By Brett Blake While a step down from its immediate predecessor, X-MEN: APOCALYPSE is far from the disaster the critical circles have suggested. Though certainly with a handful of flaws and missteps, the film is nevertheless a fun ride, boasting great chemistry between its cast members, and at least a couple of standout setpieces that are the best of the franchise so far. After an ancient Egypt-set prologue establishing the origins of En Sabah Nur (Oscar Isaac), also known as the titular Apocalypse and the first mutant to appear on the planet, the film throws us into 1983, where Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) runs his school for mutants in relative peace. Xavier is drawn back into the world of conflict when Apocalypse resurfaces, bent on world domination, and with Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) as a converted follower. With the help of Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and a rather rag-tag group of young mutants, including Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), and Quicksilver (Evan Peters), Professor X sets out to stop Apocalypse from destroying everything in his path and establishing a new world order. On a screenplay level, there’s a lot of stuff packed into X-MEN: APOCALYPSE. This turns out to be both a blessing and a curse. Most of the individual component parts are great, particularly the integration of all of the key characters (including even more central ones than I could fit into that brief synopsis!); the film takes the time to build relationships between the new characters (particularly Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler, whose friendship happens quickly but feels totally believable and earned) as well as service existing relationships that have been running throughout these films since 2011’s X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, such as the complex dynamic between Professor X, Magneto, and Mystique, and even Professor X’s cut-short involvement with CIA agent Moira Mactaggert (Rose Byrne), which pays off in some unexpected ways here. Additionally, the movie is packed to the brim with utterly sensational moments: Cyclops experiencing his powers for the first time, Moira on an undercover spy mission and stumbling upon the resurrection of Apocalypse, Xavier counseling a tormented Jean Grey, Magneto dealing with unimaginable loss and cathartically laying waste to Auschwitz while Apocalypse acts as the devil on his shoulder, Quicksilver coming to the rescue in a particularly dire situation (which is the very definition of a showstopping sequence; it’s spectacular, and tops his previous exploits in DAYS OF FUTURE PAST by a mile), and Jean Grey finally embracing her powers and unleashing them to their fullest potential. These are truly wonderful bits (and there are more!), sometimes fun and comic book-y, and sometimes intimate and deeply concerned with the human condition. All of that stuff is great. Where the “curse” element I spoke of comes into play is in relation to the rather undercooked scheme of the villain, Apocalypse, a side effect of the story trying to do too much without giving this piece its full due. What the character ultimately wants is, in his own words, a “cleansing” of the planet, but why and how he goes about it the way he does are rather murkily drawn by the script. We are told, for example, that Apocalypse has four followers (the Four Horsemen), but why? We are shown that the character has incredible powers, and we witness him literally wiping out an entire city at one point, so why does he need four people to help him? And why only four? Why not hundreds? The logistics and mechanics of his grand scheme in the third act are opaque, at best, and we are often left to wonder what he’s attempting to achieve on a specific level. We are shown destruction on a grand scale, but the narrative rationale for it is dodgy. None of this, however, is a slight against Oscar Isaac, because he’s great in the role; he doesn’t play for the cheap seats, he doesn’t go over the top, he delivers a genuine, for-real performance, one marked by a calculating intellect and an intriguingly soft-spoken delivery. It’s a movie full of fine performances (McAvoy and Fassbender deliver the emotional goods in a big way, Peters brings welcome comic relief, and Sheridan, Turner, and Smit-McPhee are incredibly likable), but Isaac’s is assuredly the most interesting of the bunch. Another flaw of the screenplay is that it takes us on a problematic detour to Alkali Lake (a location we’ve visited in something like four of the X-films so far), one which complicates the continuity of the franchise in a fairly major way only so that we can have a surprise guest star turn up for a couple of minutes. I’m skirting around spoilers, here, and those familiar with the comics lore will surely know the significance of Alkali Lake, but this section is troubling for the way it stops the movie dead and twists the chronology of the series into a pretzel just for a cameo appearance from a beloved character. There's one other issue, and it’s one I debated even bringing into this review - I’m, frankly, at a loss to explain exactly what Jennifer Lawrence is doing with her performance in this movie. I don’t really