Guardians of the Galaxy

2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by James Gunn.

Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, and Vin Diesel.

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner, and Paul Corbould), and Best Makeup (Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White).

What is it about?

Guardians of the Galaxy is the tale of an orphan space pirate, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) who is seeking to obtain a powerful infinity stone orb that will earn him a great deal of money. The stone is simultaneously pursued by a super powered fanatic cult leader named Ronan (played by Lee Pace), who isn’t unafraid to betray his galactic master, Thanos (Josh Brolin). Also hot on Quill’s tail is his surrogate father, pirate Yondu (Michael Rooker)- which leads to complications. While trying to get paid for the stone, Quill runs into a group of misfits that include a tattooed muscular maniac, Drax (Dave Bautista), a cybernetic talking raccoon, Rockert (Bradley Cooper), an elastic walking trisyllabic tree, Groot (Vin Diesel), and the green skinned estranged daughter of Thanos, Gamora (Zoe Saldana). The unlikely group end up teaming up, for reasons that evolve into more altruistic ones. Will this random assemblage of oddball personalities be able to keep the stone out of the wrong hands and guard the universe?

Why is it worth seeing?

Guardians of the Galaxy is the 4^th film of Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Marvel’s epic comic book franchise extravaganza that for better or worse has dominated the box office. While Marvel made a mint (or 10) off its better known characters (and subsequent team ups), Guardians’ biggest strength is its complete underdog status- and surprise elation. Using a cast of characters from Marvel’s C list, zippy humour, swashbuckling adventure, and one of the best soundtracks since Forrest Gump or The Big Chill, it's dangerously re-watchable.

We begin the movie exploring the virtues of the Walkman- that piece of iconic technology that specialized in helping to wear tapes out and eat the tapes themselves. Notwithstanding the technical issues, the music choices translate to the film, and the synergy is effective, with it difficult to separate the film and the music from each other, something Martin Scorcese knows a little about.

Little known star Chris Pratt was in some television work previously- but GOTG is his coming out party to becoming an A-lister. His ability to be irreverent and heartfelt in equal measure, combined with some serious time in the gym, shows why. But his mojo is matched by Bradley Cooper’s voice work, and in particular Bautista’s rage filled and verbally conflicted Drax. Their efforts, along with Saldana’s green athleticism and Groot’s plant based can of kick ass, make for some great chemistry.

It’s a bummer Pace’s Ronan can’t provide a compelling foil to their efforts, once again proving Marvel at times shoots itself in the super foot with a lack of compelling villains. Of course, Ronan merely works for the allegedly superior Thanos, and only time will tell if he is a force to be reckoned with as the Marvel machine marches on…

GotG’s other strength is its pace. Along with references to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, we leap from exotic place to exotic place, in a breathless race to obtain a Macguffin and meet oddball characters, before the threat of doom to a planet. The swashbuckling takes us places far beyond the irreverent The Right Stuff/Armageddon references.

With a potent mix of oddball characters, well chosen music in the right moments, comic irreverence, and zippy pacing, this is one underdog group of guardians that is worth checking out.

Rating:

4/5

Trailer: Click Here.

Captain America: The First Avenger

2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, directed by Joe Johnston.

Starring Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Stanley Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Richard Armitage, and Samuel Jackson.

What is it about?

Set during WWII, a small branch of the Nazi’s (called Hydra), are lead by the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). They specialize in technology, and could dominate the world with their Tessaract energy cube. In response, the U.S. military (Tommy Lee Jones and Hayley Atwell), with the aid of an inventor named Howard Stark (Dominc Cooper), work towards creating a super soldier to win the war. Low on the list of applicants but high in character, is pint sized New Yorker Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). Like his best friend, Bucky (Sebastian Stan), Rogers dreams of going to war to fight for his country, but is turned down because of his health defects and lack of physical stature. With some advocacy by a scientist (Stanley Tucci), Rogers auditions and is successful at being experimented on. Possessing super powers, he fights for the U.S. to end fascism at the hands of Hydra, and remove them of possession of the Tesseract cube. Will Rogers be successful?

Why is it worth seeing?

Captain America: The First Avenger is the fifth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)’s Phase 1 stage of Marvel’s grand experiment. This is the origin story of the Captain America character, as played by a well cast Chris Evans. Director Joe Johnston does a commendable job of mixing nostalgia for the era during the last world war of the 20^th century with fleet footed comic book action that can be deadly serious- but never takes itself too seriously.

