Movie Review: “Captain Marvel”

The first Marvel movie of 2019 is upon us. 

I’ve been trying to figure out how I’m going to talk about “Captain Marvel” without giving away any spoilers. 

Even though people have suggested “Captain Marvel” isn’t an origin story, the reality is that it’s basically an origin story. 

Sure, the narrative is “sliced and diced” in such a way to keep the audience in the dark during the movie’s first 30 minutes. 

But anyone who has watched the trailer can pretty much figure out what the whole thing is all about. 

In a nutshell, “Captain Marvel” tells the story of Vers (Brie Larson), a Starforce pilot on the planet Hala (the capital of the Kree Empire) who has nightmares/visions of herself in another life. The year is 1995. 

During a rescue mission early in the movie, Vers ends up a prisoner of the shape-shifting Skrull (the sworn enemies of the Kree). 

Before long, our protagonist flees her captors in an escape pod, and she crash lands into a Los Angeles Blockbuster Video (there is a funny moment in the video store involving a “True Lies” standee — an obvious dig at director James Cameron, who has been critical of Marvel in recent years). 

Vers soon attracts the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. — young versions of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) arrive at the shopping center to investigate the mysterious woman. Their investigation is interrupted when the Skrull attack. 

I should mention that the “de-aging” techniques used to remove wrinkles and lines on Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg were well worth whatever money was spent. Those guys looked 20 years younger — and it wasn’t at all distracting. Kudos to the special effects team. 

Fury and Vers eventually team up to discover her true identity. If you’ve seen any of the promotional materials, you’ll know she is a U.S. Air Force pilot named Carol Danvers. 

I won’t go any further with the plot since I am committed to keeping this thing spoiler-free. 

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I don’t think society needs a new superhero movie every few months. (Disney released three “Marvel Cinematic Universe” movies last year.) I thought the genre stayed “fresher” when there were fewer superheroes in the marketplace. 

That said, I enjoyed “Captain Marvel.” 

With the glut of superhero properties released annually, I actually find myself enjoying those entries that aren’t universally beloved like “The Avengers,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Captain America: The Winter Solder.” 

For example, I loved both of the “Ant-Man” movies (read my review of “Ant-Man and the Wasp”) and I’m one of the few people who liked “Doctor Strange.” 

There are a lot of fun things in “Captain Marvel.” I liked the chemistry between Samuel L. Jackson and Brie Larson. There was an orange tabby cat named Goose who provided some nice comic relief. 

Ben Mendelsohn is also in the movie. I’ve been liking his work recently. 

Mendelsohn has made a living the past few years playing the “heavy” in films like “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (read my review) and “Ready Player One” (read my review). 

There is a plot twist involving his character (which I can’t give away because I’m not doing the spoiler thing).

As mentioned earlier, “Captain Marvel” takes place in the 1995. As a result, the filmmakers include some nostalgic bits from that era in the movie. 

Did they capture the mid-1990s well? Honestly, it was sort of a mixed bag...

Sure, they have “period appropriate” cars in a chase sequence. There is one instance where an old Internet search engine is used. There are also songs by Nirvana and No Doubt featured in the movie (both felt way too obvious in the context).  

The most noticeable “retro prop” used in the movie was a “Happy Days” lunch box featuring Arthur Fonzarelli’s image. That is more a nod to the 1970s and 80s. Not sure what they were thinking there...

The soundtrack had kind of a retro synth beat at times. Which, briefly, sort of felt like chords out of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (there is a motorcycle reference in “Captain Marvel” that seemed like an homage to a famous scene in “T2”). Overall, the soundtrack wasn’t nearly as distinctive as the electronic masterpiece featured in 2017’s “Thor: Ragnarok” (read my review). 

Compared to recent female superhero movie “Wonder Woman,” the overall impact of “Captain Marvel” fell a bit flat. 

Marvel had a chance to make something really special — and give the MCU a quirky and unique female protagonist like Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman became for Warner Bros. 

Unfortunately, Brie Larson is somewhat bland in the role of Carole Danvers. Sure, she is likable. And, as I mentioned earlier, she has nice chemistry with Samuel L. Jackson. That said, they could have done more with the character. 

My wife Bridget pointed out that the first part of “Captain Marvel” was somewhat slow and confusing. I’ll add that some of the sequences and characters seemed more suited to a budget-constricted “Star Trek” movie than something from the polished MCU.  

