The Avengers (2012)

Starring: A bunch of people

Director: Joss Whedon

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0848228/

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Avengers_(2012_film)

Many of you have never heard of this small independent film that explores the deep realms of the human psyche by analysing the most intellectually intriguing phrase of our time: "HULK SMASH!!!!!"

Or it just might be about something completely different...

The movie starts off with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) coming to Earth with the intent of becoming its supreme ruler. It is up to a familiar group of superheroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye (respectively played by Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner) under the guidance of Nick Furry (Samuel L. Jackson) to stop him. However, they first have to learn to work together as their conflicting personalities soon become apparent.

Umm...it's awesome! Nope, I don't have anything to add to that; I think I've made myself pretty clear. Okay, fine, if you insist...

I was expecting this movie to be pretty good even though I have mixed feelings about the previous Marvel movies that preceded it. "Captain America" was great and "The Incredible Hulk" was enjoyable. The "Iron Man" movies were pretty good though I feel like they could have been better. "Thor"...was okay, but I say that generously since it had major flaws. Still, I figured this movie would take enough of the best elements from each of them and be able to create a competent story. And...it did! It really just goes all out: it makes the most of the characters and how they interact with each other, it has a number of funny moments that are actually funny, it has some good serious moments, and (perhaps most importantly) it has lots and lots and LOTS of action!!! What more can you want?!!!

That's pretty much it. I really can't elaborate on it any further, at least not without spoiling it. Too be honest, I can't really criticize it either. The only part I really questioned was how the characters seemed be clued in on a bunch of the major details about each other and the situation at hand. But they explain how the film takes place about a year after the other ones ended and given how persistent Nick Furry has been about keeping tabs on people (and how high profile some of their individual circumstances were in the media) its seems logical that they would all have a basic idea of what was going on. Which is good because it minimizes the number of scenes needed to do all that explaining and cuts straight to the good parts!

So...yeah! It is a really solid, excellent movie. Most of you who are reading this are probably going to see it anyway or have already done so, but if you are on the fence for some reason, I definitely recommend it. I can't think of any other superhero movie that will be able to beat this one this summer...

Hmm...forgot about that one...

P.S.: As you would expect, there is a scene after the main closing credits that...okay, I will not spoil it. And if you wait until the end of rest of the credits, there is something else. Just in case you wanted to know.

Review: I Am Number Four (2011) TH

Teens, love and alien numbers

This is a person-with-special-abilities movie involving a teen at the center along the lines of "Smallville," "Jumper," "Harry Potter," "Twilight," "Percy Jackson" and "Push." John (Alex Pettyfer) moves around with his protective guardian and mentor Henri (Timothy Olyphant) to elude these tall, pale, bald things called "Mogadorians." After trouble elsewhere, involving normal people finding out part of who he really is, John and Henri find a home sweet home in Paradise, Ohio: a place where instead of running away it all comes together with real friends who might actually understand him.

John is the fourth of his kind of protectors of Earth, though this hunky, human-look-alike with the exception of glowing hands and calves hails from a planet called "Lorien" along with eight others. Three are tracked, hunted down and killed by the Mogs and John's number is up next, that is unless he can keep his powers to himself and control them. This is reminiscent of the whole Spider-Man motto: "With great power there must also come great responsibility," not to mention discipline and restraint. All things the normal person might pervert, and that's what typically separates heroes from villains: self-sacrifice vs. personal gain. Except the Mogs are a little more extreme as they don't want to colonize Earth, they want to decimate it--you know, those kind of savage villains of the '50s stock who look exaggeratedly hideous and are so one-dimensional that you're forced not to like 'em considering everyone else is normal or pretty.

Where Superman could easily fly into a telephone booth and comb his hair the other way without anyone suspecting a thing, our guy, Number Four, has 21st century technology to dodge his appearance getting out such as video streaming sites and web pages to spread photography of his presence, which is too tempting for him to contain. He's found a quirky friend to stick up for, who coincidentally has a thing with aliens and UFOs. Though he's got more than one enemy on his list, with the newest being the egomaniac school bully who comes in between a newly met, photographer girl to further complicate the challenge of forbidden love a la "Twilight." This is where the pacing turns somewhat light-hearted and melodramatic (think WB broadcasting) to show that people with extraordinary skills deep down inside have desires and deal with problems just the same. Though it creates a slower middle with the whole token, fairyland-in-modern-times love interest subplot and takes away from the fast moving pace it starts and finishes with. The last action sequence is loaded with special effects and involved a high-octane battle involving shootouts with alien weapons and odd looking alien beasts.

