Movie Review: The Avengers

The Avengers

The Avengers (2012)
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson

The summer blockbuster season is officially in full swing with the release of The Avengers, the first of many superhero films that will unite movie geeks over the next four months.

This much-anticipated Marvel Comics gathering is brimming with great visual effects, intense action sequences and a hefty dose of smartass character interactions. In short, it's bound to be one of the biggest hits of 2012.

While it helps to have seen each of the superheroes' individual star vehicles, it's by no means necessary thanks to a mostly-solid script from director Joss Whedon and Zak Penn which makes a great effort not to exclude those who may have missed a film or two ...or three.

When Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the deranged, power-hungry adoptive brother of Norse god, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), arrives from the planet Asgard to take over and enslave the entire human race, the eye-patched Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is forced to assemble his S.H.I.E.L.D. initiative agents to protect Earth.

Robert Downey Jr. returns as billionaire Tony Stark -- the man behind Iron Man and the majority of the movie's witty one-liners. He finds himself at odds with Captain America (Chris Evans) the 1940's-era superhero patriot who, after spending 70 years in a deep freeze slumber, is more than a little disoriented by his surroundings. Out of all the characters, these two clash and then ultimately bond the most, providing the majority of the flick's comic relief.

While special agent Clint "Hawkeye" Barton (Jeremy Renner) is given the least screentime of the Avengers, he proves himself essential to the team thanks to his sharp eye and famously accurate marksmanship with his trusty bow and arrow.

Tom Hiddleston as Loki

As Russian assassin Natasha Romanoff, the lethal Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson is able to keep up with  -- and sometimes even out-muscle -- the boys. There's even a hint of flirtation between her and both Bruce Banner and Hawkeye to keep audiences looking for a little romance satisfied.

While the entire cast is immensely likeable in their respective roles, it's Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner who nearly steals the film. The subtle nuances and charming likeability he brings to his lab geek will likely earn The Hulk a whole slew of new fans who once shrugged off the other two medicore screen adaptations starring Eric Bana and Edward Norton. It makes you wonder whether or not The Hulk would have been a more successful and enjoyable franchise had Ruffalo been the go-to guy right from the beginning. His Banner is the psychologically tortured soul at the very heart of the movie -- the one Avenger who would likely give anything to abandon a power that he deems a curse.

The second half of the film is an exciting romp through the streets of Manhattan as the Avengers finally come together as a team to fend off the advances of Loki and his alien army. However, in order to reach this point the audience must slog through the opening 40 minutes of the film with its glacial pacing and redundant conversations about the Tesseract, the little blue cube that acts as a power source and portal for the villainous Loki. You could almost play a drinking game with the amount of times you hear the words "Tesseract" or "cube" in the first half.

But once the The Avengers settles down partway through and finds its groove, it transforms into a wildly entertaining action-adventure led by a talented group of actors who are all equally likeable. It will be hard to choose a favourite Avenger.

If nothing else, Whedon and Co. prove that you don't have to have a flawless script to provide the audience with great, entertaining escapism.

FINAL GRADE: B+

Book Excerpt: Easy Riders, Raging Bulls

Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in Easy Rider (1969).

I'm right in the middle of reading Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock-'n-Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (1998).

Here are some interesting sound bites (so far) from Biskind's interviews.


"Jaws was devastating to making artistic, smaller films. They forgot how to do it. They're no longer interested." 
~ Peter Bogdanovich, director


"The cocaine problem in the United States is really because of me. There was no cocaine before Easy Rider on the street. After Easy Rider, it was everywhere."
~ Dennis Hopper, actor/director


"Popcorn pictures have always ruled. Why do people go see them? Why is the public so stupid? That's not my fault." 
~ George Lucas, writer/director


"There's a darkness in my soul, a profound darkness that is with me every waking moment."
~ William Friedkin, director (The Exorcist)


"In the trades I see, 'This picture will be helmed by veteran director Martin Scorsese.' It seems like only yesterday I was a 'new young filmmaker.'" 
~ Martin Scorsese, director/producer

"Star Wars was the film that ate the heart and soul of Hollywood. It created the big-budget comic book mentality." 
~ Paul Schrader, writer/director

Movie Review: The Five-Year Engagement

Emily Blunt and Jason Segel

The Five-Year Engagement
Directed by: Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Alison Brie, Chris Pratt and Rhys Ifans

I reviewed this film for Next Projection.