Overall, I had a good time watching “Captain Marvel.” 

But the movie could have been so much more. 

This goes back to my previous point about there being “too many” superhero movies released annually. If Disney stays on pace to release three Marvel Cinematic Universe movies per year, the quality will eventually take a hit. 

Be sure to stay for both post-movie “easter eggs” (during and after the credits)... 

Previous post: “Thoughts About the ‘Yesterday’ Trailer”

Thoughts About the “Yesterday” Trailer...

Sometimes a trailer permeates your psyche and stay with you long after you watch it. 

The first trailer for the upcoming movie “Yesterday” is one of those trailers for me. 

The movie doesn’t drop in theaters until June 28, but it’s already on my “must-see” list for 2019.   

The film is directed by Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “Steve Jobs”) and written by Richard Curtis (“Four Weddings and a Funeral”). 

The story follows Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), a struggling musician who is hit by a bus during a global blackout. 

When he wakes up from the injury, he discovers he is the only person in the world who remembers the Beatles (while playing the song “Yesterday” at a “welcome home” party). It’s as if the band never existed in Malik’s new reality. 

The struggling musician goes from obscurity to stardom when he plays — and eventually records — the greatest hits from the Beatles catalog as his own original work. 

The entire set of events appears to create an existential crisis in Jack — something akin to the existential crisis faced by Phil Connors in familiar/unfamiliar surroundings in 1993’s “Groundhog Day.” 

There is little doubt the movie will be schmaltzy and sweet. We need more of that at the box office. 

The lovely Lily James (“Baby Driver”) plays Ellie, Malik’s down-to-earth gal pal. She’s wearing a denim dress in the trailer, so it’s assured that the two will end up together at the end of the movie. 

The entire vibe of the trailer is terrific. Check it out:

Previous post: Snow Ice Cream

Snow Ice Cream

We’ve had a lot of snow the past month here in Omaha. 

If you’re feeling adventurous, you might want to try some homemade ice cream made with snow. 

First of all, I recommend putting a bowl or container of some sort outside to collect fresh snow as it falls. (We use a stainless steel mixing bowl.)  

I suppose if you’re feeling more “adventurous,” you could try and find a clean patch of already-fallen snow in your yard and scoop up some of the white stuff to make ice cream.

Here are the instructions for making snow ice cream (courtesy of Paula Deen via The Food Network).

Ingredients:
8 cups of snow, or shaved ice
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pour condensed milk over snow (or shaved ice). Add vanilla. Mix to combine. Serve immediately in bowls. If desired, add sprinkles.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Time: 5 minutes

Previous post: Movie Review: "Hunter Killer" 

Movie Review: “Hunter Killer”

I’ve mentioned many times on this blog my fondness for the novels of Tom Clancy. I was introduced to the books in high school in my sophomore Literary Masterpieces class. 

When the movie adaptation of “The Hunt For Red October” was released March 2, 1990, I absolutely loved it, and went on to see it three times in the theater. 

(Movie buffs might remember when the movie was first released on home video that the VHS cassette was red.)

In the intervening years, audiences have seen other attempts at “submarine thrillers” like “Crimson Tide” and “K-19: The Widowmaker."

Gerard Butler entered the fray last fall with his pet project “Hunter Killer.” I recently purchased it on Blu-ray (I missed the movie during its theatrical run, but thought the trailers looked cool). 

There was apparently a large span of time where "Hunter Killer" sat dormant. It is based on the 2012 novel “Firing Point” by Don Keith and George Wallace. 

“This is a movie that is begging to be made and to reinvent,” Butler says on the disc’s special features. “We re-create the submarine genre as well, which I hadn’t seen one of those in a while.” 

Here is the setup for “Hunter Killer”:

When the USS Tampa Bay disappears (while tracking a Russian Akula-class sub in the Arctic Ocean), Rear Admiral John Fisk (played by musician Common) dispatches the USS Arkansas (a Virginia-class submarine) from a naval base in Scotland to investigate.

Commander Joe Glass (Butler) is the newly-minted honcho on the Arkansas. 

In a parallel storyline, a Navy SEAL team led by Lieutenant Bill Beaman (Toby Stephens from Netflix’s “Lost In Space”) HALO jumps into Russia to conduct surveillance on a naval base located at Polyarny. Defense minister Dmitry Dubrovnik (Mikhail Gorevoy) is planning a coup and takes visiting Russian President Nikolai Zakarin (Alexander Dyachenko) prisoner. 

