Movies

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR's CHRIS HEMSWORTH headlines this film as Captain Mitch Nelson, a military team leader who has never seen real combat and who has just disbanded his team to take a desk job. It was a good plan, and a good career.

But 9-11 got in the way.

Following the attacks on the World Trace Center in 2001, Nelson fights to get his Special Forces team back together and sent to the Middle East. Over objections, he is successful, and his team join up with one of the Afghan warlords, General Dostum (NAVID NEGAHBAN), to take on the Taliban. Their specific mission is to advance and capture the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which is a stronghold of the Taliban.

With Marvel's AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR tearing up the box office, the timing couldn't be more perfect for Marvel Studios to release the trailer for ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink. In the aftermath of “Captain America: Civil War,” Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a Super Hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside The Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from the past.

As villains go, Thanos is the best Marvel villain to date. Unfortunately, because the bar is so low, that's still not saying much.

I had originally planned on writing "5 Things That Ruined Avengers: Infinity War" but as I started with my first point, it morphed into its own article. So I may hit on my other four points at a later date. For now, though, I present to you the biggest moment that ruined the movie.

***SPOILER WARNING***

Too often in comic book stories, the villain is motivated by greed or power. They not only are evil, but they know they are evil, and you will submit to them or fork over all your cash, depending on the depth of their megalomania.

The best villains, however, see themselves as the heroes of their own story, and act accordingly. Thus it is with Thanos, in a lifetime achievement role for actor JOSH BROLIN. All Thanos wants to do is eliminate poverty, make sure there are plenty of resources for people to live on, and see the universe at peace. And to do this, the only thing he needs to do is simply cut the existing population in half.

There are a lot of tidbits out there that add up to a full story when you connect the dots between Henry Cavill and director Christopher McQuarrie.

With CinemaCon happening and Henry Cavill doing press tours for the upcoming Mission Impossible: Fallout movie, directed by McQuarrie, the Superman actor is having a hard time dodging questions about his future in the DCEU. He has been asked about when we'll see him as Superman again and another question was asked about a potential sequel to 2013's MAN OF STEEL. This episode of "Superman Talk" discusses his answers and how McQuarrie plays a potential role in the return of Superman on the big screen.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Kino Industries' Ctrl Movie, a technology company billed as a "collaborative cinematic experience," is partnering with 20th Century Fox.

The tech allows the in-theater audiences to control the characters' actions throughout the film using the app that offers people dual commands during pivotal points in the films' action. Depending on the audiences' choices, the film will have a different plot, ending and even running time.

Thanos. The name alone strikes a chord with Marvel comic aficionados. It’s like sitting at a WWE event when the lights all go out, a lone, deep bell peals, and the arena is bathed in eerie blue light and theatrical fog, signaling the arrival of The  Undertaker. When Thanos shows up in a comic book, someone is going to die. If Thanos had his way, everyone would die.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a bit different than the Marvel Comic Universe, but Thanos is still the ultimate cosmic antagonist. Up until know he’s been relegated to talking head spots, chiding Loki in Marvel’s The Avengers, putting Ronan the Accuser in his place in Guardians of the Galaxy, and so forth. With The Avengers: Infinity War Thanos finally takes center stage against the entire host of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s expansive cast. And if Thanos had his way, nearly everyone would die.

BEN WHISHAW returns to lend his voice to the delightfully courteous and thoughtful-to-a-fault Paddington Brown, a talking bear who lives in London with the Brown family -- Henry (HUGE BONNEVILLE), Mary (SALLY HAWKINS), Judy (MADELAINE HARRIS) and Jonathan (SAMUEL JOSLIN).

Paddington's Aunty Lucy (IMELDA STAUNTON) is having an important birthday coming up, and Paddington wants to get her the perfect present. He finds it in an antique shop -- a pop-up book of all the London landmarks, created by a very famous carnival owner. Alas, the book is very expensive, and Paddington sets out to earn the money to buy the book.

Is there a proper escape from reality? Wouldn't it be wonderful to live a life of dreams rather than face the consequences of life's choices? If only the technology existed to find a way to gratify the desires of the flesh, or to discover enjoyment in safely pursuing a hobby, alter-ego, or living a lifestyle exceeding our own personal potential.

The creation of a true virtual reality, where anyone could do or be anything limited only by the imagination, seems like a syfy movie or television series. But wouldn't the existence of this technology be a great advancement, for all mankind? Science focusing on the betterment of our human existence controlled by corporate greed. Can you only imagine!

Escape from Reality: Enter the Oasis. 

From CNet:

20th Century Fox is changing around its movie release dates for the X-Men sequel "Dark Phoenix" and the X-Men character film "The New Mutants." 

...

Both comic book films are delayed until 2019, so "Bohemian Rhapsody," a biopic on the band Queen, can hit theaters on Nov. 2 instead of its original Dec. 25 opening date. 

From Hollywood Reporter:

Captain Marvel is going to be a blast from the past in more ways than one. The '90s-set film will not only see Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) back, but also a number of familiar faces, Marvel Studios revealed Monday.

Ugh. It's just another boring sequel.