The latest romantic comedy from the Judd Apatow laugh factory is more about falling out of love and the struggle in trying to find your way back into healthy-relationship territory. The older we get and the more set in our ways, the harder it can become to reach a happy medium. And, amidst penis jokes and casually tossed expletives, The Five-Year Engagement sets its sights on realistically dealing with "grown up" relationship issues -- and, for the most part, it succeeds.

Tom (Jason Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt) take "meet cute" to a whole new level, involving a New Year's Eve party, a pink bunny superhero and a Princess Diana costume. Sparks inevitably fly and, after a year-long courtship, Tom proposes to Violet in memorably awkward fashion. Tom is a successful sous-chef in a San Francisco restaurant while Violet works towards a social psychology degree from UC Berkeley. However, their plans change abruptly when Violet learns she's been turned down by Berkeley but accepted at the University of Michigan for a two year stint. Tom, being the supportive fiance, offers to move with her so she can pursue her passion. The two reach a mutual agreement to put their wedding on hold until further notice.

There's technically nothing preventing Tom and Violet from getting married -- people decide to wed while still attending post-secondary education all the time -- and they are clearly in love and financially secure. Yet, they choose to delay the inevitable. Are they both having second thoughts? In the meantime, other family members and friends get hitched and have babies. Grandparents begin to pass away. Tom and Violet start to drift apart as he struggles to find a decent job in their new hometown and she spends more and more time with her professor (Rhys Ifans) and fellow classmates. No longer in sync with one another, they start to drift apart -- Tom gets restless while Violet tries to understand his emotional struggles and enjoy her own success at the same time.

Scene-stealers Alison Brie and Chris Pratt

Like most Apatow flicks, the film balances raunchy humour with genuinely poignant moments. Unlike many characters within the romantic comedy genre, Tom and Violet feel lifted straight from real life. Their arguments are embedded in a degree of realism -- we've all had the same fights with a loved one at some point. What really stands out most is its lack of plot contrivances. The usual romcom tropes are ignored with the script instead favouring refreshingly unique (and often side-splittingly funny) situational comedic scenes. Watch for a particularly wonderful moment involving an entire conversation carried on in the voices of Elmo and Cookie Monster.

However, The Five-Year Engagement struggles to overcome its meandering plot, structural problems and jarring shifts in tone. Segel, who co-wrote the script with the film's director Nicholas Stoller, loses grasp of his character at the halfway mark where Tom becomes a depressed mountain man (literally) who grows a horrific beard, hunts for game and brews his own honey mead. This, combined with a weird seduction scene in a deli, feels out of place and brings the plot to a standstill. Tom randomly transforms into an irritating, emasculated man-child who resents and envies his fiancee's success and lack of his own. He becomes a bit of a drag and threatens to take the whole movie down with him. Luckily, he snaps out of his funk but the glacially paced middle portion of the film dampens the spirit of Engagement.

Segel needed a third pair of eyes to go over the script with a fine-tooth comb. At just slightly over two hours in length, The Five-Year Engagement could have benefited from a tightened narrative that would have resulted in some of the more extraneous scenes being left on the cutting room floor.

What ultimately saves the film is its clever situational comedy and talented cast -- and not only from the always-reliable Segel and the charming Blunt, but also Chris Pratt and Alison Brie as Tom's best bud Alex and Violet's neurotic sister, Suzie. Both Pratt and Brie quite nearly steal the entire film out from under Segel and Blunt.

Buried beneath its plodding middle and two hour-plus running time is a sharp commentary on grown up relationships and the sacrifices and compromises we sometimes have to make for those we love. So kudos to Segel and co. for setting out to make a romantic comedy that feels both refreshingly unique and, at certain points, brutally honest.

