Posted on

Avengers: Endgame

EGDirectors: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Screenwriters: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Brie Larson, Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, and Josh Brolin

What is left to say about Avengers: Endgame that has not already been said? The film is already speedily on its way to overtake Avatar as the highest grossing film of all time, and it shows no evidence of slowing down as the summer movie season starts to heat up!

Still of the 21 Marvel Cinematic Universe films that lead up to Endgame, I reviewed 11 of them, and cinematic saturation aside, I will make it an even dozen with this one!

Avengers: Endgame is the sweet story of a young artist looking for love in Northern France. Of course it’s not; it’s the story of a superhuman, a guy in a metal suit, a persuasive lady, a Norse god, a bow and arrow guy, and a monster –  seeking revenge on a purple megalomaniac for obliterating half of the galaxy’s population. As preposterous as it sounds in those terms, this film delivers. The plot is quite simplistic, although it can be argued that it is not as simplistic as it could have been. The spoiler ban has lifted, so I am not speaking out of turn when I say that the heroes you saw “dusted” in Infinity War are perhaps not gone forever. The mechanics that screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely implement to get them back are gleefully “bananas,” making for a tremendously entertaining and nostalgic second act that is as perfect as any segment of a film the Marvel Cinematic Universe has given us.

The film picks up post-snap, and instantly defies expectations. I’ll leave it at that. The first act unfolds as a psychological drama examining how life goes on Leftovers-style after half of the people on Earth just suddenly disappeared. The answer: grief, guilt, desperation, and pessimism. The evolution of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is particularly noteworthy. This nuanced approach to the film’s opening act is a welcomed and fascinating change of stride from what we’ve come to expect from these films. It grounds the actions, consequences, and motivations in a way that feels earned and appropriate rather than just getting on with the action. The first scene of this film is damn near heartbreaking!

This is not to say the film is flawless. The introduction of Captain Marvel last March provided the MCU with a captivating new hero; however she is also somewhat problematic in terms of her involvement within Endgame. She allows for the laziest plot resolutions punching as many holes in the narrative as she does in the ships of Thanos’s army. On the other hand, this movie attempts to utilize time-travel, which opens it up to so much convolution, it’s best to just go along for the ride anyway.

You should also be warned, this was not marketed as a “part 2” to Infinity War, and in many ways it is not; however, it very much is a part 22 to the MCU, and if you are not up on these films, your enjoyment of this film will be impacted immensely. That being said, thank you Endgame for giving me even more evidence to use in conversations about why Iron Man 3 is the best Iron Man movie and a top five MCU film!

All of that being said, this movie is actually epic, and I use that term without hyperbole. The Russo brothers have assembled a true love letter that spans the entire run of the most successful film franchise in history. A strength of all four Avengers films is that even with such bloated cast of characters, every one of them gets a moment to shine. The heart, the humor, the excitement, and the impact of events is as strong as in any of the MCU films, and for my money this is the best Avengers film of the four with the caveat that it does not stand alone and without the tremendous setup of the previous films, this one would not work.

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe complete at least in the form that it has existed these past 10 years, it will be interesting to see what the future brings. Many questions left unanswered in this film will likely supply plot direction for future films involving these characters, but how they will evolve and progress as a franchise is unclear. All I can say is that this is a fitting end to a joyous cinematic ride. A-

The Avengers: Endgame is rated PG-13 and has a running time of 3 hours and 2 minutes. There is no post-credits sequence, but there is a post-credits sound that is explained here if you are not interested in hanging around.

