The Avengers - Teamwork Works

Oliver and Prince are my two doggies who love to sneak away to take a peek at the latest flick. As in the past, they were able to push through the crowds and long lines and find a comfortable spot in the theater. Once they get back home, I couldn't help but listen to their contrary views on what they just saw. This is what I heard after their Saturday evening trip to see Marvel's The Avenger. Take a listen to their review of the film.


Prince: I've waited for years to see this film and I was not disappointed. I love the old Marvel style of superheroes.

Oliver: Not being as familiar with comic books, I guess I've got a more objective outlook on the movie. To me, a lot of the movie was over done and a bit confusing. There were always too many main characters on the screen.

Prince:  I think you're missing the point on the project. Let me try to explain this so even you can understand it. These bad guys from another dimension were determined to steal an ultimate power source and then destroy the human race. Heroes with special abilities were then brought together to hopefully save the world.

Oliver: No need to be insulting. I got the basics. I always have a problem when a film is almost two and a half hours long. I understand that they were trying to give information on each character but to me it seemed like more than I needed to know.

Prince: You've got to be kidding. Each of these superheroes has their own personal history which could have taken even longer but I feel that the producers did an excellent job of bringing the audience who might not be familiar up to speed. The ability to continue the old story lines while they were creating a new one, was tough enough but the way they did entwined conflicts between these strong personalities made for a more believable film.

Oliver: I don't get you. What do you mean?

Prince: Look at Thor (Chris Hemsworth) for example. When he's made his decision to fight, he'll start swinging that hammer of his to get his point of view across. Take that force of nature and then add the technologically driven Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downy Jr.) disagreeing with the way that Thor has decided to handle things. Testosterone overload is one thing but the argument that these two can (and did) have, makes you happy that it was only on the screen.

Oliver: I see what you mean and I guess that I have to agree.  I must say that the special effects were extraordinary. Was there really a guy dressed up to be the Hulk?

Prince: Of course not. I do understand your confusion with the CGI (computer generated images) though. The Hulk/Bruce Banner (played by Mark Ruffulo) did facially look like the actor but there would be no way to safely accomplish the feats of strength that we saw. The computer science behind the super-human tasks were believable and almost seamless.

Oliver: I guess I have to agree again. Now that I think of it, I also liked the strong female characters. I thought that Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) was very athletic and great to look at. She makes me wish I had a new master.

Prince: I'd speak a little more quietly, if you still want dinner.  I must admit though, Black Widow uniform's did fit her pretty well. I'd let her walk me anytime. You're distracting me from my original points. What do you finally think about the movie overall?

Oliver: I'm embarrassed to say that I'm changing my vote. The movie did what it promised which was to give a non-stop roller coaster ride which could be appreciated by young and old alike. The touch of tongue-in-cheek, humor and sarcasm worked effectively to lighten some of the heavier moments, like when Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was confronted by the Hulk. This scene could have simply been a physical brawl but the inserted repartee played out smartly and was timed just right. When this level was added to the scene, it was understood by all. I could tell by the way the entire audience laughed right on cue.  And oh yeah, the 3-D glasses didn't even bother my eyes. The slight effect only added to the movie. 

Prince: I could not have said it better myself. You're smarter than the half the audience that thought the movie was over when the ending credits started running. Too bad they missed the reference to what might be The Avengers 2 movie. How do you rate the movie now? I give it a 10/10.

Oliver: I guess we agree 'cause I'm with you brother. Wait a minute. I hear the food bag rattling. Race you.

Prince: I'm way ahead of you.

Before Alien, There Was Prometheus

June 9, 2012 - Premiere of Prometheus

So you think it's impossible to review a movie that has not come out yet. Well, you're probably right but since I found that there would soon be a prequel to the Alien movies, I felt the need to reminisce on the old and then share the upcoming film prior to it's debut.

In the first Alien movie back in 1979, director, Ridley Scott, brilliantly proved that you could scare your audience prior to showing an "Alien" through the power of suggestion. He wanted to terrorize your imagination to be  first. This tactic was used during the opening scenes of the interior of the spacecraft, the Nostromo. The camera slowly panned across the piloting area and then a seat slightly shifted but the cause could not be seen. The audience waited for some type of monster to be jump out. You later find that it was probably just the cat moving around on the floor, where the camera angle could not see him.

Only glimpses were shown of the actual creature until halfway through the movie. Prior to this, concentration was kept on the reactions of the terrified crew. Of course, when the alien was finally shown, it made you wish that you were still using your imagination. In 1980, H.R. Giger received an academy award for his masterful designs of the Alien creature.

Ridley Scott again directs the new movie, Prometheus, which is set prior to the original. There will be some explanations given for things let secret in Alien like the "Space Jockey" and where did the alien come from. Among the cast for the film are Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender and  Noomi Rapace.

Prometheus Trailer

Please do not sit in my reserved seat when the movie does premiere. Take a look at the trailer and decide for yourself whether I have a reason to be excited.

John Carter, Are You Coming Back?

Overall a very entertaining ride. I was not disappointed.

I was moved to see this movie from the television advertisements endlessly run through the week. The scenery seemed creative and other-worldly which started a sci-fi itch that I sometimes get.

I had gotten to the theater that opening night but arrived only fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled time. I figured that the long lines had already gone in and  I'd have to find whatever seat that I could (I love the center middle area). When I walked in, I found that the theater was only half filled and by the time that the feature began, there were not that many more that arrived. I suddenly felt that a lot of people might have known something that I did not. Fortunately, the $11.00 that I had spent was not wasted.

John Carter is the story of an earth-man (Taylor Kitsch) from the old West who finds himself transported to the planet Mars. He becomes embroiled in the civil disputes of the local inhabitants and because of his new-found abilities (which seem like super-powers) and his need to help others, John moves from being a lost soul to a man with a purpose.

