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: The Other Guys (2010) TH

Off-the-wall cops and financial frauders

At first glance, this looks to be another same-ol', same-ol' buddy cop movie after just getting over the sour taste of "Cop Out." Though this was one of the better comedies of 2010, as generic, stupid or pointless it may initially seem--it ain't. This also works as an action movie spoof that is less exaggerated than "Loaded Weapon" and "Hot Shots" and more closer to "Hot Fuzz," if still unlike. It's off in its own odd-ball world where everyday life is noteworthy and completely over-the-top silly in a way similar to the director's other works like "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights." The simplistic story has some relating points, though the scenarios and setups in between is what makes this an amusing ride that has capability of repeating and reliving.

Two NYPD detectives are begrudgingly assigned together and have to maintain the partner's code which entails getting each other's backs, except they have nothing in common to the point of being the absolute antithesis of one another. Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) is a man's man who's more street wise than book smart and also doesn't express himself through anything but anger and disapproval: a yell, a smirk, a cold stare at the slightest slip in his chauvinist view. Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) is a learned but gullible man who's the everybody-make-fun-of guy due to everything he does going strictly by the book, not to mention looking like a straight-edge accountant that he is who plays it safe behind his desk, outdated specs and the wheels of a Prius.

The super cops--more like "superstars"--of the department get first dibs on calls and are practically treated like royalty. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Danson (Dwayne Johnson) wear their shades, flashy clothing and drive their muscle cars, except until they unexpectedly check out early and someone else takes their place in front of the cameras and press stands. Hoitz wants him and his tight-end partner to step up after being stuck behind a desk--or as he puts it "I am a peacock, you gotta let me fly!"--by doing everyone else's paper work. Except first they have some competition with the wise crackin' partners Martin (Rob Riggle) and Fosse (Damon Wayans Jr.) who can't help to mess with Gamble, such as making him do a "desk pop" and fire his gun in the office as if it's just some supposed initiation. Gamble stumbles onto some evidence after making what seems to be a pointless arrest for a financial investor named David Ershon (Steve Coogan). After the Captain (Michael Keaton) tells them to repeatedly back off, they still urge ahead as they have a gut hunch and suspect something fishy's going with other people's money. That is only after they get bribed to sports games and concerts but are too stupid to realize, not to mention are being chased by a ruthless security team headed by an Australian named Wesley (Ray Stevenson) who keeps rolling a bolder in their path.

As dorky as Gamble is you realize there's another side to him, such as for some reason attracting all the fine ladies without even having to try. Hoitz is a straight shooter that you find out has something in him but is afraid to let it out, such as secretly knowing ballet, but only because he wanted to imitate how "queer" it was when younger. They have to prove themselves and reverse the decisions that landed them to desk jockey duty instead of being out there with the big boys. But first they have to dodge a couple of reprimands from the Captain who needs to keep his guys in line so he can put his bi-sexual son who wants to be a DJ through college. Now it's all about two cops going out on a limb by sifting through the politics and doing what's right. Yep, it's about as cliche as that but the story--still with some relating points about bailouts and Ponzi schemes--isn't the entire emphasis but also the inventive puns, jokes and comedic observations to go along with it about things in general, pop culture and cop movie fare.

Similar to "Cop Out," this has everything a bad movie usually has, except the difference is "The Other Guys" used its purposeful set-backs to its advantage with consistent timing and the chemistry of a team to pull that off with. Otherwise, it's such an overused convention that rides a fine line that can fall on its face when not pulling off the trick without a hitch. Where would this be without some shoot outs and car chases like a good ol' cop and bad guys story even if they are even more exaggerated than what they're emulating. This is often direct, unashamed, raunchy and mean-spirited, but at the same time hilarious in that it takes it all the way to the hilt without feeling guilty about it. They say some of the most ridiculous lines but while maintaining a completely stern-faced serious look. This has an abundance of I-can't-believe-they-just-went-there snappy jokes with a well-timed comedic side on all fronts that makes this such a thoroughly and highly entertaining and fun experience that should be fresh for some time.