FINAL GRADE: B+

Movie Review: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Gary Oldman as George Smiley

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Directed by: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch and John Hurt

Often, when we think of the word "spy" we associate it with the likes of James Bond. Or even Jason Bourne. Physically strong men with a knack for operating high-tech devices and bedding beautiful women. There's little sitting around because there's just too much that has to be done at various exotic locales from around the world.

But then there's George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a former intelligence agent, who is lured out of retirement by Control (John Hurt) to investigate the possibility of a Soviet double agent working within the Circus (the nickname given to the British Secret Intelligence Service, aka MI6). Based on the 1974 John Le Carre novel and adapted for the screen by scribes Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy weaves through a labyrinthine plot that involves Soviet agents, double crossings and murder most foul. Smiley is essentially the anti-Bond. Where Bond has time to sip martinis and woo women while on the job, Smiley is meticulous and precise. He doesn't have time for fun and games. It's old-fashioned intrigue where most of the mystery is solved while sitting behind a desk and speaking in hushed tones.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Gary Oldman

The challenge of the film is that it asks its audience to watch for minute details and patiently wait for the slow reveals. With its deliberate pace, Tinker Tailor lets its narrative unravel naturally, without gun battles in the streets to keep our attention. It holds its secrets close to the chest, preferring to keep the audience in the dark for as long as it takes Smiley to reach his conclusions. The film is more grounded in realism than the majority of spy thrillers --- Tinker Tailor is your grandfather's type of espionage.

Swedish director Tomas Alfredson (who rose to fame in 2008 with his lyrical vampire drama Let the Right One In) pays close attention to period detail, from the tweed jackets to the tacky '70s office decor. Like last years Tree of Life, Alfredson's challenging film can be somewhat alienating to mainstream audiences. It purposely sets itself up as a game of chess and the plot moves about as fast as an actual game.

However, two aspects help elevate Tinker Tailor from just being brushed off: the performances and the clever script. The cast is impeccable; arguably one of the best ensembles of 2011. Led by a beautifully restrained performance from Oldman, who give a master class in subtle acting, there's also a whose-who of British talent on display. The three standouts include Colin Firth as potential suspect Bill Haydon, Benedict Cumberbatch as the young and eager spy Peter Guillam and Tom Hardy as reluctant informant Ricki Tarr. Each bring their own sizeable talent to the film, drawing the viewer into their tangled web.

While there are pacing issues with the narrative, the screenplay is an intelligent and challenging piece of work that follows through on its promise to reward the viewer who sticks with the story until the very end. Although you may be thrown off by the somewhat dry narrative, there are enough clues thrown your way to keep you intrigued by this intricate mystery.

FINAL GRADE: B+

Documentary Feature: Fightville

Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier

Fightville (2011)
Directed by: Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein
Featuring: Dustin Poirier, Albert Stainback and Tim Credeur

I reviewed this film for Next Projection.

The ongoing controversy over violence and its place in the sporting world has left mixed marital arts with a stigma that will be hard to shake.

However, with the UFC rapidly expanding and growing in popularity, it's arguable that the debate surrounding it has, in some ways, been invaluable to its enduring popularity.

An oft-misunderstood sport that dates back centuries, mixed marital arts (MMA) takes a sort of pride in its focus on the primal urges we so often repress and refuse to acknowledge.

Coming off its Toronto premiere at the 2011 Hot Docs Film Festival, Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein's Fightville focuses on the physical and psychological toll that MMA takes on everyone involved — from the promoters and trainers, right down to the fighters themselves.

At the heart of the narrative are the people at the Gladiators Academy — a tiny gym next to a Piggly Wiggly grocery store in a rundown strip mall in southern Louisiana. Fight promoter Gil Guillory and trainer Tim Credeur are part of MMA USA, a grassroots organization that ultimately prepares their fighters for the glare of the UFC spotlight. Some succeed, while others falter.