My Official MCU 22-film Ranking from Best to Worst:

  1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – A
  2. Thor: Ragnarok – A
  3. Iron Man 3 – A
  4. Avengers: Endgame – A-
  5. Avengers: Infinity War – A-
  6. Marvel’s The Avengers – A-
  7. Captain America: Civil War – A-
  8. Iron Man – A-
  9. Black Panther – A-
  10. Avengers: Age of Ultron – A-
  11. Captain Marvel – A-
  12. Captain America: The First Avenger – B+
  13. Thor – B+
  14. Spider-Man: Homecoming – B+
  15. Ant-Man – B+
  16. Ant Man and the Wasp
  17. Iron Man 2 – B
  18. The Incredible Hulk – B
  19. Thor: The Dark World – B
  20. Guardians of the Galaxy – B-
  21. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – C+
  22. Doctor Strange – C+
Posted on

Avengers: Infinity War

AIWDirectors: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Screenwriters: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Cast: Not Ant Man, not Hawkeye…everybody else is in there somewhere, and Josh Brolin

Is it the biggest movie ever? As of “press time,” the box office for Avengers: Infinity War is about to cross the $1 B mark, making it potentially the fastest movie to $1 B ever. But the real question is, is it the best Marvel movie ever? The short answer is no, but it’s in the top 5!

Avengers: Infinity War is the mega-anticipated culmination of 10 years of Marvel Studio films. It was originally billed as simply a part 1 of a 2 part third installment to the Avengers franchise; however last summer, Marvel backed away from that idea, simply naming this film Avengers: Infinity War. A wise move, as Infinity War is a complete film, and while we know an untitled fourth Avengers film will be released next May, calling this a “part 1,” would do nothing but add a stigma to what it accomplishes independently in the genre.

“Infinity War” refers to a conflict that has been brewing since the first Avengers film opened back in 2012. Essentially, when the universe was created, 6 powerful gems were scattered throughout the universe, and if one were to possess all six, that he or she would essentially be an all knowing overlord to the entire universe. Each of the stones has been referenced one way or another in various Marvel films, and the being who seeks to obtain them all has also had his story woven throughout these films (mostly in post credit sequences). His name is Thanos (Josh Brolin), and when Avengers: Infinity War opens, he has acquired a magic gauntlet that has been forged precisely to be adorned by all six stones. So, why does he want them? Assuming that Thanos’s reputation does not precede him, he believes that there has to be balance between life and death and currently “life” is in excess, so in order bring balance into to universe he plans to essentially kill half of the universe. Now for such a huge task Thanos needs god like power, and the one who holds the infinity gauntlet with 6 gems embedded in it will have god like powers. Hence he needs all the 6 infinity stones.

This sounds like a job for the Avengers, and it would be except, if you remember last time we saw them, they were not getting along so great. The “Civil War” has effectively disbanded the Avengers, and while they are all doing their best to protect Earth from interplanetary attacks, no one was expecting one of this magnitude to happen anytime soon. Thanos is coming, and has band of cronies are searching the universe high and low for each infinity stone, two of which happen to be currently located on Earth.

That’s the conflict in a nutshell, but the film is epically bigger than this simple explanation leads you to believe. Like all of Marvel’s best films, Infinity War is a careful mix of action, adventure, humor, and style. Wisely, producer Kevin Feige tapped the director duo responsible for the best Marvel film ever, Captain America: The Winter Soldier to direct Avengers: Infinity War. Anthony and Joe Russo also directed the excellent Captain America: Civil War, so they were more than ready to tackle a true Avengers film. Now the news on this film was all over the place from, “there are too many characters,” to, “they’re all going to die,” to “this is all a ploy to get our money,” and the reality is that, none of this is true. Remember back in 2012 when Marvel’s Avengers came out, and everyone was saying, “how in the world will they balance a film with all six Avengers in it?” Look how that turned out. Now here we are six years later, 13 films further, and predictably with twice as many main characters, but no damage is done. In fact, I wager Avengers: Infinity War is the best of the three Avengers films, just barely edging out the original. The immenseness of the stakes in this film are only rivaled by the vastness of its scope. Everything you loved about The Avengers is here in this third film along with the vast epic nature of a Star Wars film. The Russos and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely flawlessly balance the top-heavy cast by somehow giving us more than we expected of our favorite characters and still leaving us wanting more. Furthermore, with a running time of 2 hours and 29 minutes, this film lines right up with the running times of each of the previous Avengers films. Additionally, in a film about hidden gems, Avengers: Infinity War is full of hidden little Easter Eggs for the film franchise lover, the comic book reader, and even the Arrested Development watcher that give the film a heavily re-watchable appeal.

