Marvel's: The Avengers-
- Let me start with the awkward title. While the group of superheroes known as the Avengers is a well-established brand (at least among U.S. comic book nerds), they aren't the only franchise marketed under the title "The Avengers". So Marvel probably wanted to distinguish a movie they hoped would succeed from an earlier film of the same title that bombed painfully. (When you click on that last link be sure to compare the film's gross to it's production budget.) In fact the earlier Avengers movie went over so poorly it almost pulled a triple-homicide on the careers of Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman and even Sean Connery. Additionally, I suspect the leaders of Marvel's still nascent movie studio were concerned about audiences recognizing how they had interconnected multiple movies. To the average movie-goer there might be no clear connection between The Avengers and Thor or Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk except for the shared Marvel brand. So to maximize their potential audience, Marvel's marketeers didn't want anyone to misunderstand what was going on here. It worked too. As the first über-sequel -following up on multiple films that were only partly connected- The Avengers has earned more than any of the previous Marvel movies; putting aside the Iron Man movies it has grossed more than all of the lead-ins combined.
- I knew I had no reason to see the movie Battleship (Yes, this is still about The Avengers. Just hang on a second.) as soon as I learned that at no point during the movie does anyone say, "You sunk my battleship." That is the one vital line any script for that movie HAD to contain. The fact that the filmmakers didn't realize they had to include it -even if only ironically- was all I needed to know to not want to watch that movie. The fact that it also appeared to be the cinematic equivalent of a septic tank overflowing was just affirmation. I tell you this to help explain why I felt a little disappointed when a friend noted that no one says "Avengers assemble!" in The Avengers. I wouldn't have said I was a stickler for catchphrases before this summer, but apparently I am.
- On the topic of the film's commercial success, you may have heard a certain amount of cheering erupt from some of the geekier corners of Internet as The Avengers broke all kinds of box-office records. That was the sound of millions (or, more likely, thousands) of fans rejoicing that geek idol Joss Whedon finally had a profitable project he could point to as validation for all of his creative brilliance. His career began as an unheralded writer for sitcoms like Roseanne, while making uncredited contributions to screenplays for various hit movies. Life in Hollywood wasn't a bowl full of cherries though. On many films he found himself pushed out of the creative process and frustrated by the decisions of others. Once he became so infuriated with his supposed collaborators that he dented a bathroom stall venting his anger. Mr. Whedon first achieved a cult-like popularity when he adapted his creation Buffy the Vampire Slayer from a disappointing movie into a much beloved TV series. Since Buffy and its spin-off Angel became minor television successes, Joss launched multiple projects. Some of which were cancelled before their time in spite of critical acclaim. Nothing he's done has ever crossed over into mainstream success despite many people taking a strong rooting interest in his career. At long last as the writer and director of The Avengers, he has proven that his work can connect to a large audience. Hopefully this will clear his path to bigger and better things. For now though, Mr. Whedon can take a much deserved bow.
- Throughout Joss Whedon's career he has been known for a few trademarks in his work: witty writing, clever plot twist, a deft sense for sincere emotion, and frequently casting the same actors. After watching The Avengers with your typical star-studded Hollywood cast, I wondered what it might look like if you recast the movie with a cadre of actors more familiar to the Joss Whedon oeuvre. The following is a breakdown of who I would have liked to see in an alternate universe version of The Avengers.I invite you to look up any of the actor with which you are unfamiliar. I'll even provide the links. They are all delightfully talented, even in things not involving Joss Whedon.