mean to single her out, but her work here is kind of baffling. Her indifference is absolutely palpable and striking, pouring off the screen in transparent waves which say to the audience, “I DO NOT WANT TO BE HERE!” This is, without question, the least-engaged performance I’ve seen her give, and not because she makes choices that are bad or undermine the story (and to be fair, the screenplay gives her next to nothing of value to work with; Mystique as a character could be lifted out the narrative and there would be few consequences), but because she so clearly just doesn’t care about her character or the movie. It would be almost brave to be so nakedly disengaged if it weren’t also sort of insulting to both the general audience and fans of the X-Men characters. These elements are hard to look beyond, but it’s not impossible. The movie has so much good stuff in it - including everything I’ve already mentioned, but also a sense of scope and spectacle on a level not seen before in the X-MEN films, and a sterling, grandiose musical score from John Ottman, whose material here (particularly for Apocalypse and Magneto) makes it the best of his three outings as composer for this franchise. I found it, flaws and all, to be completely entertaining, and certainly among the better half of movies in this series.
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By Brett Blake THE NICE GUYS, director Shane Black’s follow-up to KISS KISS BANG BANG and IRON MAN 3, is a total blast, a wonderfully irreverent and biting crime comedy that features Black’s usual razor-sharp writing and a pair of absolutely top-notch leading performances from two actors not particularly known for their comedic chops. The result is the most delightful time I’ve had at the movies this year. Set in the late 1970s, the plot of THE NICE GUYS primarily concerns Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), a low-level hired muscle, and Holland March (Ryan Gosling), an underachieving - and frequently drunk - private investigator, who find themselves drawn together in search of a missing girl, Amelia (Margaret Qualley), who - it turns out - is deeply connected to a complex scheme involving a dead pornstar, air pollution in Los Angeles, the Detroit auto industry, and a frighteningly-competent hitman called John Boy (Matt Bomer). With some assistance from March’s intrepid thirteen-year-old daughter, Holly (Angourie Rice), Healy and March set out to navigate the deadly web of intrigue and get to the bottom of things before their own lives are cut short. As you might be able to tell from that, THE NICE GUYS is - at heart - a pulpy, noir detective story, complete with seedy personalities, shady dealings, corruption, murder, and other assorted felonies. Pulling us through are Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling; their chemistry together is absolutely fantastic, just as their individual performances and characterizations are equally impressive. We’ve never really seen this side of Crowe before, and he’s wonderful, bringing a sad, wounded quality to this beefy enforcer type, and his dry, understated, and exasperated reactions to the increasingly weird turn of events are thoroughly charming. Ryan Gosling, on the other hand, proves here that he’s a truly gifted physical comedian, imbuing his character with a goofy physicality that borders on slapstick... but in the very best way; there is a moment where Gosling discovers a dead body that is, hands down, the funniest thing I’ve ever seen him perform. Just as the chemistry between Crowe and Gosling is paramount to the movie’s success, so too is the chemistry between them and Angourie Rice’s Holly; a highly competent Nancy Drew type, Rice feels mature beyond her years, being more of a parent for her father than he is for her, while also longing to help him with his work… even as she recognizes the world he inhabits is, at best, morally ambiguous and, at worst, incredibly dangerous. Rice proves to be far more than just a kid sidekick, and her presence in the story is one of the more unexpectedly satisfying parts of the overall package. The genius of what Shane Black has done here - and yes, I would absolutely call it genius - is that the humor and comedy and shenanigans are all grounded in a real world. So often in comedies, you’re watching silly people who exist in a silly, fake movie-world that indulges the characters’ antics in ways that would never happen in real life (essentially movies where the characters don’t react as real people would). THE NICE GUYS, however, exists in a world not too dissimilar from our own (albeit set in the late '70s), with real and deadly stakes ready to explode after every one-liner or bit of physical comedy, and with a truly mean streak of violence and menace running underneath everything. This makes the humor even more of a pleasure, paradoxically, and it gives the movie a genuine edge of threat which allows the gags to hit even harder and to be even more satisfying. The people in this movie - as offbeat and weird as some of them are - could actually exist, and that is truly refreshing in an age where most comedies are dumbed-down to the point of being genuinely insulting. Los Angeles of the late 1970s is beautifully evoked, right down