One of the treats of origin stories is watching the little hints of self actualization. We see it in an alley fight, when the tiny Rogers is getting beat up. He reflexively reaches for a garbage can lid to use as a shield, but is ineffective. As the movie progresses, we see him wielding a shield made out of the practically indestructible metal, vibranium, with purpose. Cap has to learn how to walk before he can run (and Marvel needs to never use a Wilhelm Scream ever again).

There’s no great superhero movie without a great villain. Here, Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull isn’t great, but he’s close. Full of negs that barely sound like the psychological warfare they’re intended to be, and unafraid to disintegrate people, we don’t know where he comes from other than madness and a lust for power. His raw energy and intensity (but not accent) make him an ideal Jungian figure of lustful greed, and an identifiable villain. Contrasting that, is Evan’s portrayal of the almost goofily patriotic Captain. It’s a character who belongs in that generation- and not necessarily this one.

Evan’s athletic physicality and Johnston’s direction make for well choreographed actions scenes, and the 2 of them are underrated at such. Yet, amongst all the punching, kicking, bullets, bombs, and disintegrating lasers (that sound lazily like Iron Man’s lasers), there’s an element of campy fun here that reinforces: it’s just a comic book movie, and war isn’t hell- it’s fun.

With only 1 more movie remaining in Phase 1 of the MCU, Captain America: The First Avenger is a good way to finish off introducing the core elements of the Avengers. While not possessing the flashy narcissism of Tony Stark in Iron Man, the rage issues of The Incredible Hulk, or the lightning hammer of Thor, Cap is a leader who inspires devotion and would be fascinating to watch if he had to grapple with present day realities versus the era he grew up in. But that comes later.

Rating:

3.5/5

Trailer: Click Here.

Thor

2011’s Thor, directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Jaimie Alexander, Josh Dallas, Tadanobu Asano, Ray Stevenson, Stellan Skarsgard, Tom Hiddleston, and Colm Feore.

What is it about?

Thor is about a (Norse-ish) demi god of thunder (Chris Hemsworth) who is the prince of the planet Asgard, lead by their King Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and Queen Frigga (Rene Russo). Arrogant and entitled, Thor, his brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and their friends, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three  (Jaimie Alexander, Josh Dallas, Tadanobu Asano, and Ray Stevenson) foolishly attack their rivals, the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. On the brink of defeat, Odin intervenes and whisks the group back to safety. Disappointed, he strips Thor of his mighty hammer, Mjolnir, as well as his powers, and sends Thor to earth as punishment. Thor meets up with scientists (Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, and Stellan Skarsgard), and while he is gone adjusting to earth’s strangeness, his brother Loki attempts to usurp the throne. Will Thor be able to regain his honour and return to his home planet and loyal followers before Loki’s treachery does him in?

Why is it worth seeing?

Thor is the fourth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)’s Phase 1 stage of Marvel’s grand experiment. Similar to Iron Man, Thor features some deft casting in the discovery of Chris Hemsworth to play the Norse inspired demi god, and it is hard to imagine somebody else playing the future Avenger. And the Thor origin story is the most influential in the events leading up to the eventual Avengers movie.

Director Kenneth Branagh brings some very pretty cosmological set backgrounds, as the characters travel inter dimensionally from one place to the next. He contrasts that nicely with lovely creatures such as Hemsworth, Hiddleston, and Portman- who are always easy on the eyes.

Less easy is the business of creating worlds believing in. Asgaard, as well as Jotunheim, exist in a green screen world that is centred dead smack in the centre of Uncanny Valley. More organic, but similarly geographically nihilistic, is the portrayal of the town, Puente Antiguo, in New Mexico. It’s difficult to not be reminded of a low budget Western, where there’s one downtown street built out of particle board.

Along with a lack of terra firma worth resting on, is the other issue of middling battles and fight scenes. As a formidable but forgettable generic body-less knight blasts intense beams of energy out of its (not) face, did anybody witness James Marsden on the sidelines making a grievance for character defamation?

At times heavy on visuals, but lightweight on making an impact, Thor has much to bellow and hammer, but little to say or do. It’s biggest impression is how much of an impact its seeds will make in the future.

Rating:

3/5

Trailer: Click Here.

Iron Man 2

2010’s Iron Man 2, directed by Jon Favreau.

Starring Robert Downey Jr, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johanssen, Garry Shandling, John Slattery, Clark Gregg, and Samuel L. Jackson. 

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright, and Daniel Sudick).

What is it about?