Role Movie Cast Whedon Cast
Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. Alan Tudyk
Captain America Chris Evans Nathan Fillion
Thor Chris Hemsworth Adam Baldwin
Hulk Mark Ruffalo Sean Maher
Black Widow Scarlett Johansson Christian Hendricks
Hawkeye Jeremy Renner David Boreanaz
Loki Tom Hiddleston Jonathan M. Woodward
Phil Coulson Clark Gregg Tahmoh Penikett
Maria Hill Cobie Smulders Felicia Day
Prof. Selvig Stellan Skarsgård Olivia Williams
Nick Fury Samuel L. Jackson Chiwetel Ejiofor
Pepper Potts Gwyneth Paltrow Amy Acker
Jarvis (voice) Paul Bettany Anthony Stewart Head
The Other Alexis Denisof Alexis Denisof
(OK, that last one didn't need to be changed)
Council Chairman Powers Boothe Harry Lennix
*spoilers* Thanos Damion Poitier Brian Thompson
The Cabin in the Woods-
- I've included this in my bite-sized reviews, mostly because I wanted to point out another movie Joss Whedon had a major role in making that didn't do to well at the box office. I don't understand how a horror movie that humorously deconstructed the genre couldn't earn at least as much money as Scream. As someone who hasn't enjoyed the Saw-ification of horror movies in recent years, I thought this film provided plenty of clever touches that horror fans and non-fans could enjoy. The fact that this film couldn't find a larger audience nicely exemplifies the snake-bitten nature of Joss Whedon's pre-Avengers career.
- Even without Whedon's involvement, I still would have been attracted to this movie if only for Bradley Whitford's presence. I can't quite explain it, but I find that man irresistibly charming in pretty much everything I see him in, especially when he's doing comedy. I like him so much, that part way through Kate & Leopold, I was actively rooting for Meg Ryan to abandon Hugh Jackman and go for Whitford's character instead.
- You may not find Cabin in the Woods at the cinemas anymore, but I think you might enjoy it even more on home video. The filmmakers seem to have made more of an effort to cram this movie with Easter eggs than any other movie I've seen. Off the top of my head I can think of four points in the movie when I wished I could have paused to take in all the little details that were captured in frame. That doesn't even count Anna Hutchison's final scene.
Moonrise Kingdom-
- Having watch and thoroughly enjoyed many of Wes Anderson's films, I think I may have noticed his most distinguishing trait as a filmmaker. He loves to use obfuscation, usually followed by an ironic revelation. We get a lot of that in this picture so it stood out enough to catch my attention. You have a shot of a scout that seems veritably Norman Rockwell until the camper turns his head to reveal a bandaged eye. At one point we are given a clear accounting of the simple supplies in a primitive campsite, only to have a large box of tinned food suddenly revealed. Anderson uses music and distance to prevent the audience from hearing certain pieces of dialogue. He writes dialogue that dances around the subject -in Moonrise Kingdom there is an important sublot involving Bruce Willis's character that is never explicitly stated but very clearly implied. Wes Anderson subtly challenges his audiences with this tactics. He asks them not just to watch and listen, but to consider what they cannot see or hear.
- Another persistent quirk in the films of Wes Anderson is his particularly mannered style of dialogue (one of many, along with panning through buildings like they were dollhouses, strangely retro art direction, and soundtracks that play like concept albums). Every character speaks in a idiosyncratic style where all of the emotions ring true even thought the actual words never sound like anything you'd hear in quotidian language. Somehow the affected cadences and precious witticisms seem to sound equally likely no matter which character says them. Anderson writes with the same voice regardless of age, sex, race, or class. With such a distinctive authorial voice every type of person is placed on a level field with no one presented as inferior or excluded. This creates a beautiful sort of equality between all of Anderson's characters where everyone is on equal terms. If writers want to avoid accusations of sexism, racism, or similar prejudices, I recommend using Wes Anderson as inspiration.
- This film presents the central characters as a pair of troubled and misunderstood preteens running away from home and struggling to understand the approach of adulthood. However if you are a cynical sort (Guilty!), you could also interpret this as a pair of developing psychopaths on the verge of breaking loose from all societal restraints. My knowledge on this subject is largely based on watching reruns of Criminal Minds, but as I understand it there are a few key warning signs for dangerous behavior and between the two leads we see all of them. You witness abuse/mistreatment of animals, fire starting, bed wetting, violent outbursts, and a complete inability to emotional relate to peers. I don't really think the kids are evil. I just worry you could watch this movie as a prequel to Bonnie and Clyde.
