The Avengers 3D:
What's it about?
After two Iron Mans, a Thor, and a Captain America, Nick Fury finally has all the pieces in place to assemble his Avengers Initiative in order to defend Earth against Thor's dark-hearted adopted brother Loki, in a spectacularly huge superhero team-up flick.
Who would I recognise in it?
Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Gweneth Paltrow, Stellan Skarsgard, Cobie Smulders ... pretty much everybody, really.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Joss Whedon directs (and co-writes with Zak Penn) this incredibly well-balanced superhero action extravaganza. It may be two-and-a-half-hours long, but it barrels along at speed. All the characters (most benefiting from their own individual movies prior to this outing) are given enough screen time at regular intervals so nobody is ever forgotten - even the action sequences manage to juggle numerous characters and points of interest deftly, thus keeping you fully informed at all times (Michael Bay, please take note, this is how you handle a multi-charactered action blockbuster). There is also a perfectly balanced vein of humour that runs throughout - going so far as to elicit real howls of laughter from the entire audience, that come along at the right points to break the tension when you're just about out of breath. The 3D also works surprisingly well (I didn't experience any of the redundancy or sheer darkness exhibited by the 3D on-show in last year's Thor), although the tech remains a gimmick that is almost entirely perfunctory. Speaking of tech, the use of CGI is constant, but never overwhelming or distracting - this is a big, ballsy, and brash action movie, but with an intelligent, well balanced script to back it up.
Also, having had zero interest in the two Hulk movies that were released in years past, I found myself really enjoying Ruffalo & Whedon's version of Bruce Banner/The Hulk. His first appearance is terrifyingly brutal, but he then becomes your favourite smash star who also commands the biggest laughs from the audience. The rest of the characters all have plenty to do and say too, so fans of the previous films will be well served here and, naturally, there will be plenty to look forward to in The Avengers 2. I knew I would enjoy this movie, but I didn't know I would enjoy it quite as much as I did - I had an absolute blast with it.
A note on the UK release - amazingly we got it a week before the Americans, but on the other hand the title was officially changed over here to "Marvel Avengers Assemble", which is the most clunky title they could have chosen. Plus, as if any Brits are dim-witted enough to confuse a movie featuring Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, and Loki, with an abortive attempt to adapt the famous British TV show (The Avengers) starring Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes. Marvel: kindly revert the title to The Avengers for the UK home video release, please. In short though - great flick.
Continue reading after you click below for thoughts on Bad Teacher.
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Monday, 30 April 2012
Flavours of the Month: April 2012...
LOOKS:
Titanic (ITV) - Julian Fellowe's four-part drama was never going to be able to match the spectacle and scale of James Cameron's 1997 monster hit, so instead this televised dramatisation focuses on particular characters from the various classes of passenger aboard the doomed ship. The results are alright, but not memorable - a far more interesting story to tell would have been everything following the sinking of the ship itself. Dramatising the survivors coming to terms with what happened, their losses, and the ensuing legal battles and public fallout - that would have made for far more interesting Titanic-related TV drama.
Beavis & Butt-head Do America - a blast of nostalgia was the order of the day as it swung by on Sky Movies this month. I was flung right back to my teenage years in an instant.
Drive Angry (Blu-Ray)
Bridesmaids (Blu-Ray)
The Guard (Blu-Ray)
Craig Fergusson - as is so often the way when you're surfing around YouTube, you'll come across a clip of interest (e.g. Nerdist man Chris Hardwick appearing on the Craig Fergusson show in America) and you'll then watch a shed load more clips related to it. So I've ended up watching a ton of The Late Late Show With Craig Fergusson clips on YouTube as a result.