to the smog-choked atmosphere hovering over the city and the offbeat (some might say ugly) fashions worn by many of the players. Black doesn’t overdo the period elements to the point that they become silly or a parody, but the whole film truly has that Seventies vibe, even more so than some movies that were actually made in the Seventies. The cinematography has just enough grit and grain to convince one that THE NICE GUYS might have even been made somewhere around 1977, and the soundtrack elements - both the score by John Ottman and & David Buckley, and the song needle drops, which feature the likes of the Bee Gees, KISS, America, and Kool & The Gang - put you right back in that era. It’s worth noting here that somebody walking into THE NICE GUYS expecting the most hilarious and ribald comedy in the history of cinema will likely walk away disappointed. The movie is as much a weird mystery and thriller as it is a comedy, and Shane Black’s brand of humor might not be universal; speaking only for myself, I find this sort of comedy to be very much my speed, and while there might not have been too many moments where I found myself laughing uncontrollably, I did have a grin plastered on my face for basically the entire movie, which is far more than I can say for most supposed “comedies” of recent years. I found it thoroughly, consistently, completely enjoyable, a film that satisfies on any number of levels if you’re willing to go along for the ride. By Brett Blake & Breanne Brennan Just last weekend, the Summer Movie Season officially kicked-off (though, honestly, we’ve been in big blockbuster territory since BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE opened back on March 25th) with CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. For movie buffs, this is a fun time of year; not all of the movies headed our way will be good, of course, but the potential is always there for some genuinely great entertainment to emerge. We’re excited! As we look over the release calendar, what’s most striking is just how many movies are coming this summer. It’s a stacked couple of months, more than any summer in recent memory (at least it feels that way), with several release dates occupied by multiple giant films. We’ll do our best to cover as many of them as we can, but it’s inevitable that some of the smaller (or less significant) ones will be left off. We’re only human. In any case, we’ve compiled a fairly exhaustive list of this summer’s most notable releases, even some that may not particularly interest us, but may interest YOU! Brett has presented his thoughts in a “Pro/Con” format, allowing him to talk about potential good qualities, as well as potential problems and pitfalls, which is accompanied by Breanne’s “Pro/Con” take (in red!) on the movie. With that prelude out of the way, let’s dive in! MAY Captain America: Civil War - May 6th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - Well, the movie’s out and I’ve seen it. Read my review here, but the short version is that it’s absolutely fantastic. Brett’s Con - None, really. The movie is great, it just had a huge opening weekend, and it’s poised to be considered one of the best installments of the entire Marvel franchise. The summer couldn't have started any better than this. Money Monster - May 13th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The movie’s got a top notch cast, an idiosyncratic director in the form of Jodie Foster, and subject matter that feels zeitgeisty and relevant as the United States still recovers from the financial collapse of 2008. Brett’s Con - Fundamentally, it seems to be a hostage movie in the vein of DOG DAY AFTERNOON and countless others. How will that well-worn subgenre be made to feel fresh and unpredictable? It’s unclear at this stage. The Angry Birds Movie - May 20th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The Angry Birds is a property with a fanbase, and the character designs appear to be nicely silly. Younger audiences will likely find much to enjoy. Brett’s Con - How can the subject matter sustain any sort of strong narrative? It seems like a film mostly designed to feature gags, sketches, and vignettes loosely strung together… which is fine, and par for the course with most (non-Pixar) animated films, but what’s the appeal here for those in the audience who aren’t kids? Breanne's Pro - It's a license to print money, and will certainly be an enjoyable time, even for older kids. Breanne's Con - How do you make an appealing story about a side-scrolling app? There's a chance the story might seem forced. On another note, I'm always slightly adverse to animated movies that feel the need to credit their celebrity voice actors in their marketing campaigns. The appeal for me is not knowing! Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising - May 20th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The first NEIGHBORS was a funny enough time at the movies, and most of the people who made it so are back for this one. Plus, dealing with a sorority should offer the chance to put a fresh(er) perspective on the basic premise. Brett’s Con - This looks to be your standard comedy sequel, which is to say it’s going to basically retread the plot of the first movie, which could have the side effect of making it feel redundant. Also, was there a burning desire for another NEIGHBORS movie? Who was beating down the studio’s door demanding this? It’s a weird movie to want to sequelize. Breanne's Pro - I'm down for seeing Chloe Grace Moretz as a stoned sorority girl (plus Zac Efron's physique ain't so bad, either.) Breanne's Con - It's not something I'm clamoring for, and I don't think many moviegoers are either. The Nice Guys - May 20th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The film comes from the mind of Shane Black, an accomplished screenwriter and also the director of IRON MAN 3 and the masterpiece that is KISS KISS BANG BANG. This film looks to be right in his wheelhouse, a buddy crime comedy with mystery and action overtones, and the trailer is selling an experience that appears as if it will be a ton of fun. Brett’s Con - I’m extremely confident this is going to be one of the highlights of the summer. It just remains to be seen if it will find an audience, opening as it does in a packed May schedule, and directly up against another comedy the very same week. Breanne's Pro - I was sold the moment I saw the trailer. It's the thinking person's comedy. Breanne's Con - Can you sell a 70s-era comedy in Summer? Alice Through the Looking Glass - May 27th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - This new iteration of an oft-told tale appears to be visually inventive and colorful. And, um... that’s all I’ve got. Brett’s Con - The film could well be a hit, as it’s a sequel to a film which was a massive success - albeit six years ago. I have, however, no confidence in the odds of the movie’s quality, and the likelihood that it will overindulge Johnny Depp (reprising one of his most insufferable characters) and the extreme visuals makes me doubt it will be an improvement over the first movie, which - despite its box office - is not a good film. Breanne's Pro - Given the interesting steampunk-style aesthetic, I might be inclined to give this one a go, even though the first was so dull. Breanne's Con - See Brett's... X-Men: Apocalypse - May 27th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST re-established the franchise as one of the best in the realm of comic book movies, and APOCALYPSE looks to continue that trajectory as it ties off the storylines which began in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS while also introducing new threads and characters. Also, the scope appears much bigger than any X film so far. Brett’s Con - Will the film feel like its own, standalone thing, or just another chapter in the ongoing saga? Will characters have arcs that feel organic and earned? And will the villainous title character (portrayed by the excellent Oscar Isaac) make for an imposing threat? Breanne's Pro - Given the success and quality of the last two films and what's at stake in this one, I think we could be in store for a worthy installment. Breanne's Con - There's a chance of new character/multi-storyline overload that tends to mar sequels. JUNE Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows - June 3rd Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The first film was something of a surprise hit, and I’ve heard tell that that it was actually a decent, inoffensive-enough movie. This sequel looks to add some more recognizable characters from TMNT lore, while also delivering action that looks even bigger than what came before. Brett’s Con - It’s a kids movie, and it should be viewed on that level. There will likely be some dumb humor, and the plot likely won’t hang together very well. Breanne's Pro - Um... it'll make a lot of money. Breanne's Con - CGI overload makes this feel nauseating. And also, if it's a kid movie, can we maybe not gravitate towards Megan Fox's midriff? The Conjuring 2 - June 10th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The first CONJURING is one of the best studio-released horror films of the decade, and this sequel looks to mine one of the most infamous (among paranormal fan circles) haunting/poltergeist/possession cases of all time. Per the trailer, it looks like everything I would want a CONJURING 2 to look like. Brett’s Con - How many liberties will the movie take with the facts of the actual case? Also, can the movie ever hope to rival the out-of-nowhere surprise of the first movie’s quality? Finally, is an early June release the best possible time for this movie to open? I’m skeptical. Breanne's Pro - Judging from the trailer, I'm sure we're in for some quality scares. Breanne's Con - How much of a retread will this be of the first? Now You See Me 2 - June 10th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - Adding a spirited performer like Daniel Radcliffe to the proceedings can only be a good thing, and it’s nice to see they managed to get Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman to return. Brett’s Con - I think it’s safe to say this is another movie nobody was really asking for, and the supposed “magic” being performed looks even more ridiculous and phony than the stuff in the first movie did. Breanne's Pro - Daniel Radcliffe hams it up with card tricks, and I'm sure he'll give the film some much needed zest. Breanne's Con - The first one was okay and not really a true