Prometheus-
- When you talk anyone who hasn't seen this movie they deserve to know first and foremost that Prometheus is much more of a horror story than a science-fiction tale. The central mystery of possible extraterrestrial interference in the early development of humanity gets sidetracked by prolonged sequences of monsters threatening people with gruesome deaths. I can even point to a couple of scenes where the logic of events (and possibly physics as well) get tossed aside to justify some additional action beats in the plot. It does succeed in frightening the audience to a disturbing degree, After my own father saw it he said he almost regretted having watched it he found it so disturbing.
- The promotional hype for this movie focused mostly on the director Ridley Scott. That's understandable since he was returning to the Alien franchise. However I felt most aware of another creator's influence while watching the movie: the co-writer, Damon Lindelof. You may know him from his brilliant/confusing work on Lost (link leads to cussing). I couldn't help but noticed some important themes Prometheus shared in common with Lost. There are small things like folks troubled with daddy issues, or women struggling as their infertility suddenly leads to a life threatening pregnancy. Even the storytelling structure feels very similar to Lost. We get puzzling glimpses into the underlying mythology of the universe and are left with numerous unanswered questions at the end of tale. I didn't mind that stuff when I watched Lost, so it doesn't bother me in Prometheus. Though I am well aware that there are loads of people who find that sort of thing pretty upsetting.
The Hunger Games-
- This was also a movie I watched.
Snow White and the Huntsman-
- One of the more interesting pieces of film criticism I have ever read was actually written by a sports writer. Bill Simmons once wrote a column about the movie Two for the Money in which he made clear that he enjoyed the film without ever crossing the line to endorsing it to his audience. My favorite part came when he tried to write a one sentence review that couldn't be used for blurbs in commercials and ended up writing, " Not only is "Two For The Money" surprisingly un-gawd-awful, I found myself feeling the opposite of mildly unentertained for a prolonged period of time that nearly coincided with the end of the movie." Basically this parallels my feelings about Snow White. I had worried it would turn out to be a dud that spent loads of money instead of coming up with any good ideas. In the end though, I was surprised by how much I didn't dislike it. It may not have been brilliant, but it worked as a simple summertime entertainment. The script was pretty dull, though thankfully not completely formulaic and predictable. While I generally enjoyed the look and feel of the film a few scenes toward the end were weakened by an effort to squeeze in a few more special effects. I actually would recommend others to see it, if they can tolerate fantasy films. It just goes to show you that sometimes low expectations can be the best thing about a movie.
- I was intrigued with the prospect of this movie based on the strong visuals I saw in the advertisements. Then I learned that the director Rupert Sanders had made a short film based on an excellent comic book, and my interest level went up several notches. When I watched the video online, (Heads-Up: It contains adult-type content.) I admired how well Mr. Sanders had captured the mood and visual style of the comic. That's when I knew that I would be seeing Snow White and the Huntsman at some point, if only on video a few years from now.. It delivered a lot of what I expected, gorgeous costumes, sets, and visual effects, and something I hadn't anticipated, straight-forward, unobtrusive directing. Rupert Sanders made his influence felt in his short film by making some eye-catching choices. In the feature he mostly stood back and let the film play out in a clean and simple manner. He didn't include a lot of attention grabbing shots or force in any flashy camerawork or editing for the purposes of showing off. What impressed me most about his directing style was that I almost never thought about it during the course of the film. Controlling your creative urges to deliver a clean and competent product marks a true professional, and I expect Mr. Sanders to do very well in the future.
Those are all the words I feel like making you read this time. Though if you feel inspired to write any of your own, I would be glad to read them. Consider it my way of paying you back for my prolonged absence.