Before long, the Arkansas discovers the missing U.S. submarine, but is attacked by a Russian sub lurking under a nearby iceberg. 

The alternating threads in the movie are reminiscent of a Clancy novel. In addition to the “submarine,” “SEAL,” and “military coup” storylines, there is also a thread following the command decisions being made at The Pentagon (Gary Oldman has some key scenes as Admiral Charles Donnegan). 

As the pieces move on the foreign policy chess board, Glass & Co. are doing everything in their power to avoid starting World War III. 

I won’t go any further into the plot because I don’t want to give anything away. 

The movie itself flopped at the box office and received mediocre reviews (I believe it has a 37% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes). As a result, I was expecting the worst when I sat down and popped the "Hunter Killer" disc into my player.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed “Hunter Killer.” 

By no means is it the perfect submarine thriller, but I like how it recalls the “Clancy-esque” thrillers of the 1990s. 

There were certain sequences where I wondered how “credible” some of the technical aspects of the submarine procedures were. I figured some creative license was taken for dramatic effect. 

In the film’s commentary track, director Donovan Marsh talks about how they spent time on an actual military submarine (based at Pearl Harbor) and went out to sea for a day testing the combat scenarios seen in “Hunter Killer.” It sounds like the filmmakers had the cooperation of the U.S. Navy, and every effort was made to bring authenticity to the movie. 

“Hunter Killer” does its due diligence as a “techno-thriller.” The film didn’t have the budget many tentpole action movies possess. As a result, certain visual effects aren't as polished as they could be, and some of the green screen work feels awkward, but it is still a handsome production overall. 

Gerard Butler is one of my favorite action stars. His film “Olympus Has Fallen” is a terrific action movie (definitely owes a debt to Vince Flynn’s first Mitch Rapp novel “Transfer of Power”).

I get the sense Butler enjoys the breed of thriller novel I grew up reading. “Hunter Killer” was a movie he’d spent a number of years trying to bring to the big screen. I'm glad it finally made it to screen. 

I’ll admit that I’m pretty easily amused when it comes to movies. I really enjoyed “Hunter Killer.”

It might not be the perfect military thriller, but it is highly entertaining. 

If you like thrillers by Tom Clancy and his ilk, I think you’ll have a good time watching “Hunter Killer.” 

Previous post: Video Review: "Skyscraper"

Video Review: “Skyscraper”

I missed “Skyscraper” when it was released in theaters last July. 

Why did I miss it?

Because I listened to all the morons who said it sucked. 

I gotta tell ya, I had a great time watching the 4K UHD Blu-ray edition of “Skyscraper.”

Was it high art? No. 

Was it a ripoff of “Die Hard”? Yes. 

The Dwayne Johnson action movie about former FBI Hostage Rescue specialist Will Sawyer — an ex-Marine who has to save his family from the world’s tallest skyscraper (a fictional 225-story structure called “The Pearl” in Hong Kong) — was an entertaining ride.

The film is a throwback to action movies of the late 1980s and early 1990s. 

I loved “Die Hard” (which some have called the “Citizen Kane” of action films) and ripoffs like “Cliffhanger,” “Speed,” and “Under Siege” (“Under Siege 2: Dark Territory” is a particular favorite of mine). 

Why do I like those movies?

The stories feature simple plots and simple protagonists, fighting simple villains for simple reasons. 

The movies of that era had heroes who felt “real” — not the endless supply of caped crusaders with special powers and body armor made of some secret element that doesn’t even exist. 

Director Rawson Marshall Thurber mentions in the Blu-ray’s commentary track that he revisited the movies of Sylvester Stallone around the time he penned “Skyscraper.”

Thurber was born in 1975 (a few years after I was born). His love for the macho action movies that kids of our generation grew up on is evident when you watch “Skyscraper.” 

I also tend to enjoy Dwayne Johnson movies. 

Will Sawyer (Johnson’s character in the movie) is injured in a explosion in the movie’s prologue sequence. As a result, his left leg has been amputated when we see him several years later reviewing the security procedures and protocols in “The Pearl.” 

