Movie Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron begins without much preamble, dropping us right into the action. There are no individual superhero entrances this time around. The Avengers are a team or so the world thinks, and they are there to protect the Earth against all evil forces, alien or human. But the challenge in this thrilling sequel to The Avengers is neither alien or human. Instead they are faced with an A.I. out to ruin them all.

The key to enjoying Marvel's Cinematic Universe films is to remember that they're all connected. The movies and TV shows all borrow heavily from the comic books in which all the characters are created. So if you saw last year's Captain America: Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy and followed Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Agent Carter, you'd know that the evil group Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. breaking it down to its core. Only a few remain dedicated to the real purpose of keeping the world safe. The Avengers are part of the few and dedicated, only in this film their methods of getting that done comes into question.

After recovering Loki's staff from Hydra and running into new Enhanced entrants to the films (the Wonder Twins,  Pietro and Wanda Maximoff), the Avengers return back to Stark Tower thinking that the battle has been won. Wrong, the water has gotten murky.  The science brothers Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) decide, on Stark's urging, that the Ultron program must be put to the test now that the staff is in their hands. Loki's staff, in case you've forgotten from the first film, contains one part of the famed Infinity stones given to him by Thanos. Control them all and you control the universe. Remember this, it will come in handy during future films.

The result of this unnecessary human meddling is the birth of Ultron (voiced by James Spader) who doesn't want to do the bidding of Avengers and wants to get rid of them altogether. As expected, this puts the Avengers at a crossroads. Steve aka Captain America (Chris Evans) and Tony have differing viewpoints on how to handle this. And after taking a beating going up against Ultron, Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen), the Avengers regroup at a safe house.

There are loads of revelations in this film. Each of the Avengers has hidden secrets and pasts they're not ready to confront. When up against evil forces, they are united but we've been given a sense that it won't last long. There are new recruits to the Avengers team and it looks like they might last. The Avengers, eventually, are just a unit of superheroes. It's not supposed to matter who's in it as long as they're together and can vanquish evil.

The newest recruit (literally, he was born yesterday!) is The Vision (Paul Bettany) who's a fascinating addition to the team. His introduction is the standout scene of the film. The film has way too many characters and each one is given a moment. It would be wonderful to linger on the Hulk (who really does need his own proper movie - the first two don't count!) and even Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) to figure out where they're coming from. But this movie is the link to what happens in the next upcoming Marvel films. Stay tuned to Captain America: Civil War where all will be revealed, it seems to hint.

This film is also the last time where Joss Whedon will be directing a Marvel film. The success of the first Avengers allowed directors like James Gunn and the Russo brothers to be signed onto the Marvel universe. His unique voice will definitely be missed in future films. The actors playing the Avengers seem to be at it for so long that playing their alter ego comes naturally to them, especially Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. However, the real star of this film is CGI effects. Over 3000 of them!

The battle sequences are insane and take place all over the world. Thank you for sparing New York, Joss, I bet it's still recovering from the last one. Ultron and his army of lookalikes, the Hulk, the Hulk Buster, the Vision and Wonder Twins' abilities all loom larger with the amazing effects. The Avengers was extra-special because it was the first time you saw a superhero movie with such a grand scale all together on the same screen. Since then, many have tried to duplicate that, even this film, but nothing can really come close. I'm sure most of you out there will be watching but Avengers: Age of Ultron is really for the fans for the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe, stay tuned for the next chapter!

Written and Directed by Joss Whedon; Based on the characters created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee; Cinematography by Ben Davis; Editing by Jeffrey Ford and Lisa Lassek; Music by Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman

Additional cast: Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Linda Cardellini, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgard, Claudia Kim, Thomas Kretschmann, Andy Serkis, Julie Delpy

Rating: 

Movie Review: American Hustle

All last year I saw the making of/behind the scenes images of Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams and their wild, wild hair. I cannot put enough emphasis on that wild hair which defines David O. Russell's American Hustle whose cast is the main reason to go see this film.

Christian Bale is Irving Rosenfeld, a balding middle-aged man handling a wife, a mistress and an illegal business selling loans. He thinks he's managing his life just fine until FBI Agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) enters their world and turns the tables on the tables on them. Irving and his mistress Sydney (Amy Adams) who have built this business together have no choice but to entertain this ambitious agent who is looking for 'the' case that will propel his career into the big league.

The two of them sink deeper and deeper into the sting operation DiMaso has planned involving the mayor of Camden, New Jersey Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner) and other members of Congress.  And then to confuse matters more, there's a also a plot involving an Arab sheikh (played by Michael Pena, who is another FBI agent impersonating a sheikh), some mobsters and an overly jealous and possessive wife (Jennifer Lawrence).

