Movie Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

The IT Crowd.

I'll say this for the movie poster: It really was a WYSIWYG ad for the flick itself.  Think the poster is confusing and crowded?  So's the movie.  Avengers: Age of Ultron suffers from the Spider-Man 3 syndrome of shoehorning far too many characters old and new into the story, but unlike the disgraceful Spider-Man 3, the sequel to 2012's luminous and practically perfect Avengers is still worth watching.  I don't envy director Joss "God of the Nerds" Whedon his massive task in creating and then offering this follow-up to the same audiences that had adored Avengers.  The pressure to produce a worthy sequel must have been absolutely unimaginable, and I'm not going to complain (too much) that the movie cracks a little under that pressure, especially when I know that the studio's demands must have pushed Whedon's own creative liberty into a corner.  This brings up a host of other issues of various grades of nitpickery, but the short version of my review is this: flawed but still fun, Avengers: Age of Ultron kicks off the 2015 summer movie season in fine style ... and it's almost a certainty that I'll go see it again.  The Cinema-Mad Sibling thought Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) was a better follow-up film to the first Captain America (2011) than Age of Ultron is to Avengers.  Well, he's not wrong.

OK, I'm going to try to talk about the movie without spoiling it for everyone who hasn't it yet. (Once you have seen it, you can take a look at this and join the debate. All I'm going to say now is that Marvel should be careful.  Really, really careful.)  Three complaints, and then a few observations and one unqualified hoorah.

One: The crowding issue.  Yes, I get that Marvel wants to bring all the Avengers back together and give them a new adversary to fight.  I get that.  I also get that Marvel wants to introduce a few new characters.  The problem is that we end up with not enough time with any of the characters old OR new for character development.  This is compounded by the cameo appearances of a zillion other characters who have no real role in this movie but who show up anyway because they point you to other Marvel projects.  UGH.

Two: Joss apparently did not have the narrative room to BE JOSS.  The movie is so stuffed with characters and occurrences that it doesn't have nearly enough time for it, and by that I mean time for him to give us the witty banter and bickering that he's so good at ... and that is so good at character development.  Joss is really good at people standing around and talking ... arguing ... flirting ... hassling ... The witty retort, the sly verbal jab, the underplayed humor.  For a lot of Avengers: Age of Ultron, I couldn't even tell that it was a Joss Whedon movie.  That's not to say that the movie itself as spectacle wasn't entertaining.  I was entertained ... but it felt a little hollow because it didn't feel like Joss's project.

Three: Ultron was a missed opportunity for a couple of reasons.  One is that we really could have done more with Tony Stark and, to a lesser degree, Bruce Banner.  They were the ones who gave rise to Ultron, and I didn't think the movie did nearly enough with the emotional fallout of it.  There should have been.  There should have been TONS OF IT.  That would have been character development and a real meditation on how even the best-laid plans of well-meaning superhero science bros gang aft agley ... because that has some serious real world resonances in terms of tech and artificial intelligence getting out of hand and of protective measures that become themselves perils.  Road to hell, good intentions, anyone?  While we're at it, Ultron is voiced by none other than James Spader himself, an actor who has elevated smug superiority to a veritable art form, and we could have done so much more with that.

A few observations:

•  Give us a Black Widow movie, and the fans will stampede to see it!  Shoot, even give us a backstory movie called Budapest based on one throwaway line from Avengers, and we will rush to get in line!
• There's a lot going on in the movie, but if I'm going to be honest, I'll tell you that the party scene at Tony's is probably my favorite scene because it wasn't jammed full of CGI and special effects and whatever else: it's mostly about people being people.
• Let me save you some time: There's a bonus scene in the middle of the credits but not one at the very end.  
• If we hadn't already in previous movies grown to like and care about the individual Avengers as people, we wouldn't give a hoot about any of them in this movie.  That's not a compliment.  Losing sight of characters' humanity is a mortal sin that no amount of mammoth special effects wizardry can undo.  If we the audience don't care about the people, then we'll have no emotional stake in what happens to them. 

The unqualified hoorah: Paul Bettany is back on screen!   Here's the story behind that.  To be honest, I've had a soft spot for Bettany ever since he played Geoffrey Chaucer in A Knight's Tale (and he's terrific opposite Russell Crowe in Master and Commander).  As much as I love him being the elegantly starchy voice of JARVIS, I'm frankly delighted to see him on screen again.  Yes, I know he's been in some stinkers (*cough* Da Vinci Code! *cough*), but, hey, who hasn't?

Mad Minerva gives Avengers: Age of Ultron a grade of B+. 