In the commentary track, Thurber mentions the prologue of “Skyscraper” was inspired by the prologue of 1993’s “Cliffhanger” — where mountain ranger Gabe Walker (Stallone) drops his buddy’s girlfriend (causing her to fall to her death) during a rescue attempt in the Rocky Mountains. 

Thurber liked the idea of tough, brawny heroes facing adversity at the beginning of a movie like “Cliffhanger,” and thought it would add an interesting element to “Skyscraper.” 

Sawyer is in Hong Kong with his wife Sarah (played by “Party of Five’s” Neve Campbell) and kids, Georgia and Henry (McKenna Roberts and Noah Cottrell). 

He is given an iPad that gives him access to the building. The iPad is stolen offsite. 

There are bad guys trying to infiltrate the skyscraper. They start a fire on the 96th floor. Did I mention they’re bad? Because that’s pretty much all you need to know about them. 

Will Sawyer’s family is trapped in the building due to the fire. As a result, he must rescue them. 

Through sheer will (no pun intended), and with the aid of a couple rolls of duct tape, Sawyer sets out to rescue his family...and kick the crap out of the villains. 

“If you can’t fix it with duct tape, then you ain’t using enough duct tape,” says Sawyer at one point during the movie’s explosions, gun play, and fisticuffs. 

I’ll be the first to say that “Skyscraper” is by no means a “great” movie. It’s silly and ridiculous. I’m just getting fatigued on comic book heroes saving the universe every three months at the local multiplex. 

It’s nice to see an “old fashioned” action movie that hearkens back to the movies I loved in my teens and twenties. 

It is in that spirit I enjoyed “Skyscraper.”

Previous post: Movie Review: "Cold Pursuit"

Movie Review: “Cold Pursuit”

I had been looking forward to the new Liam Neeson movie “Cold Pursuit” since seeing trailers for it last year. 

I find that Neeson’s movies tend to be pretty entertaining. They aren’t necessarily the greatest action movies in the genre, but they tend to be a good way to spend a couple of hours. 

“Cold Pursuit” was something of a surprise to me. 

I didn’t read any of the reviews going in. Other than the trailer, I didn’t really have a read on what the movie was about, or what the tone of it might be. 

It’s definitely not an action movie. 

It is a plodding crime drama that offers dark humor in the tradition of the Coen Brothers (think “Fargo” in this instance). 

It is based on a 2014 Norwegian film called “In Order of Disappearance” (“Kraftidioten”) — about a snowplow driver who embarks on a journey of revenge when his son is killed by a local drug kingpin. 

Both movies were directed by Hans Peter Moland. 

My reaction to “Cold Pursuit” was pretty lukewarm. Neeson plays Nelson Coxman, the aforementioned snowplow driver who does his work in the Colorado resort town of Kehoe. 

His life is disrupted when his son is found dead (authorities believe he overdosed on heroin). 

Coxman’s wife (Laura Dern) soon leaves him, and he is on the verge of suicide when he learns his son was murdered by drug dealers. Before we know it, Coxman has turned vigilante and he works his way up the chain to Trevor “Viking” Calcote (Tom Bateman) — leader of the drug operation that is based in Denver. 

Calcote’s operation has been in competition in Denver with a rival drug operation comprised of members of the Ute tribe. As a result, Calcote suspects they are to blame for the deaths of his employees. 

First and foremost, I’m not sure how wise it was to set a movie about drug dealers in Colorado — a state where marijuana has been legalized. I guess it was the only realistic location to have a snowplow driver be the protagonist. 

Another ancillary aspect of “Cold Pursuit” that bugged me was that the Denver scenes and sequences looked like they were filmed in spring. There were green leaves on the trees and green grass — and it looked like the set decorators added snow (with some help from the CG folks in post). 

As luck would have it, the original Norwegian film “In Order of Appearance” is currently showing on Netflix (if you watch it, turn off the English dub and listen to it in its original Norwegian with subtitles). 

The plot is basically identical between the two movies, but the execution (no pun intended), pacing, and humor just feel better in the Norwegian version. 

It also seemed more realistic having a Norwegian crime operation going toe-to-toe with Serbian gangsters in “In Order of Disappearance.” 

In my opinion, trying to shoehorn the Euro gangster film into a United States setting made absolutely no sense. There was definitely something lost in translation. 

(Yeah, it snows in the Rocky Mountains, but the vibe is just different compared to a country like Norway.) 