How does this all make sense? It doesn't at plenty of times in the movie but the actors make it all worthwhile as every moment onscreen, you see Bale, Adams, Cooper, Lawrence, Renner and especially Louis C.K. all committing one hundred percent to these zany characters that inhabit this universe.  Inspired by the events of the 1970s and 80s in the actual ABSCAM case, it gives these actors some great material to work with.  Case in point, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are all nominated for their work at next month's Oscars.

While the writing didn't add up for me at several places during the film, what works is Russell's deft direction of the actors, bringing out the real emotions and motives behind their actions especially in the case of Adams and Lawrence.  I also loved the film's soundtrack, its grooving disco tunes and great use of songs at key moments.  My expectations were definitely way higher before I went in for the film.  I guess it had to do with the great quality of films that got released in 2013.  But if you are a fan of either of these actors, you won't be disappointed. 

Directed by David O. Russell, Written by David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer, Cinematography by Linus Sandgren, Editing by Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers, Alan Baumgarten, Music by Danny Elfman

Rating:

New American Hustle Character Posters

These new character posters are like a pack of 70s cards highlighting the questionable fashions and hairdos of the cast of American Hustle.  Directed by David O. Russell, the film based on the ABSCAM  scandal releases this December.  

Christian Bale is Irving Rosenfeld, a con man who aids the FBI against corrupt politicians.  

Bradley Cooper is FBI Agent Richie DiMasio. 

Jennifer Lawrence plays Rosenfeld's wife, Rosalyn.

Meanwhile, Amy Adams is Rosenfeld's British mistress, Sydney Prosser.

And finally, the man with the widest tie I've ever seen is Jeremy Renner as 

corrupt NJ mayor Carmine Politico.

Movie Review: The Avengers

The Avengers is the first co-production between Disney and Marvel and expectations are high.  After the lackluster collection of John Carter at the box-office, The Avengers has to be the start of a successful franchise.  The marketing for this film has been much better (and everywhere).  It's been hard to escape the posters, trailers and images on TV, the internet and around every corner.

Getting back to the review, The Avengers opens with Loki capturing the Tessaract (the glowing blue box first found in Captain America) from Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his S.H.I.E.L.D team, also managing to kidnap Hawkeye aka Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), previously from the Thor universe.  This worries Fury immensely and he sets out, along with the spy-for-hire Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) to recruit Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) into the Avengers Initiative to fight against Loki.  

After some persuading, they eventually come aboard the superhero control center in the sky and get to know each other.  This is putting it nicely as some of the superheroes (We're looking at you, Stark) don't "play well with others" and are naturally wary of each other's presence.  A run-in in Germany with Loki leads to the Avengers first banding together to bring him back to the sky lair.  But he manages to escape and bring the fight to New York city and Stark Towers. Ah, poor New York, a city that gets battered through alien attacks, superhero fights, end-of-the world disasters and even Godzilla.  This time around, there are aliens from another realm (Loki's army) and six superheroes to make it into their personal battleground.

The Avengers is a fun start to the summer blockbuster season filled with action and adventure to satisfy any movie fan's superhero appetite.  This is a superhero film times three.  Directed by Joss Whedon who handles the difficult task of making sure that all of these superheroes (most of which have their own film franchise) don't get shortchanged and receive enough screen time.  This being a Whedon film, the characters all spout quippy dialogues and don't spend too much time feeling sorry about themselves and get on with the action.  Most big special effect blockbusters (Green Lantern, the Star Wars prequels) suffer from bad and cheesy dialogue but not this film.  I enjoyed the first interactions of Captain America and Tony Stark with Thor (Chris Hemsworth).  Basically every line out of Stark's mouth was a gem, from calling Hawkeye "Legolas" to addressing Loki as Reindeer Games.  Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) also got some big laughs in his role.

I saw this film at an advance fan screening so the audience reaction was pretty positive.  Throughout the superhero introductions during the film, Thor got the biggest claps but the loudest cheers were saved for Bruce Banner's The Hulk.  I must say, this is the Hulk we fans were waiting for.  Mark Ruffalo's portrayal is the best Hulk out of the bunch.  I loved how the Hulk was allowed to finally be himself in the climatic sequence.  "Hulk...Smash!" He sure does.

Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark with such ease, it's almost like his second skin.  It was also nice to see Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Jarvis (Paul Bettany) make a brief appearances as Stark's support team; we'll see them again in Iron Man 3. Captain America and Thor fit in well with the rest of the Avengers but you know the good stuff is yet come in their respective upcoming sequels.  Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow kicks major ass as the lone female fighter in the group.  She fits right in and I had major Buffy flashbacks at some moments.  While Hawkeye spends the first half on Loki's side before coming, literally, to his senses.  His archery armor would make Katniss Everdeen very envious.