Avengers: Age of Ultron runs 141 minutes and is rated PG-13 for various action sequences, a bit of language, and some suggestive comments.

Rotten Tomatoes gives Avengers: Age of Ultron the Fresh rating of 74%.

Next up: I'm seeing the much-ballyhooed Mad Max: Fury Road. (Updated: Now online!)

Couch Potato Chronicles: Libertarian "Firefly"?

Thoughts on one of my favorite TV shows ever.

Movie Review: "Much Ado About Nothing" (2013)

Love's Labour's Won.

There's a great deal of love in this movie, and it's not all of the romantic, kissyface variety. This charming version of Shakespeare's beloved comedy Much Ado About Nothing  is clearly a labor of love by everyone in it, beginning with its writer-director, Joss "Lord of the Nerds" Whedon.  Filmed over just 12 days at Whedon's Santa Monica, California, residence, it's a small, intimate project that feels invitingly like a home movie done by a crowd of friends who decided to grab a few cameras, bottles of wine, copies of Shakespeare, and just get together and go for it for the sheer fun of it all.

Reminder: Your Halloween Movie Recommendation

If you want a scary, smart flick, watch this.

Your Halloween Movie Review: "Cabin in the Woods" (2012)

Hollywood Babylon.

The brilliantly and wickedly clever brainchild of Joss Whedon, Cabin in the Woods basically destroys the horror genre; I can't imagine how one can make another horror flick after this virtuoso hour-and-a-half-long display of metatheatrical wit, humor, and - yes - gore.  Where Scary Movie (2000) had parodied the horror genre for silly laughs, Cabin in the Woods takes on that genre, with all its tropes and stereotypes and expectations, in an entirely different and gloriously intelligent way. 

Movie Madness: Toronto International Film Festival 2012

TIFF is now in full swing, and film fanatics everywhere are delighted.  Here's a quick rundown of the movies foreign, Canadian, and American that are buzzing with Oscar bait and big names like king of the universe Joss Whedon, "Sexiest Man Alive" Bradley Cooper, and ridiculously beautiful Canadian native son Ryan Gosling.  UPDATE: LOL!

First Impressions: "Avengers" - the Genre Achieves True Glory

We want you to go see Avengers!

I'll write up a full review later, but my first impression on seeing this much-anticipated film is simply:

• (a) This could be the perfect comic book superhero movie.  I'm trying to find some obvious flaw, but I can't.  This flick is the straight A student of superhero movies!
• (b) Joss Whedon is no mere mortal ... and I am gladly his adoring minion. Joss, we're not worthy!

MM grades Avengers A+.  It is everything she dared to hope it could be - and more.  As good as Iron Man was, as good as Captain America was, you now realize they were indeed only the preludes to the splendor of the Avengers project now in its flower.  Full of action, humor, heart, and memorable personalities in its radiant ensemble cast, Avengers is brilliant storytelling all around that surprises and delights with its emotionally deft, often witty writing and overall triumphant virtuosity.  It's glorious.  It's a talent bomb that raises the bar and elevates the entire genre to empyrean heights even as it brilliantly highlights the humanity of these heroes.  You will become emotionally invested, and the story achieves greatness because of it.  RUN TO THE CINEMA.  RIGHT NOW.  (And stay past the credits.)  

A particular note of praise: Mark Ruffalo finally gives us the fantastic Bruce Banner/Incredible Hulk that we've been wanting and that Eric Bana and even Edward Norton could not quite deliver.  Oh, and for La Parisienne: cue up the AC/DC, hon, because our Tony Stark is back and better than ever (and almost steals the movie as he delivers some of the best lines in the script, such as the hilariously deadpanned "Dr. Banner, your work is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster").

LOL: A Thanksgiving Song for George Lucas

There's a bit of swearing in it, but this song is hilarious.  Bonus: geek-tastic references to Joss Whedon, "The Avengers," and "Firefly"!

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME: Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing"

LOOK AT THIS, PEOPLE:

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Firefly" and "Dollhouse" fans rejoiced after Nathan Fillion tweeted a link to a site saying principal photography has wrapped on the previously unannounced project, which set the Internet abuzz with speculation. 

Joss Whedon has wrapped his next project. Only thing is, no one seems to know much about it. 

Fans of Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Dollhouse were rejoicing late Sunday night after frequent Whedon collaborators Nathan Fillion, Sean Maher and costume designer Shawna Trpcic tweeted a link to MuchAdoTheMovie.com.