Those were my initial thoughts. I mean, when is the last time a sequel to a good action movie actually succeeded in living up to the expectations or originality of the first movie? I was glad I was proven wrong with PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING! I actually enjoyed this feature. It revived great memories of my childhood favorite cartoons, like Voltron, Transformers, and even GI-Joe. This kid was brought back to imagining being the  hero with--not superpowers--but the extraordinary opportunity to pilot a giant robotic weapon created as a last defense to save the world! Who doesn't want to learn to pilot a giant fighting robot against evil alien creatures? Kabaam! Pow! Rockets! Super Punch! Another victory for the hero!

Exciting! 

The name of the movie is Tomb Raider, but name of the game is franchises. That’s the word that makes Hollywood drool like Pavlov’s pooches. Some are obvious, like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and the mighty Marvel Cinematic Universe that everyone in Tinseltown is scrambling to emulate.  Tomb Raider would seem to be an obvious candidate, considering it’s essentially Indiana Jones as a British woman. Born from the multi-billion dollar videogame industry, Tomb Raider’s lead character Lara Croft has driven a long parade of console videogames, a successful comic book series, and two reasonably successful films starring Angelina Jolie. After more than a decade, Hollywood decided the time was right to reboot the cinematic arm of the Tomb Raider franchise.

MATT DAMON (JASON BOURNE) stars in this ALEXANDER PAYNE vehicle about a world where the capability of shrinking living beings is made a reality.

Being able to become five inches high, while irreversible, comes with many advantages, which fall into the categories of ecology and economy. Requiring less to sustain yourself scales what might be a meager savings for a full-size individual into a fortune for a miniaturized one, allowing for a retirement to leisure much earlier. Likewise, the less one uses, the less waste produced, so it's a win-win.

Payne does a wonderful job exploring the downsides of the technology as well -- particularly with political dissidents being shrunk against their will, and the challenges to illegal immigration if refugees can simply be shipped overseas by Federal Express.

So I've just watched JUSTICE LEAGUE for the first time, thanks to the Blu-ray / DVD / Digital release of the film, and I have to admit that I'm happily impressed. For the most part, anyway. After having been sorely disappointed with many of the aspects of its predecessor, BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, JUSTICE LEAGUE was a film that took the DCEU leaps and bounds into better territory.

Of the many things that are still visible in the rear view mirror of last weekend's Oscars, one of the items still being discussed is Frances McDormand's acceptance speech, where she closed with the following:

"I have two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: Inclusion Rider."

Is it the name of her next film? Is it the name of the next Kardashian baby?

Actually, an inclusion rider is a term applied to an actor's contract, as applied by the actor. When signing on to a movie and finalizing their contract for same, an inclusion contract is something added by the actor that forces the production company to hire cast and crew that reflects the demographics of the world. It stipulates there will be x percentage of men, y percentage of women, z percentage of this race and that race, and lgtbq percentage of LGBTQ.

We used to call this practice a "quota system."

WONDER WOMAN was the superhero film no one expected, but we all agreed well deserved, reportedly earning more than $400,000,000, and was the 3rd highest grossing film of the year. It was tremendously well-received by audiences and critics alike, and it finally broke the DC curse of taking some of the most iconic and beloved comic book characters and producing severely underwhelming movies (the infamous Martha scene in the penultimate BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE movie arguably reached new levels of disappointing even diehard fans). It was immediately clear that WONDER WOMAN 2 had to happen. And it will.

Wonder Woman’s Unexpected Success

As an avid board game player and a fan of Jason Bateman, I was eager to see Game Night, the new comedy by directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein, the fellows that brought you Horrible Bosses. As usual, I avoided previews so I wasn't really sure what I was going to see. The premise is actually pretty similar to the brilliant Michael Douglas thriller The Game, but this time done as a farce. As with most farcical films, they tend to be better if everyone goes all in on the conceit. Game Night does exactly that.

Alex Garland, who received a lot of praise for his first directorial effort, Ex Machina (2015) and wrote and produced one of my favorite comic book adaptations with Dredd (2012), is a way ahead of me. I like to think I’m a pretty sharp guy. I can usually spot the twist nobody saw coming just before everyone else. I generally am aware of the nuanced use of the color palette and lighting to achieve mood and heighten tension.  I can appreciate a slow, thoughtful pace. I most certainly can applaud the predominant casting of strong, capable women in this film. Yet I cannot even begin to tell you what Garland’s latest picture, Annihilation, is really about. I just can’t. I didn’t get it. I mean, virtually none of it. So this is going to be one strange flick to discuss.

When an art dealer (GREG KINNEAR) is discovered to be cheating on his wife (RENEE ZELLWEGER), she forgives him on the condition they try to fix their relationship. For Ron Hall, this means he will be joining Debbie in assisting at a homeless shelter, not by writing a check but by using his hands and putting in the effort to get to know the people there and help them one-on-one. It is here that they meet Denver Moore (DJIMON HOUNSOU), a violent man with a criminal past. He also looks exactly like the man Debbie has been having dreams about, and she focuses on finding out more about him.