"I Am Number Four" squeezes every other convention into it of the last decade. It borrows from established big-budget pictures to create a recognizable formula that feels secure: aka cash-in. While it's a little more pliable and less shameless than others who straight take a formula, it still feels like they're camouflaging this as something you've already seen with different names, faces and only a few things shuffled around. This isn't going to be like "Heroes" where there is at least someone in the cast that you can gravitate towards, as the relatability factor of "I Am Number Four" is aimed towards a certain demographic with hardly any other punches pulled outside of its box. There are all kinds of things to learn and grow from, except it's slated towards an up-and-coming teen who doesn't know where they place themselves in life amongst the pecking order just yet, as it shows by example how these characters made it through in mostly one piece and gives courage to do so yourself. They do it, you don't, no one gets hurt, though it all kind of gets tiring after awhile with everything so smoothly falling into place by fate or coincidence.

Director: D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye)
Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron
Website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1464540/

Review: Green Lantern (2011) TH

Forget class rings and wedding bands, this is one ring you'll wish you had

A brazen man named Hal Jordan, who tests the limits of everything he does, including flying fighter jets like he's got nothing to lose, has these impressive powers thrust upon himself and has to fill the shoes of an esteemed alien warrior named Abin Sur that crashed on Earth and is dying. If that wasn't enough he's given the responsibility to protect the world with this little bitty ring from a monolithic entity called Parallax that feeds off of fear--like a whispering voice that nags inside your ear and tells you you can't amount to anything before succumbing to its hungry jaws.

Mr. Jordan has a few things on his plate to work out in his personal life, such as continually disappointing those around him, including his family, co-workers and old love interest named Carol who also works with him but grew up and he didn't. Without having a chance to really think about what he's getting into by giving his word to the dying alien and swearing an oath to this weird green orb, he takes what's happening in stride. His powers come out of the ring by accident but it isn't until he's transported to this distant planet called Oa that houses the Green Lantern Corps, does he really understand the scope and magnitude. There are droves of others just like him that are assigned a certain area in the galaxy to protect--except his position is unique because Earth is a younger planet that has never had a ring bearing guardian. He's not taken very seriously and like something out of the Marine Corps has to go through make-or-break training to prove he's up to snuff.

Meanwhile, a hermit named Hector Hammond is taken to a secret facility to examine the body of the alien and in the process is infected by a contagion left over from Parallax from his battle with Abin Sur prior to crashing on Earth. Hal Jordan and Hector Hammond are figuring out what their powers are capable of in interspliced shots. They both crave their fathers' respect and also have an eye for Carol, except she only sees potential love in Jordan. Now with Hammond's powers coming into fruition he decides to do something about it that doesn't include just asking her out because that's not what psychos do.

As a massive budget feature, "Green Lantern" samples the board without being on top of its game with it all. It's mostly easy entertainment that plays it safe and somewhat formulaic at times, though it comes with a few challenges regarding not measuring up to what you're supposed to be and having to conquer yourself before you can beat your enemies. It constantly plays on a relatability factor with the "cool" aspect of having unlimited power that's conjured up from the lantern ring by just using your will. Any object you can think of--such as a machine gun, sword, giant fist--will come out of the ring in a green mirage that packs a physical punch or safety net to save innocents; think of Mr. Fantastic meets Bugs Bunny. Unlike the realism in "X-Men: First Class," this requires more of your imagination to reach out such as traveling great distances so quickly, everybody speaking the same tongue, being able to breath wherever they go, not one astronomer spotting any activity on these distant planets prior. If you're a comic book reader, this won't be a stretch as brushing over the details to accelerate an epic story has been happening since super-heroes were first inked in space.

