Showing posts with label The Avengers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Avengers. Show all posts

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Review of the Week: Iron Man 3

0 comments Posted by Katina at 8:00 PM

I hope everyone had a lovely Anzac Day and remembered the fallen. Lest we forget.

I'm bringing this to you especially early because I'm happy that we got it before the US, and I'm really anxious to know what others think - so voice your view!

Iron Man 3 (M)

SINCE the resurgence of the superhero genre with the powerful rebirths of Spider-Man and Batman, audiences have become accustomed to a slew of films crafted with a smarter interior, expecting fans' prior knowledge and specifically playing to it.

It's a dangerous game, alienating those who may decide to jump in halfway. But the masterminds of comic adaptations in Hollywood know there are enough fans (and revenue to be made) to make the risk worth taking.

As such, the return of Tony Stark to cinemas is the first in Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase Two. The first film to follow events of The Avengers, it takes place in a world aware of a superhero force.

But that has close to no influence as Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey jnr) faces the threat of bomb terrorist the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). His relationship with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) also becomes problematic when Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) wants to share his body regeneration treatment Extremis with Stark Industries.

Stark is in a muddled place. He's an insomniac, haunted by the Avengers' battle in New York and channeling energy into making more Iron Man suits. Fed up with another villain trying to enter the scene, he is brash in his approach. That's not unlike his character, but there is a sense of desperation as his world looks to be crumbling in all its facets.


The strong, slick story by director Shane Black and Drew Pearce centres on that idea of desperation as Stark enlists in the help of Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and little friend Harley (Ty Simpkins) in trying to figure out the Mandarin's next attack.

As Stark returns to the realities of the real world he finds his shield can't always be his safeguard. He is more often than not exposed, which frightens him as he faces a threat that becomes much bigger than he anticipated.

Black, writer of Lethal Weapon, finds himself very much at ease in the Marvel world, keeping the Iron Man humour of previous films intact while upping the action to a menacing degree. Working with Downey jnr again after Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Black gives him more to deal with emotionally.

The leading man still portrays Stark/Iron Man with a near-effortless flamboyance true to the characters. Kingsley is particularly good though as a villain with a difference, while Cheadle gets the fun straw, with an alter ego of his own a chance for him to ham things up.

Like any Marvel film within the Avengers thread, questions linger over the future of the characters and the direction the series will take. The post-credits scene won't give you any idea, but it does wrap up the film nicely.

Rating: 4/5

*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 27/4/2013

MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of Olympus Has Fallen.

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Saturday, May 05, 2012

Review of the Week: The Five-Year Engagement

0 comments Posted by Katina at 7:30 PM

In cinema news, I've been asked to contribute a column of my choice to the Daily Liberal's weekly publication Mailbox Shopper starting next week. I've chosen to make it about viewing all the films in bible 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, a quest I've been slowly progressing through over the last six or so years (I'm up to something around the 190 mark). So check in for some classic reviews here and there as I first discover some of Hollywood's treasures and beyond.

But to this week...

The Five-Year Engagement (MA15+)

Marriage is a funny thing. As an important component of life, it presents stature for some in society while others fear it because it suggestively presents an end to freedom. Then there are those who just avoid it, happy in their bubble and willing to postpone it for one reason or another. Moving to Michigan is enough for the couple in the latest project from Nicholas Stoller to become these avoiders, but while a move usually suggests a relationship’s progress, in this case it becomes a major stumbling block.

Tom (Jason Segel) is happy as a souz chef in San Francisco when he meets Violet (Emily Blunt) and proposes to her on their first anniversary. But a move for Violet’s work as an emerging psychologist leaves him without a professional job and both of them for a reason to delay the wedding. As time is killed by living what is a Segel-esque warped existence, so are Violet’s grandparents by old age one by one. It doesn’t help that her sister Suzie (Alison Brie) managed a shotgun wedding to Tom’s best friend Alex (Chris Pratt), pleasing the family enormously and setting high expectations.

Tom and Violet are written as two of the world’s biggest procrastinators but there’s no real justification to accompany their actions. It’s hard to imagine that people are really that unsure or unbothered about marrying the love of their lives for that prolonged a period. Violet moves along with the world, enjoying her work with a diverse group of colleagues but Tom takes a step back and retreats to a life of new facial hair and hunting deer.



