Movie Review: 3 Superhero Flicks (2016)

OK, darlings, let's do this in chronological order: Deadpool, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Captain America: Civil War.

                 

Short version for the impatient: 

• Deadpool:  Irreverent, gleefully meta-misbehaving R-rated romp. B+
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: As sleep-inducing as rhino tranquilizers and as vacuously pretentious as college freshmen. D
• Captain America: Civil War:  Imperfect but entertaining anyway!  A-  (Was there a teensy bit of grade inflation due to comparing this face-off with DC's?  You betcha.)

For those of you who want more details, read on!

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!)

Movie Review: "Iron Man 3"

Twist and Shout.

The third installment in the Iron Man standalone movies, Iron Man 3 delivers plenty of what we've come to expect and love from the irreplaceable Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark - throwaway quips, irrepressible sass, and bucketloads of personal charisma.  That's good, because the storyline has some problems, and logic is not its friend, especially in the third act.  Better than 2010's Iron Man 2, but not as good as the original 2008 Iron Man (admittedly, how could it be?), on the strength of its leading man Iron Man 3 still kicks off the much-awaited summer blockbuster popcorn movie season with plenty of color and action.

Screw It, I'm Going To See "Iron Man 3" With My Peeps

See you later, darlings!  How I loooooove Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. 

Movie Madness: "Iron Man 3" Trailer

Enough political pundits.  More Tony Stark, please.

 

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").

DVD Movie Review: "Crazy, Stupid, Love" (2011)

"The lunatic, the lover, and the poet are of imagination all compact." 

~Shakespeare, right on target as usual

I hate, loathe, despise, and abominate romantic comedies.  I couldn't get enough of Crazy, Stupid, Love. Clearly there's something special about this film ... and there is.  In fact, this movie succeeds because of numerous somethings special (and an excellent ensemble cast) that together add up to a surprisingly charming, ultimately sweet look at the many complications of romance.  The course of true love never did run smooth ... but the bumps along the way, with their genially Horatian pokes at human foibles, make for a hilarious two hours' traffic of our stage.

Movie Trailer: "The Avengers"

OK, out of some awesome trailers recently, this is my favorite. May 4 can't get here soon enough:  MM and La Parisienne want to see our beloved Tony Stark on the big screen again.  For now we'll have to settle for watching him be snarky to Loki ... while blithely pouring himself a drink.  (Yes, yes, I know I'm behind on posting cool trailers, but school's been super busy, yadda yadda yadda.)  Here, just look at this, will ya?

 

Movie Review: "Captain America: The First Avenger"

The Star-Spangled Man with a Plan!

In a summer full of comic book hero flicks ranging from the excellent ("X-Men: First Class") to the good ("Thor") to the laughably bad ("Green Lantern"), here's finally a rip-roaring flick with all the colorful comic book fun and adventure that we've all been waiting for.  Marvel's "Captain America" delivers the summer popcorn movie pleasure with panache, unironic good guys-versus-bad guys action, an excellent supporting cast, and a surprisingly charming retro 1940s vibe complete with a splashy song-and-dance number and newsreel homages.  It's Marvel's best comic book superhero movie since 2008's scintillating "Iron Man," and like that predecessor, this movie is, in terms of its hero, almost as much of a delightful revelation, and in terms of some underlying ideas just as ultimately substantive once the rollicking adventure is over.

Nerd Analysis: Prof. Bernard Lewis on Egypt

Professor Lewis needs no introduction, really.  He is a giant in Middle Eastern Studies.  Do see what he has to say about Egypt, the Middle East, and Obama's foreign policy.  (Link via Transterrestrial Musings.)  Here is a teaser:

“At the moment, the general perception, in much of the Middle East, is that the United States is an unreliable friend and a harmless enemy. I think we want to give the exact opposite impression.”

You don't say!  What we actually want is to be is a steadfast friend and a dangerous enemy.  You'd think this would be obvious.  But sadly, no!  I do like one of Transterrestrial Musings' commenters, who quoted my beloved Tony Stark: "Is it better to be feared or respected?  I say, is it too much to ask for both?"

That Mysterious Launching Missile/Plane/Thingy Off California?

Obviously, that was just Tony Stark testing out his latest Iron Man suit.

Movie Review: "Iron Man 2"

Shoot to thrill.

It's not for nothing that Tony Stark's first line in "Iron Man 2" is "It's good to be back!" It's also not for nothing that he literally swoops into his scene in the Iron Man suit, steps out to reveal himself in flawless evening dress, and is surrounded by cheering, adoring crowds and alluring showgirls in mostly-not-there Iron Man-inspired outfits. This summer blockbuster is not about to waste time talking; it's going to leap right into the action. "Iron Man 2," though it has its imperfections, is a colorful splash of humor and action, and as I said in my first impression, it is the most sheer fun I've had at the movie theater so far in 2010.


The Good:

First things first: this is a sequel, so it's going to have the one big issue that all sequels have: being compared with the first film, especially one as captivating as 2008's glorious "Iron Man." The 2010 lacks some of the sparkle (for one thing, it can't ever recapture that first thrill of discovery), but it mostly makes up for it with the sheer on-screen personality of Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr., as energetic and quippy as ever).