Iron Man 2 returns Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) as the man in the metal suit. After announcing to the world his secret identity at the end of the first film, we see him promoting himself and his company’s goals (but mostly himself). Taken to court by an American senator (Garry Shandling) to share the secrets of his technology, Stark also has to deal with a Russian inventor (Mickey Rourke) who becomes the villain Whiplash, with Iron Man-like technology. Financed by a huckster of the arms/defence industry (Sam Rockwell), Whiplash aims to get revenge on Stark. With Stark hampered by an illness that will kill him if untreated, will he be able to survive sickness, Whiplash’s sting, and his own ego?

Why is it worth seeing?

Iron Man 2 is a must see for anyone who enjoyed the first film. Favreau returns behind the camera, and injects more flighty sarcasm, guitar hinged montages of machines being built and tightened, and dudes in metal suits fighting. With the origin story out of the way, part 2 is about expanding on the Marvel Cinematic Universe by introducing the spy agency, S.H.I.E.L.D. (nobody cares about the acronym’s meaning), and its agents.

Unfortunately, Justin Theroux’s script is unwieldy- as it goes in too many directions and has to pack in a few too many characters and fight scenes. While Mickey Rourke is a fine actor (although apparently not asgood as Sean Penn), his destructive Russian character’s arc has to contend with Sam Rockwell’s similarly antagonistic snake oil businessman, as well as the introduction of kick ass supporting characters (Don Cheadle capably replaces Terrence Howard and finds some weapons of his own, while Scarlett Johanssen has an stunning debut as an espionage agent who can both placate Tony and carve up her opponents in pseudo BSDM wear). That, and drones who make excellent Storm Trooper fill ins.

All of that’s before we get to the true villain of part 2- Tony’s ego. It’s amazing how much Tony’s arc follows the macro themes of the movie’s development itself. A guy who used to be great starts to buckle under expectations, and struggles with balancing all of its dynamics- and needs to learn how to focus on the simpler things. Not that part 2 can’t be faulted for trying, its just that it doesn’t have the great villain, focus, and simplicity that part 1 did. But Marvel was more interested in the action scenes, and the end game, as it starts to introduce multiple characters and franchises into an experiment never before done in film history. That kind of ambition can weigh as heavily as Thor’s Hammer.

Rating:

3/5

Trailer: Click Here.

The Incredible Hulk

2008’s The Incredible Hulk, directed by Louis Leterrier.

Starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell, Christina Cabot, and Lou Ferrigno.

What is it about?

The Incredible Hulk is about a scientist (Edward Norton) who is exposed to gamma ray radiation. As a result, whenever his heart rate gets to an accelerated rate, he temporarily mutates into a monstrous creature consumed by rage. Norton lives on the run, as a military general (William Hurt) and his right hand man (Tim Roth) pursue him in order to figure out how to weaponize super soldiers with the Hulk’s powers. While being pursued, Norton runs into an old flame (Liv Tyler), who would like to get back together with Norton, if only her father (the General himself) would approve. Will Norton be able to find a cure for his black out rages before somebody else steals his powers?

Why is it worth seeing?

The Incredible Hulk came out the same year as Iron Man, as part of the Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)’s grand experiment. While Iron Man is a bold declaration setting the table for the juggernaut that would become Disney’s Marvel movie machine, Incredible Hulk is just as notable for how underwhelming it is. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s surprising the Hulk character would ever be seen again, given the efforts here combined with the already mixed response to Ang Lee’s 2003 version, Hulk. 

Zack Penn’s screenplay gives its characters very little to say. Norton spends his time running, the Hulk smashes, William Hurt’s general constantly shouts ineffective orders, Tim Roth does psycho, and Liv Tyler whimpers behind scientific business cards. As a result, we see a movie’s perspective that spins around like an out of control helicopter, unable to find a focus.

In the middle of that blur, is a CGI mess. I hate to pick on movies for their effects (Robocop arms anyone?), but the Hulk is impossible to relate to because he reminds me so much of The Mummy Returns. It’s quite the empathy test trying to feel compassion for a character that looks like he came from a video game cut scene.

Director Louis Leterrier’s at times clumsy efforts feel very much like a TV movie, and despite a lot of howling and smashing, the noun that best describes The Incredible Hulk is inertness. So that’s how the Hulk feels- if you watched this, you’d want to smash everything in sight too.

Rating:

2/5

Trailer: Click Here.

Iron Man

2008’s Iron Man, directed by Jon Favereau.

Starring Robert Downey Jr, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Clark Gregg, Shaun Toub, Paul Bettany, Faran Tahir, and Jon Favreau. 

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing (Frank E. Eulner and Christopher Boyes) and Best Visual Effects (John Nelson, Ben Snow, Daniel Sudick, and Shane Mahan).

What is it about?