Credeur makes it his personal mission to weed out the weak among his group. He waxes philosophical about the sport — he's the films biggest MMA cheerleader, connecting lessons learned in life to those that can be taught in the cage. A brutally honest coach who won't hesitate to teach with his own fists, he's a force to be reckoned with and anyone who survives and thrives under his leadership will usually wind up on the larger-scale MMA circuits.

The Gladiators Academy provides fulfillment for the two young men at the centre of the story — twenty-something's Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier and Albert Stainback. MMA is more than just a way for these young men to make money and put food on the table; for them it's an outlet to indulge in what they see as their only talent — and it's the main source of their pride.

With its thundering soundtrack, rousing fight sequences and assured camerawork, Fightville ultimately rests on the shoulders of the affable Poirier. Although he remains largely tight-lipped on his violent past, his focused intensity still gives way to a good-natured spirit.

Despite revelations of multiple run-ins with law in his youth, his mom steps up to the plate to express the pride she has in her son's complete character transformation — despite the noticeable worry lines still etched on her face.

Albert Stainback

Yet, where Poirier emerges as a star pupil under Credeur's tutelage (he's now a UFC featherweight), there's also those who flag under the immense pressure — and that's where Stainback enters the picture. Where Poirier is composed and disciplined (at one point losing 20 pounds in one week to qualify for a competition), Stainback fails to balance the full-time training demands and his personal issues. What with a horrific childhood involving an alcoholic mother and an abusive father who later committed suicide, Stainback takes on the stage persona of Alex DeLarge, the brutal hooligan at the centre of A Clockwork Orange.

What point is Stainback trying to get across? Is it meant to be ironic or is there something deeper to his selection? Unfortunately, viewers are left in the dark as his decision to don Alex's black bowler cap and white pantsuit is never addressed in the doc.

What holds Fightville back from being a true knockout is its lack of backstory. Far too many questions are left unanswered — or go unasked. While it offers a glimpse into the complicated behind-the-scenes world of MMA, it only scratches the surface of the grueling routine the fighters endure and the interesting connection between MMA and their troubled upbringings.

With the exception of Poirier's mother, who fills in some of the narrative gaps when it comes to her son, there are few secondary sources to provide insight into these two young men. Both are personable and have interesting stories to tell, but there are noticeable holes where more could have been asked of them.

While often fascinating and enjoyable, Fightville ultimately suffers from a lack of in depth personal stories from its central figures.

FINAL GRADE: B

Movie Review: Titanic 3D

Kate Winslet and Leo DiCaprio

This isn't really a review.

It would be hard to critique this film, 15 years after its initial 1997 release. As a 14-year-old, Titanic pretty much consumed my life -- for that entire year. It had everything I could have wanted: likeable characters, action, tragedy, a historical setting and a doomed romance. I was totally on the Jack and Rose bandwagon, 100 percent. Who didn't swoon over Titanic that year? (If you say you didn't, you're lying to me).

Therefore, I don't think the teenager in me would ever let me give my head a shake and review it seriously because -- although aspects of it haven't aged all that well -- it's just so damn epic.

How did it work so well and why does it still gain a new loyal fanbase? Because, as this blog post on Jezebel points out: James Cameron is a 15-year-old girl. He understands his target audience and knows how to put on a great spectacle.

But, while re-watching it recently, I realized that it isn't just for 15-year-olds. It's a full-blown cinematic spectacle that manages to make you forget you've been sitting in the same chair for three hours and 15 minutes. No easy task.

Watching it in theatres last weekend totally made my Sunday afternoon. While the 3D added nothing to the overall film (I often forgot I had those glasses on), Titanic was meant to be seen on the giant silver screen. The minute those opening credits started up, I was swept away and melted into a puddle of goopy nostalgia.

Why I love Titanic

• Even if you've seen it a dozen times, it still manages to lull you into a false sense of security before disaster strikes -- the scene where it first hits the iceberg is one of my favourites.
• It introduced me to Kate Winslet, one of my favourite actresses.
• The sets and costumes were all kinds of perfect.
• The soundtrack, while overly saccharine, still makes me weepy.
• Billy Zane: So bad, he's good. He gives one of the most ridiculously over-the-top performances which, I've come to realize, is strangely appropriate considering he's playing an over-the-top stock villain character. You are meant to hate him, and embrace that hate.
• Bill Paxton: Any movie that has Bill "express elevator to hell" Paxton earns extra brownie points in my fangirl book. Even if he does wear that awkward earring. 
• Fabrizio's "Italian" accent. 
• The second half of the film is still incredible in its impact and the spectacle of the sinking -- and damned if it doesn't make me teary-eyed every single time I watch it!