This time around, the world knows that Stark is Iron Man, and this branches off into several subplots:
~his grappling with what kind of legacy he might leave behind
~the fact that the arc reactor in his chest is also slowly killing him with palladium poisoning
~his clash with a Senate committee (led by a fabulously slimy Garry Shandling as Senator Stern, the embodiment of everything that we hate about politicians!) wanting to confiscate Iron Man technology
~and the machinations of Stark's personal foes Justin Hammer (the always-watchable Sam Rockwell) and Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke)
~the Avengers thread with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson)

There's plenty of action, though, and it's all rip-roaring fun from an insane car race in Monte Carlo to the final showdown, and it's all done with color and dash and good music (oh, AC/DC) and plenty of humor. (You'll never hear the term "Ex-Wife" again without a giggle.) Also, two words: War Machine!


The Bad (or, really, the Not Quite As Good):

The movie, as you probably guessed from the plot recap earlier, is full of plot threads and characters. It feels crowded, and it is. There's a sense of trying to do too much with too many characters (especially too many new characters), and the flick would have been better if it had been more streamlined.

I really miss Terrence Howard as James Rhodes. His replacement, Don Cheadle, is fine, but I hate unnecessary recasting of the role (it just bothers my sense of continuity), and in this case Cheadle's Rhodey doesn't have the same snappy sparkle as Howard's. With Howard in "Iron Man," you really got the sense that he was Tony's friend -- often exasperated, but always humorous and reliable. Cheadle's Rhodey mostly seemed annoyed without the affection. In the same vein, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) seems to be harsh without the charm of the first movie.


The Verdict:

Go see this movie, and be sure to stay all the way through the credits.

MM gives this movie a grade of A-. (OK, I admit a little grade inflation because of the sheer pleasure of seeing the irrepressible Stark back on the big screen. Still, when La Parisienne asked me, "Did he steal you from the Doctor?" (though I love Tony, and I could watch him all day) I had to say no. But that's not a fair comparison, really. Apples and oranges!)

The Cinema-Mad Sibling also gives his hearty approval, and so does La Parisienne.  See too this nifty little review by Kyle Smith.

"Iron Man 2" runs 124 minutes and is rated PG-13 for action-movie violence and some strong language.

RottenTomatoes gives the movie a "Fresh" rating of 74%.





Oh, all right. The male demographic in my readership has patiently (or, in the Cine-Sib's case, not so much) indulged me in my faux-salacious purring over Tony Stark. So here's a little treat for you, guys.

Movie Review Preview: "Iron Man 2"

I promise I'll post my delayed review of "Iron Man 2" soon! Suffice it to say for now that it is the most fun movie I've seen so far in 2010, and Tony Stark's first line in the film is -- oh so appropriately -- "It's good to be back!"

Oh, Tony. How I've missed you!

As a hint of the review to come, I give you this delightful image from the movie. It captures rather well Stark's sassy yet charismatic insouciance! The shades, the hair, the suit, the doughnuts ... You're a man after my own heart, Tony.

Mmmmm . . . DOUGHNUTS.

Movie Madness: Can't Wait To See "Iron Man 2"!

The FlickFilosopher says what I'm thinking! Here's a nice recap about why we all loved the first "Iron Man" -- it's Robert Downey, Jr.:

Downey was so much the reason that Iron Man worked as well as it did that the film felt like it was just waiting for him to return whenever he wasn’t onscreen ... and that includes the scenes in which Downey disappears into the Iron Man armor. They should have called the movie Tony Stark.

Movie Madness: Obsessing About "Iron Man 2"

May 7 CANNOT GET HERE SOON ENOUGH. Everyone here at Nerdworld, from faculty to grad peons to undergrads, is burnt out and exhausted. It's raining horrible cold rain today too. Will the end of term never come? Maybe not, but at least we all have the imminent return of Tony Stark to look forward to.

So here you go, my darlings, a new photo from the flick. Oh, and I want Pepper's dress. Wouldn't it look just fabulous at my next Nerdmoot?

Movie Madness: "Iron Man 2" in IMAX

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

Now I want credit for mashing up Jane Austen with Tony Stark.

The Cinema-Mad Sibling Recommends: Movie Madness -- The New "Iron Man 2" Official Trailer!

WATCH IT NOW! Do not pass "Go." Do not collect $200. Tony Stark is back!

Link xie-xie to the Cine-Sib, who emailed to me with great excitement this morning. La Parisienne, this is especially for you.

Oh, check out the Pepper Potts kiss (it's not what you might think!), and here's a great quote from the trailer, from Tony to a slimy Congressman wanting to confiscate the Iron Man suit: "You want my property? You can't have it!"

I think I'm in love. Very libertarian love. *hugs the Fourth Amendment since can't hug Tony*

UPDATE: Analyzing the trailer!

Geek Fun: My Little Pony + Iron Man = ?

My Little Pony +Iron Man = PONY STARK, of course!

Via io9, here is something that's even more adorable than the actual Tony Stark. (La Parisienne and Alessandra, this one's for you.)


Pony Stark by ~trillions on deviantART

Movie Madness: Notes on Lunar Industries and Stark Industries

The cat's out of the bag: in an interview with Cinematical, Sam Rockwell says that his character from "Moon" will be back for a cameo in director Duncan Jones' next film. Yay!

Bonus: The interview was primarily about "Iron Man 2." More yay!

In recent movie-going, Sam Bell and Tony Stark have been two of the most fascinating characters (albeit for very different reasons). Anyway, "Iron Man 2" should be completely awesome with the combined talents of Rockwell and Downey (not to mention Don Cheadle), all of whom will be busy stealing scenes from each other. Scarlett who?

Movie Madness: Looking Forward to 2010

From blogfriend Pursuit of Serenity comes this preview of 20 upcoming flicks! I do love movie previews, beginning with the return of Tony Stark. Ridley Scott's Robin might be nice too -- Russell Crowe! -- and of course ever-reliable Pixar is making "Toy Story 3."