smash at the box office, so I'm not sure why it's getting a sequel. Warcraft - June 10th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - It looks hugely ambitious, with plenty of proper fantasy spectacle, and it is directed by Duncan Jones, whose previous two films are quite good. The game the movie’s based on has a devoted fanbase which includes many of the filmmakers involved, so the impulse behind the movie is coming from a good place. Brett’s Con - This is one of the summer’s biggest question marks for me. I don’t think the trailers look particularly good, nor does the CGI look particularly convincing to my eyes. I think there’s a very real risk that the movie could be good but audiences will be just too turned off by the visuals or the subject matter to show up in theaters. Breanne's Pro - Video game movies get a bad rap, but I think this one might change that given its scope. Breanne's Con - I'm not sure how the movie will appeal to those unacquainted with the WOW game. De Palma - June 10th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - We need to have at least one documentary on this list, and this looks like a great one. An intimate, no-holds-barred conversation with the great Brian De Palma (director of any number of fantastic films, including CARRIE, THE UNTOUCHABLES, SCARFACE, and DRESSED TO KILL) should make for a fascinating couple of hours. Brett’s Con - Let’s face it, this is aimed at a very niche audience: hardcore movie buffs. Which is great, but it likely means this won’t have much widespread appeal. Finding Dory - June 17th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - FINDING NEMO is one of Pixar’s most beloved films, and FINDING DORY looks like a natural extension of both that movie’s aesthetic and its plot. The quality of the animation looks nothing less than dazzling. Brett’s Con - Is the movie going to be more than just a reversal of the positions from FINDING NEMO? Is there more “there” there, or is it going to be a retread full of callbacks to all the things people love about the first movie? Independence Day: Resurgence - June 24th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The first INDEPENDENCE DAY was a massive hit back in 1996, and with the sequel arriving 20 years later, nostalgia will likely play a big factor in its success. There are some intriguing hints about what the world is going to look like in the film, and the fact that they were able to get virtually every key player from the first (aside from Will Smith) to come back hopefully speaks to a story worth telling. Brett’s Con - But what of that story? What will we find in the movie beyond just mayhem and disaster, which - let’s be honest - we’ve seen many, many times in the years since the original movie. Spectacle isn’t special anymore in the way it was in 1996, so how will the movie compensate for that? Breanne - I have a confession to make....I've never seen the original INDEPENDENCE DAY. (You can draw and quarter me now) Brett's Additional Shocked Color Commentary - WHAT?! The Shallows - June 24th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - This looks to be a stripped-down, fairly realistic survival thriller. Sharks hold a degree of fascination for many people (myself included), and it feels like there’s room for another solid entry in that subgenre after many attempts that have been, frankly, crap. Brett’s Con - How will the film sustain its premise without becoming boring or repetitive? How do you keep a story about a person stranded in a small area visually compelling? It’s been done before, but it remains to be seen if it can be done here. And what of the shark? Will it just be an unconvincing digital creation (the trailer doesn’t inspire total confidence), or will footage of a real shark perhaps be thrown into the mix? Breanne's Pro - The trailer was legitimately great, and there's a chance this could be a sleeper hit this summer. Breanne's Con - What if this just turns out to be a cliched survival thriller where the main character makes some really stupid, eye-rolling choices? JULY The BFG - July 1st Trailer! Brett’s Pro - THE BFG represents Steven Spielberg returning to the genre of the live action family film for the first time since 1991’s HOOK, and it also marks his first time at the helm of a Disney movie. For fans of the director, those should be very exciting things, as should the movie’s source material, which comes from the quirky mind of Roald Dahl. Having newly-minted Oscar-winner Mark Rylance in the title role should also portend a level of pathos and complexity that one might not necessarily expect. Brett’s Con - The trailer’s kind of underwhelming, to be honest! There are some shots that are ultra-Spielbergian, but there’s a sugary CGI gloss to the effects work that really doesn’t look very good to me. Breanne's Pro - Most Dahl adaptations lately have been pretty faithful to the books, and from the looks of it, this will be, too. Breanne's Con - Those unfamiliar with Dahl's story (seriously, you really shouldn't be) will probably pass it up ("What's a BFG???"). The Legend of Tarzan - July 1st Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The movie has one hell of a terrific cast (you really can’t go wrong with Christoph Waltz as your