A part of my youth died when Avatar recently trounced Titanic as the biggest movie of all time at the box office. But, Titanic was there first and has, arguably, more staying power. 

So, did Titanic need to be 3D? No. Did it feel like a bit of a cash-grab to re-release it? Sure, but it had the 100th anniversary of the sinking to back the decision up.

But I won't begrudge even the uber-rich James Cameron for wanting to bring it back to the big screen because, if only for awhile, he reminded me of what it was like to be 14-years-old again and totally in love with a movie.

Movie Review: The Hunger Games

Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth

The Hunger Games (2012)
Directed by: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Stanley Tucci, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Wes Bentley, Liam Hemsworth and Donald Sutherland

Like Harry Potter and Twilight before it, The Hunger Games struck a raw nerve with teens around the world. Like its predecessors, it flew off bookshelves -- and all despite lacking a supernatural element like wizards or vampires as a selling point.

Author Suzanne Collins set her trilogy in a dystopian future where one teenage boy and one teenage girl from each of the 12 districts in the nation of Panem are forced into a fight to the death -- literally, with only one left standing. The purpose? To prevent future rebellions and uprisings against the government by keeping younger generations in line. It's Battle Royale and Stephen King's The Long Walk for the tween set. It's premise is arguably darker than the other two recent teen book series combined and, for the film adaptations to do justice to the world Collins created, they would have to translate that dark subject matter onto the screen.

Does the first installment succeed? Mostly.

Director Gary Ross opts for a documentary-style technique that gives the film a more naturalistic atmosphere. You feel as though you are right behind 16-year-old heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) as she embarks on her violent mission. Whether he's panning over the war-ravaged lands of District 12 or coming in for tight close-ups of frightened young faces, Ross succeeds in translating the atmosphere of fear and paranoia in a heavily policed state.

The first half of the film is especially gripping to watch -- whether you've read the novels or not, the slow revelation of life in Panem is thrillingly revealed. I found myself more intrigued by Katniss' rigid Games training and her life with her mother, younger sister and close friend, Gale (Liam Hemsworth) than with anything that happened in the latter half. Ross and his crew managed to convey their way of life with very little description.

It's unlikely that anyone could have filled to role of Katniss as capably as Lawrence. The Oscar-nominated actress gives a mature performance, perfectly balancing her character's head-strong resilience and resourcefulness in the face of danger while subtly revealing Katniss' inner vulnerabilities. It's a casting coup for Ross and his team and she more than capably carries the weight of the film on her shoulders.

Elizabeth Banks and Jennifer Lawrence

For the most part, the rest of the cast fares just as well as Lawrence, specifically Stanley Tucci as outlandish talk show host Caesar Flickerman and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss' trainer and a former survivour (winner?) of The Hunger Games.

A few of the other supporting characters fare less well in underwritten roles. There's little to be said of Seneca (Wes Bentley), the curiously bearded overseer of the Games, or the equally strange Effie (Elizabeth Banks). The rest of the ensemble cast is rounded out by Donald Sutherland as the ill-intentioned President Snow and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, Katniss' fellow District 12 tribute.

What holds the film back is Ross' apparent reluctance to take the premise all the way and truly run with the concept. Granted, film censorship would have slapped the film with a higher rating had there been more violence and mature themes; however, it's a gamble that likely would have still paid off due to the popularity of the series. Instead the second half of the film drags for stretches, slowly the action down to a near standstill at points.

The Hunger Games could have benefited more from being just as dark, dangerous and daring as Collins' novels. But, with the wonderful Lawrence in the lead role, this series has staying power.

FINAL GRADE: B+