Here is Fillion's tweet yesterday and follow-up reassurance it is indeed real.  Nathan, I could kiss you!  Here is Sean's tweet and follow-up that it's not a hoax. The website is this: http://muchadothemovie.com/   It describes the project as "A film by Joss Whedon. Based on a play."  Then look at the cast!  If ever you wondered what could cause a nerdgasm, this project is it.  Much ado about something awesome!  I am simply and utterly ecstatic!  Besides, this is the best Monday Therapy EVER.  More from Whedonesque.  The only response I can think of right now is this:

Friday Fun Video: the Firefly Rap

A musical tribute to a great little sci-fi TV series:

Sci Fi Geek Fun: Best Travel Posters in the 'Verse

For La Parisienne and all you other fans of "Firefly": vintage travel poster art style meets the world(s) of Malcolm Reynolds.  C'mon, don't you want to visit Jaynestown?

Couch Potato Chronicles: "Supernatural" and "Buffy" in Season 6

Last week my guilty pleasure of a TV show, "Supernatural," finished its season with a bang! La Parisienne and I had a fabulous time watching it together.  (Come on: Castiel + Balthazar + Crowley + Bobby = automatic awesome, along with very quotable quips along the way.)  Besides, the season-ending cliffhanger was really good.  I didn't see it coming, for one thing -- I thought something else was going to go down.  Well played, Sera Gamble.  I was going to write up a full episode review, but then I found an interesting little review comparing "Supernatural" season 6 with "Buffy" season 6.  Do read!  Spoilers.

Post-Bin Laden PR Muddle, or, Life Imitates "Firefly"

Well, I suppose it's kind of like this.  Let me now give you two quotations.

Quotation the first: 

The core conflict is the White House’s “desire to kill bin Laden but also to have the world think we did so respectfully and politely,” said Eric Dezenhall, founder of Dezenhall Resources, a PR firm. 

Quotation the second:

Mal: "If anyone gets nosy, just... you know... shoot 'em. "
Zoe: "Shoot 'em?"
Mal: "Politely."

Awesome: "Firefly"-Inspired Cupcakes

SHINY!

Awesome: Gingerbread Serenity

Here's a yummy holiday tribute to Whedon's "Firefly" TV show.  Outstanding!

"This is the captain. We have a little problem with our entry sequence, 

so we may experience some slight turbulence and then ... explode."

Couch Potato Chronicles: Buffy, Joss, and the Idea of Heroism

Read this. Now.  RIGHT NOW.  

Movie Madness: Joss Whedon Comments on Joss-less Buffy Movie Project

First we had this.  (More here.)  Now The Whedon responds.  Oh, he is fabulous.  Also fabulous: David "Angel" Boreanaz, who responded with a photo on Twitter.

What Fresh Hell Is This? Warner Bros. Reboot Buffy Without Joss Whedon

WHAT?!!!   NOOOOOOOOOO!!

Geek Fun: What If "Firefly" Were an 80s TV Show?

This is ... simply brilliant.  Doesn't it take you right back to those 1980s TV shows?  Come on!  

The Couch Potato Chronicles: A Primer of 20 Classic Sci-Fi TV Shows

Here you go, kids, so have at it over the 3-day weekend!  There is, of course, lots of room for argument.  

(For instance? The writer didn't like "Firefly"'s episode "Shindig," which I absolutely adore.  And "Supernatural" isn't on the list at all ... though I'll be the first to admit it's (a) more a guilty pleasure than a classic, and (b) La Parisienne and the Kamikaze Editor and I all thought the most recent season was mostly a crashing bore.  Still, I've got a bone to pick with the list if it's going to include "Torchwood"-- and recommend the deplorable "Children of Earth" story! -- and not "Supernatural" which, at its best, gave us snappily witty, tongue-in-cheek, meta-theatrical episodes like "Hollywood Babylon," "Monster Movie," and "Changing Channels."  Also, how can "Farscape" not be on this list?!)  

I pretty much love almost all the 20 shows on the list, but if I had to choose 5 listed shows that you MUST watch, I pick the following in alphabetical order:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• the new Doctor Who (i.e., Nine, Ten, and now Eleven)
• Firefly
• The Prisoner
• Star Trek 

You still must watch "Farscape," though.  Oh, and I heartily recommend the BBC "Life On Mars" also, though it's arguably not quite as obviously sci-fi as some of the other shows on the list.  But if the list can include "Lost," then I don't see why it can't include a crime drama that plays with the idea of reality, time, and consciousness.  The new "V" is fun too, and "Journeyman" is a "Firefly"-esque sad tale of what might have been if it had lasted longer.   "Kings" is a hard-to-classify bit of actual creativity.  On the animated side, you can't beat "Futurama" with a stick.