Still the fact that I just wrote a movie review without mentioning any of the central characters specifically, save for Thanos, shows you that this is no kind of character study. And while a film with this much going on can not match up to the strength of the more genre-bending, cinematic, and inspired entries in the franchise, Infinity War does offer some emotional punch that few Marvel films have managed to provide, allowing it to just barely outshine its predecessors. Yet another feather in the MCU cap, and another crowd-pleasing and laudable summer blockbuster. A-

Avengers: Infinity War is rated PG-13 with a running time of 2 hours and 29 minutes. Stay until the end for one post-credits sequence that sets up at least 2 upcoming 2019 MCU films.

The Rundown – An Updated List of the People’s Critic’s Rankings of the MCU Films

Captain America: The Winter Soldier – A

Thor: Ragnarok – A

Iron Man 3 – A

Avengers: Infinity War – A-

Marvel’s The Avengers – A-

Captain America: Civil War – A-

Iron Man – A-

Black Panther – A-

Avengers: Age of Ultron – A-

Captain America: The First Avenger – B+

Thor – B+

Spider-Man: Homecoming – B+

Ant-Man – B+

Iron Man 2 – B

The Incredible Hulk – B

Thor: The Dark World – B

Guardians of the Galaxy – B-

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – C+

Doctor Strange – C+

Posted on

Captain America: Civil War

CWDirectors: Anthony and Joe Russo

Screenwriters: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely  

Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Sebastian Stan, Chadwick Boseman, Elizabeth Olson, Paul Bettany, Paul Rudd, and Daniel Brühl

What’s left to say about a movie that within 2 weeks has amassed a $940 million global box office and taken the Marvel Cinematic Universe above the $10 billion mark?  Generally, my goal in writing these reviews is to recommend worthy films for my audience in the hopes of aiding the decision on what to see.  Whenever one of these massively popular films is released, it seems silly to review it.  I mean people that want to see Captain America: Civil War will see it regardless of what any number of critics say.  So then, why write about it?  What’s my motivation? In this case, I think the story is less the film and more to discuss its place in the company of the 12 other films that have been released in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).  Of course, I still find it useful to identify the good and the bad about the film and offer a summative recommendation, but given that most of my readers have probably already seen this film if they are going to, I want to offer something a little extra as well.

So, what are the “12 other films” that accompany Captain America: Civil War? It’s important to make that distinction.  For the purposes of this article, The X-Men films, Spider-Man films, Fantastic Four Films, and Deadpool will not be considered.  The 13 films pertinent to this discussion are those planned out by Marvel studios starting with 2008’s Iron Man and include the following: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel’s The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, and Captain America: Civil War.

So now that we’ve identified the players, I will take a moment to review the latest film in the franchise and discuss its place in the field.

Captain America: Civil War is less a Captain America film and more a third Avengers film.  All of the key players are present in this film except Thor and the Hulk, and the events of the film are an immediate continuation from the action of Avengers: Age of Ultron. The principle conflict revolves around a global agenda to put the Avengers under United Nations supervision. Tolerance for the devastation and civilian casualties that have resulted from Avenger-related battles has been exhausted, and at least one Avenger, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) agrees with the idea of putting the Avengers in check.  Stark’s persuasive and personal reasons cause a stir in the once unified Avenger team, but his words fall on deaf ears when it comes to Captain “America” Steve Rogers (Chris Evans).  Rogers believes that any supervision of the Avengers will only result in corruption and ineffectiveness.  Suddenly an ideological divide is struck that threatens to tear the Avengers apart from within.

The film does a pretty good job of introducing the conflict and representing both sides, although the reasoning for why one Avenger takes this side versus that side is ultimately rather arbitrary.  What is certain is that a line has been drawn (actually quite literally in one scene) and our heroes must navigate some rocky moral terrain.  While the main “villain” of this film is philosophical in nature, there is a human antagonist  named Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl) an ex Sakovian Colonel with some dark secrets and control of the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).

