this week I love :: Target Ads for THE AVENGERS

I’m already of the opinion that the Target corporation has an amazing team of creative minds working for them, but their latest print ads have put me over the moon. My first thought upon seeing these sheets for The Avengers movie was, “Oh, that’s pretty cool.” Then I noticed the details: soda cans, toy cars, action figures, yellow pencils, candy bars, Legos, radios, toasters! Oh my goodness. That… is… SO COOL! Every little thing is spot-on, and it just makes me even more giddy for the movie. With only one week to go, I’m so ready for the 2012 Summer Film Season to commence!

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CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

March 28, 2012 (DVD)

To round out this Movie Madness month I finally took time to rent the two remaining flicks that were meant to be predecessors to this summer’s Avengers extravaganza. First was Thor, which I wrote about yesterday, and I immediately followed that with Captain America: The First Avenger, which was also released last summer. The viewing order was intentional, assuming that Captain America was the better of the two movies and, therefore, the one that would garner most of my attention. Interestingly, this did not prove to be true. I liked it well enough, but Captain America just didn’t have the same “fun” factor that I found in Thor. And lead actor Chris Evans (whom I really didn’t like in his first superhero appearance as The Human Torch) doesn’t even begin to compare with the adorable Chris Hemsworth. Sometimes I can even surprise myself with what I’m drawn to and what I’m not.

What did work in Captain America was the story itself. It’s beautifully shot with gorgeous World War II period design and a straight-up dramatic narrative. It also features the always-delightful Hugh Weaving in yet another unforgettable role as the villain, Red Skull. And there are a lot of small details that connect this movie to the other films in the Avengers franchise, such as Iron Man Tony Stark’s father in a key role and a mention of the nine realms that are integral to Thor’s story. Of course, the title of The First Avenger tells you to expect such interconnectedness, but I was honestly surprised by mention of other superhero origin stories, expecting this film to be where it all started and for the other films to hearken back to this one. But I suppose it makes sense to mention them in Captain America since it was actually released after all of the other Avenger films. Not that any of that matters, really. And it was definitely a fun feature to watch for as I sat through the movie.

Captain America succeeds in all the right ways: concise story-telling, engaging characters, relatable hero, and quirky supporting players. It doesn’t feel jingoistic, which easily could have been part of a story about the war against Hitler, but it does hit all the right notes about patriotism and freedom and fighting with purpose and honor. I also loved that Captain America himself never acted like a superhero, which is part of the character’s charm. [His origin as sickly young man, Steve Rogers, transformed into a super-soldier ensures that his humility remains intact.] The movie was truly a breath of fresh air within the superhero genre.

It’s a shame this movie didn’t appeal to me on the same emotional level as so many other comic book flicks. There’s nothing wrong with Captain America. I should have loved it. My beloved Neal McDonough even appeared in a few scenes as one of Rogers’s mission recruits, as did Tommy Lee Jones as his commanding officer, but even that wasn’t enough to make me love the film as much as I’ve loved so many others. Still, it won’t keep me from enjoying Steve Rogers in The Avengers later this year. It’s just that he’s not likely to be a focal point for me. And that’s okay. I’ll just leave him to the legions of fans who have literally loved him since 1941. That’s pretty impressive on its own.

THOR

March 28, 2012 (DVD)

It’s no secret that I love movie adaptations of comic books, but I’m not one to see any and every superhero flick. Unless the heroes truly appeal to me (such as Superman, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and The Dark Knight), I’m not one to rush out and see every single comic movie that gets made (or remade). There really needs to be some kind of draw, whether that be a fun story (Iron Man) or, more likely, the addition of actors I enjoy (Hulk). With Thor, there really wasn’t too much of a draw on any count. I didn’t know Chris Hemsworth as an actor – although I later realized that he played the role of Captain Kirk’s father in the Star Trek reboot by J.J. Abrams, and I had been so impressed by his performance that I actually looked up his name in the credits… only to forget it entirely by the time Thor came along. I also didn’t have any interest in a story about the God of Thunder and his “magical” hammer. A hammer? It just didn’t appeal. And everyone I knew who saw Thor when it was released had said it was a mostly awful film, including my twelve-year-old nephew, and when a pre-teen says a comic movie is terrible, I believe it to be worse than the worst. So I never really intended to ever watch Thor.

Yet, this year is the release of the Avengers movie, and I knew that the character of Thor was part of that team. I also knew that all of the origin movies regarding those superheroes had been designed to lead right into The Avengers. And when it comes to movies that like, I really do want to have all the information. I hate the idea of missing the little jokes and winks and nudges that will surely be included just because I don’t know the backstories. So I bit the bullet this week and watched Thor under the guise of getting all the facts, and also because I just find Chris Hemsworth kinda darlin’. Interestingly, that’s all it took for me to really enjoy the movie.

Thor is not a good movie, but it’s also not as horrible as I imagined. It’s told in equal measure on two planets, Earth and Thor’s home world of Asgard, with Thor being banished to Earth while a war begins in his homeland. I enjoyed seeing the two arcs play side-by-side and found the stories on Asgard to be much more enjoyable than the ones on Earth. That’s likely because I’m a sucker for special effects and really cool artistry, and the realm of Asgard has that in abundance. It also far greater villains than those in the Earth story, and that goes a long way toward my enjoyment. Still, what I truly loved about the movie was Hemsworth’s performance. He played the entire film with great joy and abandon. Even when Thor was brought low by humility, Hemsworth seemed to have a twinkle in his eye that said, “Look at me! Dude, I’m playing a superhero!” It was like watching a boy with new toys, and I found it utterly charming, making the movie a great lot of fun to watch.