Iron Man is about a wealthy arms dealer/defence contractor playboy, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr, superbly cast), who while in Afghanistan encounters terrorists and is injured by his own weaponry.  After going into cardiac arrest, Stark is kept alive via a makeshift fancy electronic battery. Tony is then able to stitch together a crude metal suit to combat and escape his terrorist kidnappers. Returning to America, Tony vows to stop manufacturing arms, and to create a rocket propelled armoured suit to fight ill intentioned groups. While he has the help of Air Force General Rhodes (Terrence Howard), and his loyal and capable assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Stark’s coworker Stane (Jeff Bridges) has different opinions on the direction he wants the defence company to take. Will Stark be able to embrace responsibility, to create peace instead of destroying it?

Why is it worth seeing?

Although it wasn’t planned at the time, Iron Man is the beginning of a mega machine that would become the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). While Disney did not purchase Marvel until the following year, this is the first film (along with the same year’s The Incredible Hulk), for the Phase 1 project of Marvel. It’s a rollicking start to the MCU that would create the most successful franchise in film history.

The hiring of the previously addled with addiction and failure of potential Downey Jr. is the most successful casting coup since Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine character in 2000’s X-Men. Like most successful film roles, it’s simply impossible to imagine anybody else playing the character of Tony Stark. Downey Jr’s instincts for being cleverly motor mouthed but also madly vain serve him well as the brilliant inventor who is as good at manipulating people as he is at creating machines and circuits.

With Dark Knight being released the same year, Iron Man is wise to follow suit and let the antagonist serve as a foil to the protagonist. Nowadays, with superhero movies coming out every 8 months, one of the important elements that seems to separate the great films from the commendable (and terrible) is a potent villain. Bridges, as the smooth talking and less philanthropic yin to Tony’s yang, is no Joker (who is?), but he’s delightfully underhanded in his methods, before he gets awfully results focused.

Filled with guitar crunched montages of machines being built, sarcastic barbs, and self actualization of our hero’s journey, Iron Man is a welcome to a world that proved you could be (somewhat) faithful to the spirit of comic books while attracting a mass audience. Director John Favreau keeps things zipping along, and ends on the perfect note. The multitudes of comic movies that would invade cineplexes over the next decade-plus should take note.

 

Rating:

4/5

Trailer: Click Here.

All the Money in the World

2017’s All the Money in the World, directed by Ridley Scott.

Starring Michelle Williams, Mark Wahlberg, Charlie Plummer, Christopher Plummer, Romain Duris, and Timothy Hutton.

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Kevin Spacey Christopher Plummer).

What is it about?

Based in mid 1970’s Italy, a naive young teenager (Charlie Plummer) is kidnapped. The teen is not just any teen, but the grandson of the world’s richest man, J. Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer). The kidnapper’s ransom? A cool 17 million- from the account of Getty’s. With the teen’s mother (Michelle Williams) cash poor but heavily motivated, and the oil magnate cash rich but motivationally destitute, fixer Mark Wahlberg is dispatched to both deal with the kidnappers and assuage Williams. Will the son be returned to his mother intact, or will Getty’s fortune remain untouched at the cost of a grandson?

Why is it worth seeing?

With a fair bit of political circumstances surrounding the film, it can be difficult to focus on the film itself. With the stakes high in terms of Charlie Plummer’s character being dangled for cash, ATMITW ‘s greatest attribute is taking the ticking clock tension of a desperate mother clawing to get her son back from kidnappers, and adds the dynamic of the kidnappers knowing that the money needs to come from her estranged ex-father in law, Getty.

Salary discrepancies aside, I was a little concerned about Wahlberg’s casting, given his propensity for talking to toasters and talking in general. Here, I was pleasantly surprised, and his understated but potent presence grounds the movie after an anxious opening third with a dizzying amount of flashbacks and out of place narration. Also good, is Romain Duris’ as a captor, who doesn’t mind doing some ugly negotiating- but also wants his mark to live and suffer as little as possible.

Conversely, possessing the warmth of an ATM, Plummer (Kevin Spacey’s replacement) is adequate as the oil titan who agreed to donate a portion of his grandson’s kidnapping ransom as long as it was tax deductible (amongst other conditions). That and other Return On Investment kind of ethos can make for a sometimes grim film. It’s entirely possible the reshooting the film went through might explain the jumbled opening third. But for gore hounds, there’s even a sequence that could be mistaken for something out of Scott’s other film he made this year, Alien: Covenant. Just to be clear it’s not, the script does say the title of the film a few times.

Rating:

3/5

Trailer: Click Here.

Donnie Darko

2001’s Donnie Darko, written and directed by Richard Kelly.