This film is less distinctive from the rest of the pack than its predecessor, Captain America: Winter Soldier.  The thrilling political conspiracy that threaded through the Winter Soldier is replaced by a more standard “Comic Booky” genre story.  Subsequently, the action is a bit shakier this time around, regardless of the fact that Winter Soldier directors Anthony and Joe Russo helmed this film as well.  Nevertheless, the Russo brothers do direct the hell out of this film showing their range with expertly crafted chase sequences as well as some heavy emotional material.

Another plus is that like Winter Soldier, the story remains mostly rooted in reality, and Captain America’s motives continue to be protecting his homeland at all costs.  Additionally, Civil War boasts three outstanding achievements that no Marvel film before it has managed thus far.  First, it introduces two of the best new characters (Black Panther and Spider-Man, both slated to receive upcoming stand-alone films) and does it with panache!  I’ll leave the details about these new characters out so not to spoil anything for the rare reader who has yet to see this film, but both are quite satisfying and Spider-Man especially receives a worthy reboot after some questionable recent attempts by Sony Pictures. Second, the “Civil War” battle is a remarkable scene. This scene replaces the “Battle of New York” from Marvel’s Avengers as the Infinity Stone in the Marvel crown. DC executives responsible for Batman v. Superman should take notes on how Marvel succeeds at fighting internal conflict with external conflict! Third, Captain America: Civil War manages to give all of its cast members room to breathe and make a memorable and worthwhile contribution.  No character is squandered, and as I alluded to earlier, this film explores some emotional depth but uses just the right amount of levity and humor to maintain an even tone.  Captain America: Civil War advances Marvel’s epic storyline yet another step forward and the Russo Brothers prove to be worthy of inheriting the Avengers mantle from Joss Whedon for the upcoming Infinity War films. A-

Captain America: Civil War is rated PG-13 and has a running time of 2 hours and 27 minutes.  As usual, stick around through the credits for two additional scenes….

…and now in keeping with the Marvel cinematic tradition, I have a “post-credits” stinger for you!

The Top 13 Marvel Cinematic Universe Films According to The People’s Critic:

  1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – A
  2. Iron Man 3 – A
  3. Marvel’s The Avengers – A-
  4. Captain America: Civil War – A-
  5. Iron Man – A-
  6. Avengers: Age of Ultron – A-
  7. Captain America: The First Avenger – B+
  8. Thor – B+
  9. Ant-Man – B+
  10. Iron Man 2 – B
  11. The Incredible Hulk – B
  12. Thor: The Dark World – B
  13. Guardians of the Galaxy – B-

Average score for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (2016) – B+

Feel free to sound off in the comments section about my rankings.  Did I get it right?  Are you a Guardians of the Galaxy fan who wants to give me a piece of your mind?

Posted on

Get on Up

Get on Up“I paid the cost to be the boss.” By the time we hear these words in the new James Brown biopic Get on Up, we know they’re true. Chadwick Boseman (42), who plays James Brown in the film, speaks this revealing lyric directly to the audience in one of the film’s signature fourth-wall breaking scenes. Appropriately, Get on Up is not a traditional musical biopic. Director Tate Taylor (The Help) keeps things interesting by including Boseman’s asides to the audience as well as shaking things up with a fractured and non-linear storyline. These choices along with some excellent music make Get on Up a movie worthy of its subject.

Get on Up opens in 1988 with a disheveled James Brown entering an insurance seminar with a shotgun and telling everyone to leave. Not what you were expecting?  That’s the point.   The film then flashes back to Brown’s childhood and remains mostly in Brown’s past bouncing between his youth, teenage years, and young adulthood. Brown’s childhood is awful. At a young age, his mother (Viola Davis) leaves, and he is forced to live with his abusive and violent father (Lennie James) in a small shack outside Atlanta. When his father joins the army, young James is left with his Aunt Honey (Octavia Spencer), a madam of a brothel in Augusta, Ga. Recipe for disaster? You bet. James is soon arrested for petty theft but with no official home address, his sentence is extended. When a gospel group lead by a young Bobby Byrd (Nelsan Ellis) comes to entertain the inmates, James finds his “soul” mate. With Byrd’s help, he is able to get out of jail and together they form the historic Famous Flames. And so it is in prison of all places where James Brown finds the funk.