villain, typecasting though it may be), and it appears to be an old-fashioned (in a good way) adventure tale. Director David Yates also proved he’s got a fairly cinematic eye with his work on the HARRY POTTER series. Brett’s Con - Is Tarzan a character who’s even relevant to modern audiences? Can he be compelling to today’s viewers and, more importantly, will the movie show us things we haven’t already seen in the countless earlier Tarzan movies, or jungle adventure films more broadly? Breanne's Pro - Looks visually interesting and has a great cast. Breanne's Con - Disney did Tarzan better than this likely will... The Purge: Election Year - July 1st Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The third in one of the more improbable franchises of recent years, this one looks to tap into some topical elements, and seems to further expand the scope of its TWILIGHT ZONEy premise even more into the realm of survival thriller. Brett’s Con - Does anyone even want to be reminded that this is an election year? Also, it’s unclear how much more gas the basic “Purge” concept has in the tank. Breanne's Pro - While I admit the second installment was marginally better than the first, I think fans of the last two will most likely enjoy the sinister tone and timely themes. Breanne's Con - Did we really need a third and will anyone really care about the characters presented here? The Secret Life of Pets - July 8th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The animals appear thoroughly charming and adorable, and the humor seems to absolutely kill when I’ve seen the trailer with an audience. This film could hit a sweet spot for family audiences. Brett’s Con - How different will this movie be from all of the countless “talking animal” animated films that have been sent our way over the years? What truly makes this one special? Breanne's Pro - The most recent trailer was absolutely hilarious, and Illumination has a decent track record so far with its animated films. Breanne's Con - The marketing for this started reeeaaally early, and having seen the trailer tacked on to countless movies, I'm actually getting sick of it by now. Ghostbusters - July 15th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The cast is full of incredibly talented and funny people, and the concept (as originated in the 1984 masterpiece) should still offer lots of opportunities for great setpieces and engaging characters. Brett’s Con - Okay, that trailer is almost painfully unfunny! The attempts at “humor” found in there are either outright cringe-inducing (a “That’s gonna leave a mark!” gag?) or land with a dull thud. Hopefully they’re saving the good stuff for the movie itself, because this property is too important to botch. Also, the decision to ignore past continuity and make this a total reboot - while still using all the recognizable iconography and trappings - feels cheap and kind of insulting, frankly. After all this time, do audiences want to see a GHOSTBUSTERS without the original crew strapping on the proton packs? Breanne's Pro - The cast assembled is great and the ghost CGI actually looks really good. Breanne's Con - The trailer was beyond awful, and in regards to the premise, there were different ways you could've gone with this movie. I think its downfall will be that it took the path of being a reboot and not a continuation. Star Trek Beyond - July 22nd Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The cast has done great work in the previous two STAR TREK movies, and there’s every reason to believe that will still be case with BEYOND. Also, co-star Simon Pegg (an avowed TREK fan) has co-written the screenplay, which could signal a strong balance between being a crowd-pleaser while also bringing in some of the more philosophical ideas that TREK has been known for. 2016 being the 50th Anniversary of the franchise could also add some intangible magic of the sort that SKYFALL enjoyed during James Bond’s 50th Anniversary. Brett’s Con - Can this movie wash out the divisive taste of the previous film, INTO DARKNESS, from the mouths of fans? Also, in the wake of movies like GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and the return of STAR WARS, are audiences still hungry for STAR TREK’s version of space action? Breanne's Pro - Looking forward to Idris Elba's villain. Breanne's Con - The trailer did not sell me in regards to the movie's tone. Just because it's from the director of FAST AND FURIOUS doesn't mean you have to sell it like it's part of that franchise... Lights Out - July 22nd Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The movie (based on a chilling short film) has a fantastic central hook, and if it can manage to be even half as creepy as the short, it could make for a very solid summer horror flick. Brett’s Con - The chance of the movie just being a series of cheap jump scares is something that’s very real, which would be a shame and would squander the creative possibilities inherent to the concept. Jason Bourne - July 29th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - It’s Matt Damon back in action again, and once again directed by Paul Greengrass. Given that the two vowed they’d only return to the series if they had a really good idea for it, that indicates they might be