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Mary McDonnell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daveigh Chase, Jena Malone, Noah Wyle, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Katharine Ross, and James Duval.

What is it about?

Donnie Darko is a tale of a teenage boy (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), growing up in suburban Virginia during the late 1980’s. From the beginning, we know Donnie is suffering from some kind of mental illness- he takes medication, has a therapist, and keeps waking up in random places with no explanation. But things escalate- and Donnie begins seeing an oversized bunny rabbit that convinces him to perform acts of criminality that speak to a sinister purpose. Despite a loving family (Holmes Osborne, Mary McDonnell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Daveigh Chase) and dedicated teachers (Noah Wyle and Drew Barrymore), Donnie’s world threatens to spin further and further out of control- and time. Will he be able to separate reality from fantasy without becoming unwell?

Why is it worth seeing?

Anybody who claims they know what Donnie Darko is about is a liar. It’s a film that celebrates tone, atmosphere, mystery, parallel universes, time travel, and Tears for Fears in equal measure. Is it a coming of age story, a Lynchian satire on suburban values, a love story, a time travel paradox, an 80’s homage, a horror film, or all of the above? It’s a striking film that is as open to interpretation as it is popular with the midnight screening crowd.

A Rorshach in film format, director Richard Kelly’s debut feature swings for the fences, and has developed quite the cult following. Kelly honours his own coming of age years in setting the film during the late 80’s, and peppers the white picket fence setting with talk of political ideologies contrasting from within the family home. From that suburban milieu, he depicts the status quo through Parent Teacher Associations who want to ban books, preppy dance groups, and phony self help guru’s who speak of fear and love- and juxtaposes it with an angry teenager who (possibly) hallucinates a human sized bunny who shares psychic and inter dimensional discovery.

Kelly’s audacious and ambitious script favours mood and mystery over character clarity and development, and like more seminal science fiction, has ideas that feature more prominently than the characters themselves. Saturated in dream logic, we have a unreliable protagonist in the teenage Gyllenhaal, who is unhappy with society- but also scared of what the future/past may hold. Is it his doom? Salvation? Will he make a sacrifice to save those he loves, or did he have a choice in the first place?

A film that could likely make as much sense if it started at the end or middle, Donnie Darko demands multiple viewings for its Escher inspired corkscrew loops, and has garnered as much interpretation about what it’s about as it has lovers of its oddball curlicue logic. Filled with masterful communication in a film suffused with mystery, if only we could all have a Frank to explain it to us.

Rating:

4/5

Trailer: Click Here.

House Bunny

2008’s House Bunny, directed by Fred Wolf.

Starring Anna Faris, Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Rumer Willis, Dana Goodman, Katharine McPhee, Kimberly Makkouk, Sarah Wright, Rachel Specter, Colin Hanks, Beverly D’Angelo, Christopher McDonald, and Hugh Hefner.

What is it about?

Playboy mansion bunny (Anna Faris) lives a life of luxury and magazine glory until one day she is evicted from the mansion. With no marketable skills or purpose, the 27 year old needs to find a place to live. Despite not being a student or alumni, she joins a struggling sorority house at a university as a house mom, in exchange for teaching their house mates how to be sexy so they can raise money to save their sorority. With rival house members (Sarah Wright and Rachel Specter) wanting to shut their sorority down, will Faris and her assorted bag of lovable losers be able to save the day?

Why is it worth seeing?

A shocking amount of talent is assembled here for a juvenile exploration into how middle school students think college (and pornography) works. Anna Faris continues to prove that she’s the smartest person with the dumbest career choices working in Hollywood, as the Playboy bunny with a heart of gold and brain of vapidity. She does her best to carry a DOA vehicle that plays like a poor man’s dumpster fire variation on a National Lampoon-like archetype.

Filled to the mediocre brim with cleavage and trite teeny bop drama, House Bunny’s biggest leap of faith may be the idea that Hugh Hefner in his last decade was lucid enough to remember the names of his harem of centrefold roommates a third his age. Not that the romance between Faris and Colin Hanks (playing a manager of a senior’s home fresh out of high school), the obvious zero to hero sorority makeover montage, and the Scent of Women impassioned speech to a room full of officials climax doesn’t make you roll your eyes.

Despite the fact it has a few chortles, it’s fascinating to watch stars and future Oscar winners (Stone) slum here, and it just may have killed some other careers (yet another Bruce Willis/Demi Moore child!). It makes sense- as the bumper sticker on Faris’ car reads, “Mean People are Mean”.

Rating:

2/5

Trailer: Click Here.