The supporting cast, namely the S.H.I.E.L.D team of Nick Fury, Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and Agent Coulson don't get to join in as much of the action as the heavy lifting is done by the Avengers team.  The villain of the piece is Loki, brother of Thor and presumed dead at the end of Thor.  We know they rarely stay dead long.  Besides, he's a god as he tells the Hulk.  It leads to my favorite scene in the film which I will watch on repeat when I get the DVD.  Basically, any scene with the Hulk was my favorite.  I think the fans will definitely demand a new Hulk movie. 

But back to Loki.  Denied a kingdom of his own in Asgard, he wants to rule over Earth.  The Avengers team will make sure that won't happen.  Tom Hiddleston plays Loki with a evil smile ever present.  He relishes the role of the baddie given to him.  Stay tuned until after the credits roll for the post-credits scene which has now become mandatory for franchise films.  Overall, The Avengers is great fun and the 3D works extremely well in the battle sequences.  Make it a must-view to start off the summer.

Directed by Joss Whedon; Story by Zak Penn and Joss Whedon; Screenplay by Joss Whedon; Based on the comic books by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; Cinematography by Seamus McGarvey; Edited by Jeffrey Ford and Lisa Lassek; Music by Alan Silvestri

Rating: 

Movie Review:- Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is the fourth movie in the spy thriller based on the 1960s TV show Mission: Impossible.  Thankfully this film acknowledges previous storyline threads left hanging in the series and doesn't just explain them away in a single line of dialogue.  

Brad Bird's (Ratatouille, The Incredibles) first foray into live-action does not disappoint and keeps us guessing as to what will happen next onscreen.  Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), our link through all the previous films, is back again, having recently been sprung by his old team from a Moscow prison only to break into the Kremlin to steal back some nuclear codes that have been stolen on a former mission gone wrong.  Just a typical day at the office!

Little does Hunt and his team know that they're being set up when part of the Kremlin is blown up and suspected to be the work of rogue spies, namely themselves.  As Ethan is informed by the IMF Secretary (Tom Wilkinson), the IMF no longer exists as the President has initiated Ghost Protocol.  (So that's where the title comes from.)  It's up to him, his team of Agents Jane Carter and Benji Dunn (Paula Patton, Simon Pegg) and newly acquired member and analyst, William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) to fix what has gone wrong and now blamed on them.  

In order to clear their names (and save the world, of course), they travel to Dubai to the hotel Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, to intercept a meeting and steal back the nuclear codes.  This is  by far the coolest and nerve-wracking sequences of the entire film.  Knowing that Tom Cruise performed those stunts himself makes it that much more amazing to watch.  Every member of IMF team does an incredible job and they almost manage to pull off the assignment.

So there's still the main villain (Michael Nyqvist), intent on starting a war between Russia and USA (Wasn't this also the plot to X-Men: First Class?), to hunt down and neutralize in a corner of the world I know well makes an appearance in the big climax.  Yes, the save the world sequence is held in Mumbai, in theory only.  The locations are definitely not in Mumbai but I must say that the high-tech car driven by Cruise at the end must be coveted by every driver, it forewarns you of pedestrians and gives your GPS right on the windshield.

Usually the technology in a spy thriller always seems so over the top and far-fetched and there a few occasions of that here too.  I would like to officially call a ban on the use of masks in this series.  Just say no, please!  But I admit to loving that Apple products such as your iPad or iPhone can pretty much be used to control anything.  Even the cool eye contact lens screen/printer seemed plausible.  If Google has its way, this could be our reality someday.

Despite holding his own in the film and in a lot of physical fights, Cruise is starting to look a bit old for the franchise.  Jeremy Renner's (who I was so sure would be an Oscar winner back in 2010) character Brandt was introduced that if Cruise no longer starred in it, he could take over.  After The Bourne Legacy, this would be the second franchise on Renner's shoulders.  Other notable but brief appearances came from Lea Seydoux (Midnight in Paris), Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire) and Josh Holloway (Lost), whom I didn't recognize without his trademark Sawyer beard at first.  I wish his role had be a bit more larger.

The latest Mission: Impossible is highly enjoyable and I wish I gotten a chance to see this in IMAX.  The film, with the deft direction of Brad Bird and a splendid soundtrack by Michael Giacchino, is totally worth every penny you spend on it.  The title sequence is also well done and reminded me a bit of The Incredibles.  A worthy addition to the franchise.

Directed by Brad Bird; Written by Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Based on the TV Series by Bruce Gellar; Cinematography by Robert Elswit; Edited by Paul Hirsch; Music by Michael Giacchino.

Rating:

New Photo: Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters

(Photo: Entertainment Weekly)

People are fascinated with re-imagining or re-examining the dark themes from the fairytale-like stories we heard as children.  After Snow White, Cinderella and Alice were all given big screen treatments, here comes the story of Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters.  Except they aren't children anymore, Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) are all grown up and are kick ass fighters!  I think I'm going to like this version.  Before the trailer hits next week, here's a quick look at Renner and Arterton as Hansel & Gretel.