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

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Avengers: Age of Ultron New Trailer!

They're back! The wildly popular gang of superheroes return in Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron where we see more of the new enemy they face.  Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) are all up against Ultron and the relentless army he's created. Besides the glimpses at the other new characters in the film, Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), the big matchup in this trailer is the Hulk going up against the... Hulkbuster??? What have been creating in your spare time, Tony Stark? What did you think of the second Avengers trailer? Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron reassembles May 1, 2015 worldwide.

What I'm Thankful For This Year: Movies Edition

This post has become like tradition since I have been writing about what I've been thankful for on Thanksgiving the past two years so here's my humble list for this past year.

Joss Whedon: We Buffy, Firefly and even Dollhouse (sigh) fans knew the immense talent of writer-director Joss Whedon long before The Avengers became the film that practically everyone on the planet saw.  But now he's graduated to the big screen with writing, producing and directing screen credits in such varied films as The Avengers, The Cabin in the Woods and Much Ado About Nothing. We do miss him on the small screen. Hell, yeah! But then he's also producing the TV series based on the S.H.I.E.L.D agents from Avengers. Is there anything this man can't do well?

Damsels in Distress: Films with great dialogue that stay with you long after you've seen the film are so rare these days.  It's only after The Social Network that I have enjoyed the dialogues and the characters of a film so much.  I'm still waiting for to incorporate 'playboy operator move' in a British accent into everyday conversation.  I hope to do so someday.  And even though the film released last year, I'm thankful that after 13 years, we got a gem of a film like this from director Walt Stillman.

Finding Nemo re-release: This film gets me like no other Pixar film.  I love Up, Wall-E, Toy Story an all but it's Finding Nemo with which I have a deep emotional connection.  I missed out on seeing it in theaters during it's initial release and I have regretted it ever since.  But the 3D re-release gave me another opportunity and it was wonderful to experience it with a whole new generation to get to see the film for the first time ever.

Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy: Just as we said goodbye to Harry Potter last year, this year we had to say to goodbye to one of the finest trilogies in film history.  It will continue to influence superhero and franchise who all wanted to emulate the tone and success of the Batman trilogy that put a very troubled and human face to a superhero, brought about villains we're still talking about and has performances that will forever be remembered.  From one of the most brilliant directors of his generation to the cast and crew who created a universe which is held up for one of best interpretation of a comic book to film ever.

The cast of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: While everyone was talking about the crew that made up The Avengers this summer, another cast was slowly being talked about as well. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was the big surprise success of the summer season and now there's even talk of a sequel to bring back the talented cast of British actors.  The film about seniors in the twilight of their lives was touching, funny and enjoyable to watch.  With such amazing seasoned actors like Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson, how can you say no? More please!

What are you thankful for the movies you've seen this past year?

Movie Review: The Cabin in the Woods

So I saw The Cabin in the Woods.  This is very notable because I shy away from any kind of horror-type film but because I was also promised by people who had seen the film that this wasn't a typical horror film and it would be a shame if I missed out on it.  So I gathered my courage to watch it and what do you know? It wasn't as scary as I imagined it in my mind (it never is) and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.

The film is about that requisite yet ominous trip to the cabin in the woods by five friends, Jules (Anna Hutchison), Curt (Chris Hemsworth), Marty (Fran Kranz), Holden (Jesse Williams) and Dana (Kristen Connolly).  It becomes fairly obvious that these friends aren't any different than the typical subjects of any such genre. They are categorized into the whore, the athlete, the fool, the scholar and the virgin.  

But they are typecast into this not by design but necessity of how these films are supposed to act.  But they weren't this way until they came into the cabin in the woods.  Because once you come into the arena, all bets are off.  This really reminded me of a Hunger Games-type of scenario with a pair of middlemen controlling the outcome.

A bit of a spoiler alert, although this is revealed from virtually the opening scene, this isn't your ordinary cabin.  This is a full-blown operation to save humanity.  It turns out that it's up to Japan and USA to save the world and the fate of the world lies in the sacrifice of these five youth.  So we have to wait and watch the inevitable as it is in any such film and take a look at how they meet their fate.

But The Cabin in the Woods takes an entirely new approach to this by alternating paying homage and poking fun at the slasher/horror/supernatural films that came before it.  The whole operation set in Japan, the whiteboard of doom, and the banter between Sitterson (Richard Jenkins), Hadley (Bradley Whitford) and Lin (Amy Acker) can be classically only found in a Joss Whedon script. 