The plot development seemed strange at first but soon impressed me as being imaginatively written. What I really liked was the writer's ability to draw parallels from the surroundings as John jumped back and forth from the old West and to Mars. The rawness between the two locations was similar enough that it worked to helped one to believe in the film's theme. On the down side, even though a great deal of time was spent detailing the conflict between hostile tribes and warriors grabbing for power, the filmmaker could still not make me believe that what I was seeing was little more than a small band of testosterone-driven maniacs trying to gain a few more acres of land.

The romance, which of course became John's focal point of motivation (I doubt this spoils it for anyone) was well done but the sucker-for-a-good- love-story that I am, needed a lot more depth. I felt I was looking at a teenager who had found love for the first instead of a mature man who had learned a bit of wisdom. Regardless, there was a chemistry between Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) and John which made me hope that their relationship would endure their interplanetary differences.

The alien tribes were only believable and entertaining to a point. I will not bring up the trauma that I felt when I witnessed how Jar Jar Binks tried to bring down Stars Wars I. Fortunately, these creatures were not that bad.

In terms of movie facts, Taylor Kitsch did most of his own stunt work. The safety harnesses used to simulate his 80 mile per hour and 80 foot superhuman jumps were far from comfortable. Hitsch stated that he had the groin scars to prove it.
 

John Carter is a 2 hr and 10 min. feature whose story could have been told in about an hour and a half.Overall, this movie is worth seeing. With any really good movie, I yearn for a sequel and/or more detail but by the ending of John Carter, I felt that I had happily seen enough. I give a rating of 8/10.

"Crash" is True To It's Name

I've just seen the movie "Crash" (1998) with James Spader. I'd heard about the premise of the movie years ago (people get turned on through car crashes) but was not that interested to see it until recently (came across it on Netflix). I have not seen a more perverted movie in a while. Being male, most of the sex scenes were pretty hot (NC-17, DVD version) but after a while, this theme got repetitious. The attempt to glamorize car crashing got to be lame and I've never heard this "underground rush" related to any group before I saw the movie or since. With as much nudity and as many sex scenes in this movie, you wonder what the auditions were like. I liked "The Secretary" (Spade & Gyllenhaal) with it's sado-masochistic theme. The characters were quirky but overall the sex scenes and the movie made sense (find this in another review). Too often Crash was sexual for the sake of being sexual and whatever underlining theme there was got lost. I felt like I should have rented a porno.    

             
The nude scenes just could not carry the theme of the movie. Good concept, disappointing movie.

Creepy Carrie Lives

My favorite horror movie of all time is “Carrie”. This was the original 1976 version, based on the book by Stephen King, directed by Brian De Palmer and played in the film by Sissy Spacek.

The basic plot is about lonely Carrie who has always felt different and left out. Carrie’s over-to-top religious mother (played by Piper Laurie) has brought Carrie up to fear everything and trust no one but only her mother (and God). During the beginning of Carrie’s first menses, telekinetic abilities seemed to have also blossomed. Because Sue Snell (played by Amy Irving) and her friends have been mean to Carrie, Sue tries to make it up to Carrie. Sue sends her boyfriend to the prom with Carrie and she feels like she is now part of the in-crowd. This ends in disaster because another girl hates Carrie and follows through with her own plan.

There are some marked differences from the book but De Palmer captured the flavor of the total confusion one feels during adolescence. Add the tastefully done nude scenes, Carrie’s growing telekinetic powers and of course, the horror sequences and you have a well conceived plan to lure you in and then scare your pants off.

It was noticeable that some of the “teenagers” were a bit on the older side but to me, this is the only down side of the movie. The characters that John Travolta, William Katt and Nancy Allen play are worth mentioning but because of Sissy Spacek’s excellent rendition of the Carrie character (she is such a good actress) and the serene and haunting soundtrack, you find yourself pulled into this film’s innocence and then tragedy.

Spoiler Alert. Don’t read below if don’t want to know the ending of the movie.

As ridiculous as it might seem to run a spoiler alert on a movie that’s been out since 1976, there are those who have not seen the movie. I don’t want to spoil it for them.
Personal Note- This writer is has always been an avid horror and science fiction watcher. I enjoy the rush of a good scare. I like to laugh and joke with my friends but I handle myself conservatively while in public. I was not prepared for what I was about to witness.

At the end of the movie there is a dream sequence which is calming for the character (Sue Snell) and the audience. The set up is, Carrie has killed her mother and herself and you figure this puts closure on the movie because the main character has died. Sue Snell, being the only survivor of the high school fire is, of course, traumatized. She has dreams of placing flowers at the empty lot where her “friend” Carrie has died. The photography is hazy and the music is serene and calming. To me, the movie was obviously winding down, as Sue gives this tribute to Carrie. As Sue is walking, I am putting my arm in my jacket, with my eyes still on the screen and I waited for the credits to scroll down. As Sue is about to place the bouquet on the ground, Carrie’s bloody hand reaches out of the ground and grabs Sue’s wrist. I half stood up and screamed “Nooooo.” Sue woke and the dream (and the movie) ended.

Now I know that others in the audience screamed in horror but no one screamed as loudly as I did. If someone had told me that I was going to react that way in a crowded movie theater, I would have said they were crazy. I was genuinely scared! Eerie movie fact – Sissy Spacek was actually buried under the ground in order to do this scene.

End of Spoiler Alert

Horror movies after Carrie have used the “unexpected added ending” while others rely heavily on gore and special effects. Regardless of when this movie was made or how often you see it, Carrie can still bring you to the edge of your seat and then knock you off it. Carrie will always be a masterpiece of horror film making at it’s best.

This movie deserves my highest rating. It delivers what is promised and does not look back.