Ryan Reynolds retains a lot of himself here from past movies by giving out some of his typical one-liners but on the other hand adds a fun element to what could have been serious subjects. Peter Sarsgaard is almost unrecognizable as he keeps it downbeat and deplorable due to sinking further and further into something "else." Like "Iron Man" with Jeff Bridges' character, this attempted to include another big star face, though Tim Robbins plays it stiff and safe as his role didn't require range or any likability. The 3-D gave a chance to show off some of the outer reaches of space with nearly pure CGI shots of planets that jut out and are painted with various splashes of color. Some of it is detailed, though the other parts look somewhat dated and almost what you'd expect out of a video game instead. Not all of the movie required 3-D as a share of it was a building process to a concluding battle where the results felt somewhat inevitable and predictable. That's one aspect a sequel could include more of: more action in between that doesn't have to be crammed till the end instead of distracting with token love interests and unnecessary, quirky buddies on the side.

Director: Martin Campbell (Goldeneye, Casino Royale, Edge of Darkness)
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Tim Robbins, Mark Strong
Website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1133985/

Review: X-Men: First Class (2011) TH

The X-Men in groovy training pants

Marvel Comics and its embodiments have been rearranging and manipulating the past and present to include how super-heroes would have done it differently since the golden days of Captain America punching the lights out of Hitler. Fast forward to the early '60s and we get revisionism of the Cold War by splicing fantasy and realism to include a look at where "mutants"--super-humans with odd mutations in their DNA giving them special abilities--fit in to society. Is the world ready to accept these flukes of nature even if it's to save the Kennedy/communist era world from nuclear war on the brink? Well, at the center of the story involves two men who look at the dilemma quite differently: an idealist junior professor from a handed down wealthy background and another man who survived from the ground up in the bleak Nazi concentration camps.

The beginning of X-Men: before distinct suits and names, before mutants collectively showed their ugly or beautiful side--however you want to look at it--for fear of ridicule, misunderstandings and unequal treatment. Think back to when glasses, fat kids and braces got the giggles and swirlies in the john, except the characters here instead transform certain flawed characteristics into epic super powers that would cause the normal person to stand still in their tracks and not quite possibly believe their eyes. Professor X: a telepath with persuasion; Riptide: wind control; Banshee: voice projection; Azazel: instant teleportation. These are just some of the select super heroes and villains before they knew everything about what it is to truly being one.

Where there are specially gifted spread out, they all have something in common and the story brings them closer together to either destroy or save humanity. Some mutants still find it in them to do good, others say the heck with the regulars who won't except them for who they are, and then, of course, there are the true villains who exploit their powers for gain. As a boy Erik (Michael Fassbender) was introduced to Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) due to being sighted as talented in the dreary concentration camps of Poland in 1944. Erik's powers of controlling metal objects only came out with extreme rage, so Shaw being the nice Nazi he is callously disposes of someone to see this come out. This creates a tormented vendetta against the man who unlocked his hidden abilities but also took something that can't be given back. By now Shaw is a little harder to get ahold of with a strong group of mutants behind him. He uses them to press a political agenda to pit Russia and the United States against each other, while he reaps the reward of the fallout.

What made "X-Men: First Class" work was there was a layered story that was dramatic while not missing out on a constantly moving adventurous side. Since this squeezes numerous characters, frequent location and language changes, not to mention two battling nations in one reasonably lengthened movie, some things do fall a little too in place to benefiting the story all coming together in one big related catastrophe at the same time. Some complex inventions and training sessions came a little too conveniently, but when are they ever realistically shown? While the mutants are at the forefront, the regular humans miss out on depth and range. Their personalities go from completely wooden to just tentatively going along for the ride to nail it home that they're utterly closed-minded to push a definitive persecution tone without question.

This is an entertaining experience that's both for comic book fans and regular cinema goers as it takes it all a little more seriously than other massive budget popcorn pictures by measuring out fantasy and injecting realism--including violence and people that "actually" die in a comic book story--to make one's imagination crack wide open and put in the direct moment. That is till someone has to go back to the day-to-day grind where they might daydream of stopping that bully, taking out that robber and if there was a power to give themselves a raise at work, I'm sure they'd do that to.

Director: Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Kick-Ass)
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne
Website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270798/