And the sacrificial lambs do their best not to just lay down and meet their doom.  They fight against it with all their might.  The dumb athlete is not just stupid, he's a sociology major.  The scholar who suddenly dons glasses and can read Latin is also in college on a football scholarship.  The "virgin" is having an affair with her professor.  My favorite of the bunch, the fool might be the wisest one of them all.  

But the Ancient Ones must be appeased, a sacrifice must be given and there is a sequence towards the end that is so madcap, so fearless, so completely out there (in a good way) that you know that people will be talking about it after.  How did they manage to pull it off? I don't want to ruin for people who haven't yet seen the film but you know when you see a murderous unicorn (yes, unicorn), you've really seen it all.  

This film was made in 2009 when Hemsworth was at his pre-Thor, pre-Avengers fame and the rest of the actors are known by their TV work more than films roles.  The cast, the script and the chances taken by this film to be unique are the best reasons to watch it.  You'll go around recommending it to your friends. You'll see.  I already have.  

Directed by Drew Goddard; Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard; Cinematography by Peter Deming; Editor by Lisa Lassek; Music by David Julyan

Rating: 

Recommended Links: Avengers Edition!

As is the case where the whole world is a bit Avengers crazy at this point, this time's recommended links are too.  Here are some more required readings on The Avengers!

(Photo: Entertainment Weekly)

• Here's a behind-the-scenes of the "secret scene" that everyone has been talking about in Entertainment Weekly.  Not so secret anymore though.  
• One of the real scene-stealers of the movie is definitely the Hulk.  A look behind the scenes into the making of the CG Hulk at ILM incorporating Mark Ruffalo's look and mannerisms into the character.  The best decision was to desaturate all that green.  Much better looking this time around. 
• More special effects talk on Iron Man and his new rocket pack from the hardworking crew over at Weta.
• If you're like me and you're already waiting for The Avengers DVD to come out, good news!  Joss Whedon says the DVD will end up up with 30 minutes of more superhero goodness. Yay!
• Finally, have you ever wondered what kind of an Avenger you'd be? Empire has a hilarious new flowchart to help you find out. 
• ETA: I can't believe I forgot to add this link!  Mark Ruffalo has signed a deal with Marvel to play the Hulk in six movies.  Considering everyone wants more of the Hulk after this film, I'd say this is exactly what the fans want too.  

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: 

Joss Whedon's letter to the fans!

Ok, so yesterday I posted Peter Jackson's videoblog about The Hobbit and today we get Joss Whedon's letter to the fans on the start of filming of The Avengers.  I love Joss' wit and humility and if you've ever been a Buffy or Firefly fan, you'll get the references.  Here's what the man has to say over at Whedonesque:

Hi Pumpkins, joss here.

Tomorrow we start shooting (I THINK I'm legally permitted to say that). Day one. That's right. We'll be shooting the pivotal death/betrayal/product placement/setting up the sequel/coming out scene, at the following address:

[Marvel Lawyers rush in, take Joss's keyboard, blowtorch a picture of his family like in "Stormy Monday", drink his milkshake, leave the seat up, fluff his pillows, violently unfluff his pillows, leave]

Went too far. My bad. Anyhoo, it should be a fun day, followed by the eighty thousand other fun days it will take to finish this. I'll be checking in from time to time, if there's news or I crave attention (i.e. am awake) . None of it will be Avengers news -- I have some very denty pillows to remind of that -- but I may have tidbits. (They're not about Firefly. I should say that up front, if only to protect Sis Mo from the HATORZ.)

Some of you may be saying, Joss! Why this link, here, now, why, huh, howcum? My friend Allyx turned me on to these guys, and I'll tell you, they've gotten me through this intensely pressurized, preply time. I strongly recommend checking out their other vids -- I've watched them many many times, and I have a very special place for "Teamwork" in my heart. These guys are the guys. And IS there a better movie title than "Eagles Are Turning People Into Horses"? I thought not.

So wish me luck. DO IT! LUCK! NOW! I'm off to finish some Buffy pages, and then figure out what the movie is about already. I'm pretty sure it's about the Justice League [Marvel Lawyers re-enter, unspeakability occurs] or possibly something else. I'll get it. I've been looking forward to this. For about 46 years.

Catchphrase!

-j.