All Star Celebrity Bowling - as featured on the new-look Nerdist Channel on YouTube.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo 2011 (Blu-Ray) - another tip-top, extras-heavy presentation for another spiffing David Fincher flick. On second viewing there is indeed not enough pairing of Mikael and Lisbeth on-screen (even though their stories are both strong separately) - they don't meet until minute 76 (of 158 minutes), and from then on it's not like they're inseparable either ... but then again to me it's a nice companion piece to the original Swedish film. Each do things their counterpart doesn't, and vice versa.
Continue reading below for what's been this month's soundtrack, and a lengthy look at some ways in which I'd like to see a possible L.A. Noire 2 go.
Titanic (ITV) - Julian Fellowe's four-part drama was never going to be able to match the spectacle and scale of James Cameron's 1997 monster hit, so instead this televised dramatisation focuses on particular characters from the various classes of passenger aboard the doomed ship. The results are alright, but not memorable - a far more interesting story to tell would have been everything following the sinking of the ship itself. Dramatising the survivors coming to terms with what happened, their losses, and the ensuing legal battles and public fallout - that would have made for far more interesting Titanic-related TV drama.
Beavis & Butt-head Do America - a blast of nostalgia was the order of the day as it swung by on Sky Movies this month. I was flung right back to my teenage years in an instant.
Drive Angry (Blu-Ray)
Bridesmaids (Blu-Ray)
The Guard (Blu-Ray)
Craig Fergusson - as is so often the way when you're surfing around YouTube, you'll come across a clip of interest (e.g. Nerdist man Chris Hardwick appearing on the Craig Fergusson show in America) and you'll then watch a shed load more clips related to it. So I've ended up watching a ton of The Late Late Show With Craig Fergusson clips on YouTube as a result.
All Star Celebrity Bowling - as featured on the new-look Nerdist Channel on YouTube.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo 2011 (Blu-Ray) - another tip-top, extras-heavy presentation for another spiffing David Fincher flick. On second viewing there is indeed not enough pairing of Mikael and Lisbeth on-screen (even though their stories are both strong separately) - they don't meet until minute 76 (of 158 minutes), and from then on it's not like they're inseparable either ... but then again to me it's a nice companion piece to the original Swedish film. Each do things their counterpart doesn't, and vice versa.
Continue reading below for what's been this month's soundtrack, and a lengthy look at some ways in which I'd like to see a possible L.A. Noire 2 go.
Friday, 27 April 2012
Double Bill Mini Musings: Trying out a formula...
Bug:
What's it about?
A waitress gets drawn into the paranoid world of a drifter, who is convinced there are insects growing in his blood, in William Friedkin's film adaptation of the stage play.
Who would I recognise in it?
Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Set almost entirely within the confines of a run-down motel room, the creeping sense of paranoia becomes extremely convincing. You're not sure whether Shannon's drifter really is crazy, or if he really is telling the truth. It's stylishly put together, features moments of bloody violence in the second half, and boasts spectacular performances - a scene where they try to piece together the apparent conspiracy is chillingly convincing in its sheer delusion. Great.
Click below to read about The Inglorious Bastards...
What's it about?
A waitress gets drawn into the paranoid world of a drifter, who is convinced there are insects growing in his blood, in William Friedkin's film adaptation of the stage play.
Who would I recognise in it?
Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Set almost entirely within the confines of a run-down motel room, the creeping sense of paranoia becomes extremely convincing. You're not sure whether Shannon's drifter really is crazy, or if he really is telling the truth. It's stylishly put together, features moments of bloody violence in the second half, and boasts spectacular performances - a scene where they try to piece together the apparent conspiracy is chillingly convincing in its sheer delusion. Great.
Click below to read about The Inglorious Bastards...
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Quintuple Bill Mini Musings: April 2012...
