermaid and a clergyman to bring out the emotion.

While it was fun to watch I left feeling unfulfilled. It wasn’t until I had a discussion with a coworker that I realized why. We movie watchers like to see some progression in the characters we have invested in. Weather its changing to a new man, overcoming insurmountable odds or declining into monstrosity…its what fuels our investment. Unfortunately, all the characters remain relatively the same, never reaching beyond their idiosyncrasies. Which makes for great comfort food, but not much in the way of exciting variety that wets out palettes for more. Too bad, the ending sets us up for more weather we like it or not.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother
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Thor: A great big pile of unbelievable awesomeness!!

Of all the comic book movies that have come out in recent years, Thor is probably the character I know the least about. An avid comic book reader, I can honestly say that I don’t think I’ve ever read a single issue about Thor other than the Avengers series. That being said, I guess I came into this movie with Fresh eyes, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. In dealing with most of the Marvel universe, there is some attempt to at least tie the movie into a hypothetical scientific equation…”what happens if there was genetic mutation?” “What would happen if you had all the money in the world for a super suit?” With Thor, that entire attempt at logic is thrown out the window. Instead we are left with a tale of interplanetary guardians, Norse gods, immortality and a really big Hammer with an unpronounceable name.

After saying all that I bet you were expecting me to tear the film apart. On the contrary, this was one silly, fun, action ride that does not relay on the audiences acceptance of physical limits to have a good time. The fist quarter bothered me because it is so fantastical and out there. Really, we are supposed to care about the problems of whinny gods on a made up planet in a gold castle? But one I took of my cheese detector, I really had a good time with it.

Thor is the God of thunder who is banished by his father to earth for insubordination and has to learn qualities of humanity to return as the rightful heir of the throne. Of course that is an oversimplification, but the rest of the story is just thrown in there to make really cool action fight scenes. Chris Hemsworth as walking testosterone plays the title character as Natalie Portman plays the “most beautiful scientist in the world” (Thanks X-Men, Transformers, Hulk) role as the girl who changes Thor’s heart. It was a little weird that Thor was able to change his heart an attitude so quickly. I guess all one has to do is spend a few days in a remote New Mexican town to prepare to rule the universe.

But if you put your facetiousness aside, this was a quite the thrill ride. Kenneth Branagh, mainly known for his Shakespearian flicks does a great job of making the antiquated speech of Norse gods seem honorable and actually makes the supporting cast earn their laughs. Kat Dennings is a scene-stealer as Potrman’s intern and the special effects (if not too many) do a great job of making sure you know there is nothing based on reality in this movie, and that’s a good thing. While we are talking about the implausible, I have decided that I am going to work on getting Chris Hemsworth physique, That’s all.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother
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