able to bring back some of the old Bourne magic. Brett’s Con - Bourne’s personal story was pretty definitively wrapped up in THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, so what’s his agenda this time out? How will this new story feel like something important, and not just a transparent money grab to extend the series? AUGUST Suicide Squad - August 5th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The trailer just looks like a blast, and the cast members seem to be having a ton of fun. After the dark and dour BATMAN v SUPERMAN earlier this year, SUICIDE SQAUAD feels like it could be a pretty delightful romp, albeit one with an edge. Brett’s Con - Aside from the presence of the Joker, most of the characters in this movie aren’t ones the average movie-goer has any familiarity with. Will this team of B-level villains have enough drawing power to get people into the theater? Ben-Hur - August 12th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - I’ll get back to you. Brett’s Con - This is movie that has no reason to exist. The 1959 version is nothing short of a masterpiece of epic Hollywood filmmaking, and this version looks bizarrely small-scale. It may have flashy action at times (though complete with bad CGI), but it has no chance of approaching the scope and masterful cinema of the Charlton Heston film. Breanne's Pro - The wonderful Jack Huston gets his due as a lead... Breanne's Con - ...too bad it's in this pointless remake. Is there even any interest in this? Morgan Freeman is (I hate to say it) being all Morgan Freeman-y. Sausage Party - August 12th Trailer (NSFW) Brett’s Pro - I’ll be honest… I see nothing appealing about this. Brett’s Con - If this trailer looks like your cup of tea, more power to you, but this looks like a premise that could work in a two or three minute short, not a feature. I think the schtick is going to get old really fast. Breanne's Pro - Meh... there were some silly moments featured in the trailer that made me chuckle. Breanne's Con - Did anyone see HELL AND BACK? No? Didn't think so. So where's the audience for this adult animation going to come from? Pete’s Dragon - August 12th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - Cinematically, the movie looks to be beautifully, evocatively photographed, and there’s a sense of mystery and wonder to the trailer that is appealing. The movie also appears to be a very loose remake, allowing the filmmakers to deal with different issues than the original did. Brett’s Con - How will the film stand out this summer? Will it be a film that can appeal to both kids and adults? Breanne's Pro - I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and look of the film, and to see that this wasn't a full ripoff of the original. Breanne's Con - As a devoted fan of the original, I don't know how receptive I'll be to it, regardless of the new plot. The filmmakers' design of Elliot (the dragon of the title) is also a little strange, in my opinion. August sort of fades out at this point, but there you have it - the Summer Movie Season in a nutshell! By Brett Blake CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR is very close to being a masterpiece of its genre. From this writer’s perspective, that is not hyperbole. The movie is at times both resonant and rousing, both funny and gut-wrenching, and it showcases perhaps the ultimate summation of what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all about. It is nothing less than grand and thrilling popcorn cinema. Following a collateral damage-laden confrontation, the Avengers - led by Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) - find themselves under intense scrutiny from the global community, which results in the Sokovia Accords, governing documents designed to bring the Avengers under the sway of an oversight body. When Cap refuses to play along - both for reasons of conscience and because he’s hot on the trail of his old brainwashed friend, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), AKA the Winter Soldier - a divide grows with Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). It quickly escalates into a full-on conflict which ensnares not just the Avengers themselves, but also a few new players, such as Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and a young lad named Peter Parker (Tom Holland), a budding crime fighter who goes by the alias... Spider-Man. The movie’s greatest achievement is the way it balances and “does right by” the huge number of characters. Yes, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON had a giant cast list, and mostly made it work, but CIVIL WAR takes it to a whole other level. Look at this roster: Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Falcon, Black Widow, Vision, War Machine, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Winter Soldier... these are monumental, iconic heroes, fully capable of headlining their own standalone films, and yet they are woven together here with total dexterity and effortless ease by the filmmakers. Each gets BIG, amazing moments to shine and contribute, and they each serve a function in the narrative; they’re not just tossed in for the sake of it, they’re involved for a reason, and fans of the characters will not feel short-changed