Bridesmaids:
From the Apatow stable comes this critically and commercially adored comedy, written by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig (who also stars, alongside a whole gang of riotously funny femmes). I recall a few dissenting voices in the otherwise applauding crowd decrying it for 'being too much like a guy movie' with the crude gags, but perhaps if you're not a stuck-up prude you'd realise that men and women aren't so massively different after all, least of all in their humour. Paul Feig's flick - at a generous running time of just over two hours - gives you plenty story, plenty laughs, and never outstays its welcome (indeed, I was left wanting more - an appetite fulfilled by the copious extra features on the Blu-Ray presentation). Even with all the laugh-out-loud moments (my throat was hurting by the end as I'd been laughing so much), you genuinely identify/sympathise with Kristen Wiig's Annie, a thirty-something who finds herself suddenly quite lost on her life's path after her best friend announces she's getting married. A great cast and a great script make this a must-see laugh-riot.
Click below to read more about The Guard, The Messenger, Cedar Rapids, and 127 Hours.
From the Apatow stable comes this critically and commercially adored comedy, written by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig (who also stars, alongside a whole gang of riotously funny femmes). I recall a few dissenting voices in the otherwise applauding crowd decrying it for 'being too much like a guy movie' with the crude gags, but perhaps if you're not a stuck-up prude you'd realise that men and women aren't so massively different after all, least of all in their humour. Paul Feig's flick - at a generous running time of just over two hours - gives you plenty story, plenty laughs, and never outstays its welcome (indeed, I was left wanting more - an appetite fulfilled by the copious extra features on the Blu-Ray presentation). Even with all the laugh-out-loud moments (my throat was hurting by the end as I'd been laughing so much), you genuinely identify/sympathise with Kristen Wiig's Annie, a thirty-something who finds herself suddenly quite lost on her life's path after her best friend announces she's getting married. A great cast and a great script make this a must-see laugh-riot.
Click below to read more about The Guard, The Messenger, Cedar Rapids, and 127 Hours.
Friday, 13 April 2012
Triple Bill Mini Musings: Foreign Flicks and a Supernatural Slasher...
Dogtooth:
This Greek black comedy is a twisted and intriguing affair - depicting the lives of an isolated family, where the children have all been raised with strange boundaries and teachings - aeroplanes flying overhead are said to be toys that sometimes fall to the ground, they have a brother living on the other side of an insurmountable fence, only the patriarch can leave the compound, sex is emotionless, and the meanings of numerous words have been replaced without their knowledge. The film takes a gentle, yet distanced, view on the proceedings which move at a creeping pace as if from a passive or even seated perspective (oftentimes heads are entirely cut out of the frame once the characters stand up), escalating from the bizarre (the father pimps his factory's security woman out to his son at regular intervals) to the disturbing (sudden moments of blunt violence and perverse sexual practises), there's still room for a curious sense of comedy. Rocky IV, Jaws, and Flashdance all find their way into this cut-off and insular world that avoids explanation. I figured I'd give this a punt as it was showing during Film4's recent Extreme season (as presented by film critic Mark Kermode), and in spite of the more troubling moments, it makes for a fascinating and darkly comic viewing experience.
This Greek black comedy is a twisted and intriguing affair - depicting the lives of an isolated family, where the children have all been raised with strange boundaries and teachings - aeroplanes flying overhead are said to be toys that sometimes fall to the ground, they have a brother living on the other side of an insurmountable fence, only the patriarch can leave the compound, sex is emotionless, and the meanings of numerous words have been replaced without their knowledge. The film takes a gentle, yet distanced, view on the proceedings which move at a creeping pace as if from a passive or even seated perspective (oftentimes heads are entirely cut out of the frame once the characters stand up), escalating from the bizarre (the father pimps his factory's security woman out to his son at regular intervals) to the disturbing (sudden moments of blunt violence and perverse sexual practises), there's still room for a curious sense of comedy. Rocky IV, Jaws, and Flashdance all find their way into this cut-off and insular world that avoids explanation. I figured I'd give this a punt as it was showing during Film4's recent Extreme season (as presented by film critic Mark Kermode), and in spite of the more troubling moments, it makes for a fascinating and darkly comic viewing experience.
Continue reading after the jump for Import/Export, and Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II...
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