Tag: Chris Pratt

Avengers: Infinity War

On By Jason K.In Lists, New Release1 Comment

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+

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

On By Jason K.In New Release4 Comments

gogDirector: James Gunn

Screenwriter: James Gunn

Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Kurt Russell…Sylvester Stallone?

Well I feel both sorry and a little validated to report that on the topic of guardians who are of a said galaxy, I told you so. These films are bloated, overrated, and in the case of the second volume, boring.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, opens with our heroes banding together to protect the galaxy from some massive, disgusting, toothy intergalactic creature. It’s a battle. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) strikes first and is quickly thwarted, Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is next, but her speed is no match. Rocket fires his blaster at will, but his blasts don’t penetrate the creature’s skin. Drax (Dave Bautista) determines, he will attack the creature from within and leaps down its throat. What follows is difficult to decipher. Not because of confusing filmmaking, but because the focus shifts to Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) dancing and narrowly avoiding blasts, shrapnel, and slimy tentacles whilst dancing to ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky.” All of the fighting remains blurry background action. This is a funny, clever scene. This also marks the high-water mark of the film, and it’s downhill from here.

Spoiler alert (not really), the mighty foe is vanquished, and the guardians bask in the glory of victory, accepting possession of Gamora’s sister, Nebula (Karen Killan) as reward from a group of golden skinned beings known as the Sovereign race. That is until Rocket pockets a few valuable batteries from the Sovereigns, causing them to pursue the guardians in an epic space chase culminating in the fortuitous arrival of Quill’s father, Ego (Kurt Russell).

This sets the table for Volume 2 where Quill is forced to face and reconcile the deep-rooted feelings about his father’s seeming abandonment of him and his mother. There is much to discuss about Ego, but it would tread into spoiler territory, so I’ll simply say that Ego’s name is not misplaced.

As I mentioned in the opening of this review, this film does not improve on its already humdrum predecessor.  Like all the worst sequels, the filmmakers looked at what made the first film successful and just poured more of that on, with no regard for congruity. This time the soundtrack is no longer accompanying the film. In the first film, the soundtrack was a device to set a tone for the film. This time, it’s forcefully shoved into our face and ears to the point that the damn songs are actually plot devices. In one scene, Kurt Russell takes the time to give us a Master class on the lyrics of Looking Glass’s “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl).” Also, Gunn and company crowbar the romantic subplot in there in such a haphazard way, I almost thought it was an attempt at being Meta. Quill refers to the romantic tension between Gamora and himself as an “unspoken thing,” so I thought perhaps this self-reference to a “will they or won’t they?” thing might go somewhere interesting. Instead, it simply becomes demonstrative of the same thing that a Meta version would condemn. This is not satire. This is not irony. This is just soap opera scriptwriting.

My only concern before seeing this movie was Baby Groot. I was worried about the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Teaser James Gunn (screen grab) CR: Marvelproblematic nature of this “cutesy”, silly, obvious merchandising stunt, but Baby Groot ended up being the strongest quality of the film in the same way that “Adult Groot” was the heart and strength of the first film.  Additionally, as with all Marvel movies, Dr. Strange included, there are other elements of this film that do work. The world is expanded with this film to include some new characters including Mantis (Pom Klementieff), the aforementioned Ego, and a bazaar turn from Sylvester Stallone as Ravager leader Stakar Ogord. These characters are introduced and developed to various degrees in effective ways. Michael Rooker also returns as Yondu to positive effect, and I do get a kick out of Bautista’s dry, honest portrayal of Drax.

Still this is a dimmer, starker Guardians film. Humor is downplayed, and Volume 2 comes off angrier than the first one. I am looking forward to these characters’ appearances in the Avengers: Infinity Wars films, as I think they will benefit from less screen time. Still, Volume 3 is already green lit and slated to be released in 2020 kicking off phase 4 of the MCU, so apparently my opinion of the greatness of this franchise is off the mark. C+

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is rated PG-13 and has a running time of 2 hours and 16 minutes. There are also several stinger scenes sprinkled throughout the credits and one after the credits as well.