Director: Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talledega Nights, Eastbound & Down)
Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton, Damon Wayans Jr., Rob Riggle, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes
Website: IMDB

REVIEW: Changing Lanes (2002)

Director: Roger Mitchell

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Affleck

Website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264472/

Everyone has their own lives with their own problems that always seem like the worst ones to us individually – we think others just can’t understand what we’re going through, and it seems to us like our problems are the most important of all, even though others may be in similarly dire predicaments. This movie is a good example of that taken to the extreme. Changing Lanes stars Ben Affleck as a pretentious lawyer who will stop at nothing to close a case he’s working on, and Samuel L. Jackson, as a distraught father whose wife is divorcing him and getting custody of the kids. The two of them get in a car crash, and when Jackson ends up 20 minutes late to his divorce case, a sort of rivalry between the two men starts. The only problem is that Affleck lost one of his important files when he left it at the crash site, and Jackson now has it. Being that Affleck’s rush to get to the courthouse made it so Jackson couldn’t get a ride there, now Affleck needs his file back and Jackson isn’t so willing to comply. See the problem yet?

This film is just intense. The two men become locked in this combat and keep doing horrible things to one another, which escalate as the run-time goes on. The whole film is pretty much taken up by the two of them duking it out all across the city. Each man has something the other man wants, with both of them continually exchanging blows and making the other’s life that much more difficult. Sometimes this gets a little over the top, but by 3/4s of the way in, you see how dire and deadly this game has become – the two men have pushed themselves and each other to the edges of their tolerance. What started out as a sort of psychological game turns wildly out of control once they start actively trying to hurt one another. But eventually the game goes too far, and they are forced to reconcile and face their problems. In the end, they even help each other out in their own ways.

The characters are very well written, and since they’re the focal point of the film, it’s kind of imperative that they be. Affleck plays his character as a very high-strung, easily angered young man who takes rash actions very easily. Jackson, in fact, also plays a character prone to rash anger. This is why these two got into this situation in the first place. They’re both very easily angered and very hot tempered. Jackson plays his character as a more brutish, reactionary anger (having a chronic bad temper) as opposed to Affleck’s needling, near psychotic rage as he breaks down throughout the day. Each of them also have their own personal things going on, too – Jackson’s problems with his wife and son (brilliantly acted on all counts), and Affleck’s growing concern that his bosses are corrupt. They’re both very complex. Both characters are great and the actors do really well, and they’re supported by a host of side characters. Toni Collette as Affleck’s secretary, Amanda Peet as his wife, and Sydney Pollack as his father in law/boss are exceptionally powerful.

Changing Lanes works through escalating tension and masterful builds of excitement and suspense. I never knew where this movie was going to go, and it was entertaining in the quieter, more subtle moments as well as the action packed scenes. This is a very original and captivating movie, and I advise you to check it out pronto. Highly recommended.

NIC CAGE MONTH: Amos and Andrew (1993)

Director: E. Max Frye

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson

Website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106266/

Welcome to Nic Cage Month, everyone! All Nic Cage, all the time and our first movie is an interesting little comedy from 1993 called Amos and Andrew.

The movie’s title is a sort of pun on this old radio sketch comedy show that eventually evolved into a TV sketch comedy show, Amos and Andy. The show revolved around the comedic exploits of two guys wearing black facepaint named Amos and Andy – big shock. The movie…is a little different. In this film, Samuel L. Jackson plays a wealthy black writer who comes to a small island to relax and enjoy his summer when he gets mistaken for a burglar in his new house. Two dipshits alert the police as well as the fattest, nosiest reporter alive and then all hell breaks loose.

But wait! When the corrupt chief of police, striving to get elected yet again, realizes he messes up, he consults a very special prisoner in his ranks…Nic Cage! Yes, the first time you see Nic Cage in this movie, he’s in prison; is anyone really surprised? The corrupt cop tells Cage to go pretend to be a house-robber, but things go wrong when he breaks the deal he made with Cage and Cage starts taking his role a little too seriously. What follows is pretty much your standard Comedy of Misunderstandings, so snugly fit into that role that it could be trademarked.

The good thing about this movie is that it is a well constructed, by-the-books comedy with some dramatic elements to make the audience all teary eyed. It pretty much checks all the boxes for what these kinds of movies have to do. Our two main characters are vastly different – Nic Cage is brash and spontaneous, without much regard for the law, and Samuel Jackson is uptight with a chip on his shoulder about his race. Yeah, doesn’t that kind of sound like his character in Die Hard with a Vengeance? Did he just have some kind of contractual obligation to play characters like that in ’93?

"I reserve the right to remain silent." 

But anyway, yeah; the characters get into various tiffs and get their panties in a bunch a few times, they bond with one another and there are several scenes where they point out what is so different about them. It’s pretty much everything you would expect out of a comedy like this. The bad side is that while the movie doesn’t do anything wrong, it also doesn’t really go the extra mile and blow the audience away, either. It’s not a movie you’ll really look back at and remember as a great piece of poignant cinema. It’s enjoyable while it’s on, but Amos and Andrew won’t really stick in your head afterward.