by how they are utilized. And those are just the primary heroes! There are still even more key characters, like Thunderbolt Ross, Crossbones, Sharon Carter, Everett Ross, and the sinister Zemo, who seems to be pulling some strings from the shadows and whose ultimate motivations are genuinely compelling. It could have been easy for the movie to feel overstuffed in the extreme, but it never even comes close to that. The balance of characters is organic, never forced, and actually serves to underline the important position that Captain America serves in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; this isn’t just another AVENGERS movie with a different title, it’s Cap’s story all the way (well, most of the way, as the movie also gives Tony Stark his most compelling arc thus far, too), and everything is - in one way or another - filtered through him. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR represents nothing less than an extraordinary payoff to eight years of storytelling that began with IRON MAN back in 2008; the film is emotionally resonant because it respects its characters, respects their points of view, and wants us - the audience - to feel the weight of their conflict and its repercussions. If you look at where Tony Stark was when we first met him, or where Steve Rogers was, you will see a pair of amazing character arcs that have led them to where we find them in this film. The reasons for their conflict make sense, the compositions of their respective “teams” make sense, and the movie goes to great lengths to justify - at every turn - everybody’s actions on both philosophical and personal/emotional levels. The movie also dares to suggest the possibility that Steve Rogers - until now the paragon of virtue and judgment - might not necessarily be as obviously in the right. He was surrounded by grey area in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, but this time, he’s in that grey area, making choices that are fully understandable, but not necessarily ones that are immune to criticism. The film is balanced by Tony Stark’s position, and the beauty of the thing is that both men are, basically, right in what they believe. Just because the movie has the words “Captain America” in the title doesn’t mean that, by default, they’ve turned Tony into the antagonist, which is refreshing. These are two characters who are grappling with the concept of responsibility, and though they’re coming at it from different angles, none of the characters are vilified or shown to be anything less than the heroes we know they are. Heading into the third act, the movie had me in an amazing place where I was rooting for both Steve and Tony, but for different reasons, which is a testament to the strength of the writing. Not only does the film payoff everything that’s been established about the characters of Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, but it also delivers the spectacle you’d expect from this genre... it also sets up Black Panther and the new Spider-Man as compelling and exciting heroes going forward... and it also continues the process of building towards the upcoming INFINITY WAR films (which will likely bring together literally all the characters in the MCU) and does so in ways that feel significantly less forced than in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, for example. A quick word about the action - there is a setpiece in here (the big battle between all the heroes at an airport, which has been teased a bit in the trailers) that is absolutely stunning. It’s a legitimately astonishing sequence, crammed full of both humor and intense drama, and it is perhaps the purest expression of the promise of cinematic superhero action we’ve seen so far. Not only is the choreography and staging of the action exemplary, but it all lands with such impact because we’re invested in the characters on a deep level by this point. Chris Evans continues to find new and complex layers to explore with Cap, and his performance here is marked by the sense that he’s carrying an enormous burden at almost all times. Evans is excellent, but it is Robert Downey Jr. who gets the story’s real dramatic meat on which to chew, and it represents his best work to date as Tony Stark; he still brings the snark, but - particularly towards the second half - there’s a real wounded sensitivity that starts to creep in, and when the movie’s most emotionally wrenching scene arrives, Downey absolutely kills it. And everybody else is great, too! There are literally too many characters to just go down the line and list off all the actors, but it can certainly be said that nobody comes anywhere close to phoning it in, they all balance the sense of fun with the weight of the stakes. The major newcomers Boseman and Holland are instant home runs with their respective characters, and I suspect most audiences will be excited at the prospect of their upcoming solo adventures. If a person wanted to nitpick stuff in the movie, there are things that could be found, but I’m not inclined to indulge that. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR is spectacularly entertaining, top to bottom, and it is the best Marvel movie made to date. |
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