The team that brought you The Muppets has presented a film that takes you to some weird places as a plan to encourage some laughs. They get them, but only because the incredulity of it all is managed well by Segel and Pratt. However, having a psychologist at the centre of the story is underused; Segel and Stoller, as co-writers, don’t appear to have grasped the potential of using that more within the relationship.

Stoller’s third film as director is too long at 142 minutes, many scenes drawn out unnecessarily. But what it doesn’t have in precision it does in charm. Segel and Blunt work well as the strung-out couple while Pratt plays the lovable idiot of a best friend. However, the most interesting are Violet’s workmates Ming (Randall Park), Vaneetha (Mindy Kaling) and Doug (Kevin Hart), equally cruising along with whatever comes their way but not afraid to share what’s on their minds. Rhys Ifans and Jacki Weaver also add good contributions.

The film is a fun offering, but like the length of the engagement it’s stretched out which doesn’t work in its favour. This should still appeal to Segel and Blunt fans, whose abilities are not compromised.
Rating: 3/5


*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 5/5/2012

MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of The Avengers.
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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Review of the Week: The Avengers

0 comments Posted by Katina at 7:30 PM

Just a quick comment I want to make: my friend pointed out that Loki as depicted by Marvel is nothing like her knowledge of the character from Norse mythology, and as such she was a bit disappointed. I can't say to know anything about the myths but found it an interesting concept that if that's true there mustn't have been anyone else worthy to Stan Lee and co. in filling that void...

For the film as a whole, such huge hype has preceded this event and it held up to expectation. Plus I was excited to see Tom Hiddleston in such an extensive role (because authenticity or not, Loki's a great character) after he couldn't tell me much when I interviewed him for Thor :)

The Avengers (M)

Every fanboy’s dream has finally made it to cinemas in what is the first superhero blockbuster of the high season, preceding the return of Spiderman and DC rival Batman in his final hurrah. Not least highly anticipated because of questions it was expected to answer, the grouping of Marvel comic heroes sets itself up for the battle of all battles. And that means bringing in the outsiders.

Last year’s Thor first showed the relationship between the titular character (Chris Hemsworth) and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), one the hero of planet Asgard, the other seemingly in his shadow. That pain still lingers for Loki, who craves domination and establishes a relationship with aliens of an unknown planet to take down Earth and its freedom.

On our fair planet, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his S.H.I.E.L.D. team are guarding a tessaract that they believe contains enough energy for long-term sustainability on Earth. Loki uses his extra-terrestrial allies to steal it and threaten all mankind by unleashing the energy for evil. The Avengers are then called in one by one to stop the catastrophe.

Director Joss Whedon wastes no time with backstories already established in five previous Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Instead, each hero is apprehensive about meeting the others based on unruly tales and have right to be when it later translates into internal arguments. Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) hates and is hated by almost everyone and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is feared for any sudden change into The Hulk. Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) are more focused but still unhappy with how the situation is unfurling.

Blog exclusive: Personal opinion: the two hottest Chris' in the universe.

The plot and associated danger at hand play second fiddle to these internal conflicts in the middle stretch as questions of who would beat who in an ultimate battle are (at least partly) answered. Each has strengths and weaknesses exposed through physical and verbal stoushes as their larger-than-life egos temporarily forget the big picture.

But that’s Whedon’s game play. Anticipating what the fans want, he delivers in a style worthy of the expectation. As screenwriter, he contains enough intrigue and information for those new to the Marvel universe to grasp what is happening while fuelling the banter as further expansion of characters many are now well aware of.

The cast are established in their roles and manage to pull off working together (or not) extremely well. Ruffalo is the newcomer of the group but performs well coming into the fold. S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) is also a welcome addition, while Hiddleston is gleefully enjoyable as Loki. As a very late confirmation for inclusion in the film, he evolves into an important central character. Loki is a villain almost worth pity as the help offered for redemption by his brother is completely lost on him.

The action between the Avengers and Loki’s aliens (because there is a big battle, no spoiler there) is of a level expected with such a high calibre of heroes, kept interesting through various obstacles preventing the new team from finishing the job. There aren’t too many laughs, but the emergence of the Avengers still maintains expectation and a high level of butt-kicking.
Rating: 4/5

*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 28/4/2012

MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of The Lucky One.

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