I tend to like these sorts of movies and the mood they imbue (which owe a debt to the crime novels of Elmore Leonard). That said, something felt off about “Cold Pursuit.” 

I didn’t particularily “love” either the Norwegian or U.S. production. But they were both fairly interesting diversions. 

If I had to make a recommendation between the two, I’d probably suggest you fire up Netflix and watch the original Norwegian movie. Stellan Skarsgard (“Mamma Mia”) is far more compelling as the snowplow driver than is Neeson in the "Americanized" version (this material isn’t really suited to Neeson’s talents).

In my opinion, "Cold Pursuit" probably would have been a better movie if they'd shed the "black humor" trappings and played it straight with the script. 

Previous post: Movie Review: "Alita: Battle Angel"

Movie Review: “Alita: Battle Angel”

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into “Alita: Battle Angel.”

The sci-fi movie was originally supposed to drop in theaters last Christmas, but was moved to 2019 due to a glut of releases on the original opening date (including “Aquaman”).

The film is based on a Japanese manga series by Yukito Kishiro. 

The biggest selling point of the movie is the fact that the screenplay was written by James Cameron (he also produced the movie). 

As is the case with anything Cameron has his fingerprints on, the movie took years to get made. Robert Rodriguez (“Desperado”) was brought in to direct. 

The plot, in its most “non-spoilery” form, is about a cyborg named Alita. It is the 26th century (pay particular attention to the “26th Century Fox” logo at the beginning of the movie). A brutal war known as “The Fall” left Earth ravaged in 2563. 

The main narrative of “Alita: Battle Angel” takes place in Iron City (an Earth-bound metropolis). Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) is a top-notch scientist in the city — sort of a techno surgeon who builds/repairs cyborgs, and those with mechanical appendages. 

During a trip to the junkyard to scavenge parts, Ido finds the remnants of a female cyborg with an intact human brain. He rebuilds the girl and names her “Alita” (after his deceased daughter). 

She can’t remember who she is, and part of the structure of “Alita: Battle Angel” is her journey to find a sense of self. 

Alita has penetrating, almond-shaped eyes. Her face is basically a permanent Snapchat filter. 

A lot of the movie is spent doing sci-fi “world building” and doling out extraneous “info dumps” to get the audience up to speed. It’s an entertaining film, but sometimes feels uneven.

Alita befriends a teenage human named Hugo, who has dreams of moving to a city floating above Iron City called Zalem — home to a god-like figure known as Nova.

Hugo introduces Alita to a sport called “Motorball” (basically a high-tech — and deadly — form of roller derby).

Alita eventually discovers that her “father figure” Ido is a “Hunter-Warrior” — a bounty hunter who assassinates evil cyborgs. It is during a particularly harried sequence (when Alita is secretly following Ido) where she learns she has savage skills and has been trained in the ancient fighting style known as “Panzer Kunst.” 

Before long, Alita is being hunted by evil-doers (led by an entrepreneur played by Mahershala Ali), evil cyborgs, and all manner of miscreants. She is also dealing with feelings of love for Hugo. 

There is a lot to process in “Alita: Battle Angel.” The movie “almost” achieves greatness, but falls a tad bit short. 

The visual effects are interesting and appealing. That is something you’d expect from a film produced by James Cameron. The craftsmanship of the film is top notch. 

I give the filmmakers credit for a creating a motion-capture CG character who was compelling. That is easier said than done, and I really liked the Alita character in the movie.  

I’m not sure the “fusion” of Cameron and Rodriguez quite works. I’ve enjoyed a number of Robert Rodriguez’s films over the years (like the “Desperado” and “Spy Kids” franchises), but sometimes there is a “too weird” aspect to what he does. 

What would have been a “bloated masterpiece” under Cameron’s direction sort of fell flat with Rodriguez at the helm (in my opinion). 

Part of that is due to the fact that the “world building” aspects in the first act took time to set up (and were among the most interesting aspects of the movie). The third act (in particular) felt rushed and the various elements seemed a bit disconnected. 

The ending of “Alita: Battle Angel” also left something to be desired. 

Don’t get me wrong, there are a number of entertaining sequences in “Alita: Battle Angel.” It kept my attention throughout, never got boring, and the visuals are really beautiful. 

It just could have been stronger. 

Previous post: Is "Frozen 2" Trailer Basically a Remake of "The Last Jedi" Trailer?