The movie is mostly carried by the two actors, because honestly, could you tell me you would watch this movie if it didn’t have Samuel Jackson or Nic Cage in it? Anybody? No? I thought so. Jackson is good as the prestigious, indignant Andrew Sterling, but it’s really Cage who is the more interesting character. You get a lot of sympathy for him because the cops screwed him over, and I think my favorite moment in the entire film is his speech about sea monkeys somewhere in the movie’s second act. It’s really poignant and will make you want to cry.

"You better not."

But THERE WILL BE NO CRYING DURING NIC CAGE MONTH! That’s for wimps!

So, yeah, check this movie out; it’s got some good moments here and there and certainly is at least a little bit of a gem. But there will be more outrageous discoveries to come in Nic Cage month…just you wait, readers.

Just you wait.

Pictures not mine, copyright of their original owners.

The Other Guys (2010)

Staring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes

Directed by Adam McKay

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1386588/

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Other_Guys

"The Other Guys" is a pretty funny movie. It reunites Will Ferrell with director Adam McKay, and Mark Wahlberg is also along for the ride to deliver some laughs. Granted, there are some problems with it, but overall it is a good flick.

It starts off with Samuel L. Jackson proving that he is one of the greatest people who ever lived. He is in high-speed pursuit of a bunch of bad guys along with Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson, who I guess would be also awesome if he had not just stared in "The Tooth Fairy". Anyway, Jackson's car gets stuck in a bus, he frees it and he goes flying at the bad guys, shouting a bunch of stuff I could not understand, blows up a bunch of stuff, and somehow survives. YEAH! Unfortunately, both of them are killed in a separate incident shortly afterward (the poster above is a bit deceiving; they have a total of about five minutes of screen time). This occurs when, in order to stop another bunch of bad guys, they jump off of a building that is about 10-20 stories high in order to land in a bunch of bushes that were not there, and even if they were, they would not have prevented them from dying or at least critically injured them.

Ummm...okay.

Anyway, with both of them out of the picture, who will take their place as the big shot of the department? That's right, the Other Guys! We have Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), who plays a jerk cop who is haunted by a tragedy from his past: he shot Derek Jeter in the leg during the 2003 World Series, costing the Yankees the championship. This a bit ironic since in real life Wahlberg is from Boston, so I suspect a Red Sox conspiracy. Anyway, he gets stuck with Allen Gamble (Ferrell) who is basically Bob Saget's character Danny Tanner from "Full House". He is just incredibly bland and lame, though in this instance the character is actually funny (yes, we all loved “Full House” when we were 5, but it’s time to move on). The two of them come across a suspected financial cover-up involving a famous investor named David Ershon (Steve Coogan), which leads them on a wild goose chase that leads them to meet some interesting characters, and includes a number of gags such as Allen having some unfortunate things happen to his Prius, and both of them having their shoes stolen...twice. There are a number of good quotes involving peacocks and other things throughout the feature. Oh yeah, and Michael Keaton plays their boss who, among other things, keeps quoting TLC songs, though he insists that he is not... Well, its not "Batman", but at least Keaton is still working, right?

I guess he biggest problem that this film has is that it gets extremely distracted. True, when Ferrell and McKay did "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights" each had random scenes that did not really progress the story but were still funny. In this movie, the same thing happens, but they take way too many detours, and it gets to the point where its 1 hour, 47 minute running time feels like 2 and a half hours. Do not get me wrong, the stuff they put in there was usually funny, but they could have condensed the material a little more so that it felt more it had a more cohesive story arch.

There is also this weird part during the closing credits that shows the differences in the income between American employees and their super-rich bosses, as well as making references to TARP and other aspects of the recent financial meltdown. Admittedly, some of the stuff they mention is kind of interesting, but they play off of a part of the plot which is ultimately insignificant; the information would feel better served if it were shown at the end of the upcoming "Wall Street" sequel. If Ferrell and McKay want to get political, they can save it for their "Funny or Die" website, not try to shove it into a film where it does not belong.

Despite its flaws, "The Other Guys" is a feature that made me laugh more often than not. While it is not as funny as "Anchorman" or "Talladega", it is the best movie Will Ferrell has done in years, which is good news for him given the sub-par quality of his recent work. Either way, it is worthwhile, and I recommend it.

P.S. If you stay until the end of the closing credits (and the populist rant), as Ferrell/McKay fans may expect, there is an extra scene with Ferrell and Wahlberg. It is nothing much, but you can check it out if you want.