Ultimately, I’m happy to know the story of Thor but I’m more excited to see him take up his place among the Avengers. I’m also thrilled that Hemsworth has been “discovered” by Hollywood now and will get more opportunities to grow his talent. I’m especially excited for his involvement in the remake of Red Dawn, coming later this year. He has taken up the role of Jed, originated by Patrick Swayze, and I honestly can’t think of anyone better suited for it. What Thor has done for me is place a new actor on my radar and prepare me for a much-anticipated project. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a big win!

Oh, and also… that magic hammer is insanely awesome! Who knew?!?

movie stills via IMDB

REAL STEEL

March 12, 2012 (DVD)

Real Steel is one of those movies that I intended to see in theaters and tried several times to get there but just never quite made it. And after that, time just kept moving and I prioritized other titles over it. But finally, earlier this month, I remembered how much I wanted to see it and made it happen. There’s not a single thing about the premise of the film that would discourage me: rock’em sock’em robots, father-son relationship story, plus Hugh Jackman with just a bit of an edge. How could it go wrong?

It just so happened that Dyl Pickle was spending a Spring Break night with me before I had to return Real Steel to the DVD kiosk, and I was thrilled to learn that it would be mostly appropriate for him to watch with me. I thought he’d love the robots and the bot-boxing, and I hoped that the slower moments of drama would be short so that D didn’t get bored. So we watched this movie together. D was into it pretty well at first, but around the midway point he started getting bored enough to want to do some “art.” I made up for his lesser enthusiasm by bouncing in my seat a lot and punching the air along with the bots. D had to repeatedly tell me that it was “just a movie” and that I shouldn’t be imitating what was happening on screen. Ha! He’ll learn, as we see more grown-up films together, that I’m very interactive in my movie-watching! With Real Steel, I was totally lost in the rock’em sock’em!

Hugh Jackman is terrific as a deadbeat dad forced to find a relationship with his pre-teen son, and watching him in the boxing scenes (where he performed the punches and footwork for a robot to mimic in the ring) made me greatly desire to see him in a human boxing role. Sure, he’ll get beaten to a pulp, but Jackman had such great finesse in Steel that I just really want to see him take that into the ring himself. The boy who played his son, Dakota Goyo, also gave a very strong performance, and his scenes with the bot named Atom (which his character rescued and restored from a scrap heap) were the very best moments of the film. Not since WALL·E have I had such great affection for a machine! But Atom was an incredible character in his own right. Which is what makes Real Steel such a success, I believe. The robots had as much personality as any human in the film, and sometimes even more, and that made for an exciting viewing experience that was deepened by a tremendous amount of goodness and heart. Even with a few “mild” expletives, Real Steel is truly a family film, and it’s becoming more and more difficult to find those from Hollywood these days.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

March 26, 2012 (DVD)

 

My first response upon learning there would be yet another Planet of the Apes film was, “Why?!? Have we not suffered enough?” I could never find any love for the original film with Charlton Heston nor the seemingly endless franchise it created, and even when I tried to give the concept a chance through a modern retelling I was subjected to the debacle of a tedious reboot starring Mark Wahlberg. It’s not the idea of it, either – I actually adore the idea of a society where primates have evolved into human-like creatures and now have majority rule – but I’ve never been able to get past the hokey presentation of the stories. A new origin story just didn’t appeal to me. But then I saw the first trailers for last year’s offering, and something about it fascinated me anyway. I couldn’t quite get the images out of my mind, and when it became a surprise hit, I decided to put it on my rental list and wait for the day when I was ready to give it another chance. Imagine my shock when Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with James Franco (of all people) as the lead actor, turned out to be far beyond anything I would ever expect.

Rise of the Apes succeeds for one huge reason: motion-capture animation of a performance by Andy Serkis. Serkis definitely proved his talent for motion-capture with his creation of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and then again with his portrayal of King Kong in Peter Jackson’s remake. I’m quick to embrace any digital character that is based on Serkis’s acting because I know it will add enormous value to a film. Giving him, what I consider, the lead role in Rise was a genius move that immediately elevated the production. I think that’s what stuck with me in the previews: the tender, lifelike quality of the digitally-rendered chimpanzee who would become the leader of a rebellion of apes. It didn’t sell me on the movie, but it certainly became my primary reason for being interested at all. What I never expected was to find such love for this ape named Caesar, nor to be overwhelmed with so much sympathy that I rooted for his rise against humanity. That, I believe, is the triumph of this latest film.

Rise is definitely a popcorn flick, full of raucous action and big stunts, but the performance by Serkis as Caesar places a tender heart into the film and carries it beyond anything that has come before in the franchise. I loved the use of a science experiment (for a very personal medical reason) as the origin story for the apes’ evolution, and I loved that the story gave itself plenty of time to show a “natural” transformation for Caesar from highly intelligent chimp raised in a human home environment to alpha leader of a primate rebellion against their human oppressors, all the while learning to speak(!) in the process. When Caesar utters his first human words, I was completely shocked and excited and bought every single utterance as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I would not have embraced that had the movie not been crafted so well as to provide a true journey for Caesar.

This movie really is the story of Caesar, eventual leader of the apes who come to rule over humans, and the tale is surprisingly moving. I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but I’m ready for a new Apes franchise that continues Caesar’s story. So long as Andy Serkis is allowed to portray the apes, I’m completely and totally on board.

movie stills via IMDB