What is funk? Well take Get on Up, subtract Clint Eastwood’s tepid Jersey Boys, and what you’re left with is solid gold, toe-tapping funk! And what we have here is a funk filled film. In the theater where I saw this film, two women were dancing in the aisles during one of the scenes. That speaks volumes to the power of James Brown’s music and the way that Tate Taylor utilized it. But an equal amount of credit must go to Boseman for his performance. He expresses the complexity of James Brown with every dramatic scene and he embodies the physicality of Brown in every performance scene. This is a performance on par with Jamie Foxx’s portrayal of Ray Charles in Ray, although Boseman does lip-sync to Brown rather than sing.  Still, you can’t dance-sync and Boseman is electric on his feet!

With a very active career that spans six decades, telling the James Brown story requires some glossing over many facts and events as well as spanning large portions of time. However, what Taylor focuses on in this film is not the rags-to-riches story that one would expect given Brown’s story, but rather that “cost” Brown paid to be the “Boss” he became, and overall he is quite successful. There is some “squeegeeing” of Brown’s image here and a deliberately murky narrative, but the film still resonates with nostalgia and power worthy of Mr. Dynamite. A-

Get on Up is rated PG-13 and has a running time of 2 hours and 18 minutes.

Posted on

42

ImageFilms about sports are as old as the modern screen narrative gets.   It seems most movie fans have a favorite sports movie, even people who hate sports.  The reason for this is that a great sports movie is often not really about the game.  A great sports movie is about life, passion, talent, and determination.  These films strive to inspire, and the great ones usually do.  42 brings the epic story of Jackie Robinson to the big screen, and if you don’t tear up at this one, there’s something wrong with you.

Robinson’s story is fairly well-known, especially to baseball fans.  What may be a slightly lesser-known facet of Robinson’s story is the role Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey plays in it.  Together Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) and Rickey (Harrison Ford) attack the prejudice inherent in post-WW II America by using America’s pastime as a weapon for unity.  This is not unlike the strategic move Nelson Mandela took in terms of using a nation’s love for Rugby as an equalizer in post-apartheid South Africa.  The film opens with Robinson already a star of the Negro League.  He is summoned by Rickey to join the Brooklyn Dodgers’ farm organization with the expectation that he would be brought up to the majors, breaking the color barrier and becoming the first African-American ever to play major league baseball.   Rickey senses that Robinson is the potential game-changer that he needs because he has both the talent for the game as well as the personal strength to withstand the firestorm that his presence in the majors will inevitably cause.   Rickey represents a dogmatic, purist love for something that has seemingly been soiled.  His motivation is fueled by love and respect  in a time when both of these qualities are in short supply (in terms of race relations).

Robinson’s story is treated with great respect in 42.  Director Brian Helgeland does not sugar-coat America’s racist past, but it could be said that he stereotypes it a bit.   Nonetheless, he uses the game of baseball as a way to survey the various racial perspectives shared throughout different regions and classes in mid-20th century America.  This helps 42 rise slightly above a standard bio-pic into something of an American culture expose.  Robinson is not simply pitted against “racism.”  He is doubted by timid hypocrites like Rickey’s associate Harold Parrott (T.R. Knight).  He is hated by southern simple-folk who are frightened by change like Phillie’s manager Ben Chapman (Alan Tudyk).  He is isolated by skeptical teammates who feel under-valued like Dixie Walker (Ryan Merriman).  He is also anxious about what his presence means to other struggling African-Americans like journalist, Wendell Smith (Andre Holland) and idolizing child-fan Ed Charles (Dusan Brown).  Robinson’s wife Rachel (Nicole Beharie) effectively reveals the source of much of Robinson’s strength against many of these different and difficult stresses.

Consequently,42 is one of the best films of a young 2013, and it is certainly an excellent addition to a long line of great sports movies.  It does rely on stereotype and simplification from time to time, and Robinson is also depicted as a virtually flawless individual.  However, these choices are clearly deliberate, and when an audience analyzes the intentions of the film, these choices make sense.  At the end of 42, we are left feeling a strong sense of history as well as the emotional dynamic between the strength of a team and the even greater power of an individual.  A-