Jurassic World

On By Jason K.In Uncategorized3 Comments

Jurassic WorldDirector: Colin Trevorrow

Screenwriter: Rick Jaffa

Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Irrfan Kahn, and B.D. Wong

Dinosaurs have appeared in films before. Some good, some bad. Chris Pratt has appeared in films before. Most good, one bad; I’m talking to you Movie 43. So, in the spirit of Jurassic World’s genetic scientists, why not get these two crazy kids together and see what happens? Just like in the film, the result is a new dinosaur – bigger, faster, and more teeth.

That’s right, twenty-two years after the “chaotic” events of Jurassic Park, an actual park called Jurassic World has opened on the same Costa Rican island. The trouble is, people have already grown bored just seeing a dinosaur nowadays. Or at least that’s what director of operations, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), says as she tries to entice investors to sponsor a new attraction. The new attraction? A new hybrid dinosaur nicknamed the Indominous Rex, genetically engineered by Jurassic World scientists. Simon Masrani (Irrfan Kahn) was entrusted with Jurassic Park’s legacy by former owner John Hammond with the stipulation that the focus remains shock, awe, and amusement, “spare no expense.”

Accordingly, Claire has been killing it for Masrani. Park attendance spikes every time a new attraction is unveiled, and Inominous promises to be the most impressive attraction yet. When questions about proper containment of the Indominous Rex arise, Masrani asks Claire to bring in former Navy recruit and current Velociraptor behavioral researcher, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt). Claire’s history with Owen is a bit rocky due to a rough first date a while back, but Owen’s success training Velociraptors makes him vital to identifying any faults that may weaken the containment of the new dinosaur.

Since discussing the rest of the movie hinges on this point, I don’t think I’m spoiling anything when I say that, yes, Indominous Rex escapes. And what makes matters worse, Claire’s young nephews Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins) happen to be visiting the park when all hell breaks loose. Soon enough they, along with thousands of other visitors, are stranded in the park as Indominous Rex wreaks havoc. What follows is a terrifically entertaining prehistoric version of Predator.

I loved almost every minute of Jurassic World. Of the three sequel films, this one comes closest to capturing the majesty of the original. In an early scene, composer Michael Giacchino masterfully echoes John William’s iconic Jurassic Park theme to tremendous effect as Jurassic World is revealed for the first time. This film (wisely) distances itself from the Jurassic Park sequels and effectively reinvents itself, but not without a few welcomed references to the original film.

Jurassic World, at its core, is a standard creature feature, but it is extremely well executed. The effects famously pioneered by Steven Spielberg for the 1993 film have evolved to something even more outstanding this time around. Furthermore, a sense of fun noticeably missing from Jurassic Park: The Lost World and to a lesser extent Jurassic Park III, is back with Jurassic World.  I grew up loving the novels of Michael Crichton, and Jurassic Park was the novel of his that sparked my obsession with his books.  Crichton would only live to write one follow up novel to Jurassic Park, and that was The Lost World, which was a great book but cinematically butchered by Steven Spielberg.  Thankfully, writer Rick Jaffa and director Colin Trevorrow seem to have the same esteem for Crichton as I did and have made a film more in the spirit of his writing.

I mentioned that I loved almost every minute of Jurassic World. As with too many summer blockbusters, some of the dialogue is cringe-worthy, despite good acting overall from the cast. Also, Jurassic World crams in so much product placement, you will feel like you are at an actual theme park. When Owen sips from his cold, glass bottle of Coca-Cola, I half expected the screen to freeze and a jingle to play. There is also a weaponizing subplot involving Vincent D’Onfrio’s character that I feel falls short. I’d normally take this with a grain of salt, but I worry that this subplot is what will likely pave the way to any future films in the franchise. Nonetheless, Jurassic World works in its own right. It’s a technically strong film, and one with a climax that can truly be described as “dino-might.” B+

Jurassic World is rated PG-13 and has a running time of 2 hours and five minutes.