Well, one saw Thor. Or rather one saw Thor Two. I don't mean one saw Thor too, as one was one for Thor Two, not two. But one once saw Thor One, so one sure saw Thor Two too... Phew.
Rating: 3/5
Showing posts with label Comic-Book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comic-Book. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
The Wolverine (2013)
Hugh Jackman and Walk The Line director James Mangold make a modest... ahem... stab at rescuing The Wolverine from bloated too-many-mutants boredom with this stand-alone adventure that owes more to Clint Eastwood's man with no name than it does to the Stan Lee back-catalogue.
Logan, once again alone and wandering the wilderness, is summoned to Japan by a man from his distant past and becomes caught up in a power struggle between the dynastic family of a powerful corporation, Yakuza gangsters, and some shadowy ninjas (are there any other type?).
On the plus side, for at least two thirds of the movie this keeps The Wolverine grounded amongst real people; vulnerable, disorientated, and in grimly emotional turmoil. Hugh Jackman doesn't have to work very hard to pull this off, his powerful presence and comfortable familiarity with the role playing to the strengths of a tale that commendably cuts free of mutant hi-jinks for most of its running time, and indulges in some fairly obvious, but pleasingly underplayed culture-clash elements inherent in this setting.
It's kind of a shame then that the film takes a jarring turn into the third act, feeling duty bound to deliver some big FX silliness. The tonal wrench feels deeply uncomfortable and also leaves great gaping holes in the arcs of previously intriguing characters.
Not the disaster of his previous solo outing. There is good work in the brooding western-influenced tale and for the most part things coast along nicely on Jackman's effortless charisma. If only they could have held their storytelling nerve through to the end.
Rating: 3/5
Logan, once again alone and wandering the wilderness, is summoned to Japan by a man from his distant past and becomes caught up in a power struggle between the dynastic family of a powerful corporation, Yakuza gangsters, and some shadowy ninjas (are there any other type?).
On the plus side, for at least two thirds of the movie this keeps The Wolverine grounded amongst real people; vulnerable, disorientated, and in grimly emotional turmoil. Hugh Jackman doesn't have to work very hard to pull this off, his powerful presence and comfortable familiarity with the role playing to the strengths of a tale that commendably cuts free of mutant hi-jinks for most of its running time, and indulges in some fairly obvious, but pleasingly underplayed culture-clash elements inherent in this setting.
It's kind of a shame then that the film takes a jarring turn into the third act, feeling duty bound to deliver some big FX silliness. The tonal wrench feels deeply uncomfortable and also leaves great gaping holes in the arcs of previously intriguing characters.
Not the disaster of his previous solo outing. There is good work in the brooding western-influenced tale and for the most part things coast along nicely on Jackman's effortless charisma. If only they could have held their storytelling nerve through to the end.
Rating: 3/5
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Man Of Steel (2013)
The writing and producing team behind the impressively gritty and twisted Dark Knight trilogy here tackle the long touted reboot of DC's premier be-caped hero, and then hand their dour-toned opus to the director of the daft but enjoyable "300" and barely watchable mess "Sucker Punch". About 50% of a great movie emerges somewhat dazed from the collision.
While Batman was a natural fit for a grimy, shadowy approach, Superman has always been a hero painted, literally and emotionally, in primary colours. How to give this icon some dramatic depth was always going to be a problem, a problem that the classic 1978 movie solved by the miraculously fortuitous casting of Christopher Reeve. The most likeable, heartfelt, honest-to-goodness heroic lunk that ever graced the screen. In the midst of cartoon silliness he gave his every last ounce of charm, wit and stoic integrity to the role. Making it his own for a generation to come. So much so that poor old Brandon Routh in "Superman Returns" was reduced to having to deliver a very creditable but rather distracting facsimile of Reeve's performance. Man Of Steel does not make this mistake. Gone are the bumbling doltish mannerisms of Clark Kent. Henry Cavill plays it straight and moody. Not always entirely memorably perhaps, but certainly free of unhelpful associations.
Act one is where this latest version scores most highly. Krypton is a stunningly realised world, full of beautiful organic technology. A triumph of design, and, admirably, Zach Snyder slows his frenetic camera down a touch to let us luxuriate in its majestic scale. The set-up of Kal-El's birth, and the circumstances of his departure, along with his home-world's fate and Zod's pursuit are all given a thorough reworking and feel far more effectively integrated into this origin story than in previous iterations. Top marks so far.
The quieter middle act is where this new work had perhaps the toughest act to follow. I'll make no bones about it, I consider Richard Donner's "Superman" to be about as near perfect a true comic book movie as we've ever seen. and its finest, most richly satisfying elements are those tied to Clark's childhood mid-west upbringing. The quiet moments that he shares with his adoptive parents (supported of course by John Williams' most heart-wrenching strings) and the understated loss of Glenn Ford's "Pa" bringing the realisation of the limits of his powers in the face of human frailty. Kevin Costner does fine work in the same role, and all these scenes are well handled, emotive and restrained. But somehow it still doesn't quite match up.
So, finally it's on to the inevitable smack-down. Michael Shannon's Zod is white-knuckle intense, and the action is certainly immense, but boy-oh-boy does it drag on. About twenty minutes of excess noisy destruction could have been trimmed and all of it is far, far too serious. "Man Of Steel" may be the most humourless superhero movie to date. There is but one (superb) visual gag at about the half-way mark, and by two-hours plus, my brain was aching for a wisecrack to leaven the tone.
Nonetheless, it's a mostly impressive and creditable whack at a surprisingly tough nut. Cavill acquits himself well and hopefully sets up a role to grow into. But a lighter touch next time would go a long way.
Rating: 3/5
While Batman was a natural fit for a grimy, shadowy approach, Superman has always been a hero painted, literally and emotionally, in primary colours. How to give this icon some dramatic depth was always going to be a problem, a problem that the classic 1978 movie solved by the miraculously fortuitous casting of Christopher Reeve. The most likeable, heartfelt, honest-to-goodness heroic lunk that ever graced the screen. In the midst of cartoon silliness he gave his every last ounce of charm, wit and stoic integrity to the role. Making it his own for a generation to come. So much so that poor old Brandon Routh in "Superman Returns" was reduced to having to deliver a very creditable but rather distracting facsimile of Reeve's performance. Man Of Steel does not make this mistake. Gone are the bumbling doltish mannerisms of Clark Kent. Henry Cavill plays it straight and moody. Not always entirely memorably perhaps, but certainly free of unhelpful associations.
Act one is where this latest version scores most highly. Krypton is a stunningly realised world, full of beautiful organic technology. A triumph of design, and, admirably, Zach Snyder slows his frenetic camera down a touch to let us luxuriate in its majestic scale. The set-up of Kal-El's birth, and the circumstances of his departure, along with his home-world's fate and Zod's pursuit are all given a thorough reworking and feel far more effectively integrated into this origin story than in previous iterations. Top marks so far.
The quieter middle act is where this new work had perhaps the toughest act to follow. I'll make no bones about it, I consider Richard Donner's "Superman" to be about as near perfect a true comic book movie as we've ever seen. and its finest, most richly satisfying elements are those tied to Clark's childhood mid-west upbringing. The quiet moments that he shares with his adoptive parents (supported of course by John Williams' most heart-wrenching strings) and the understated loss of Glenn Ford's "Pa" bringing the realisation of the limits of his powers in the face of human frailty. Kevin Costner does fine work in the same role, and all these scenes are well handled, emotive and restrained. But somehow it still doesn't quite match up.
So, finally it's on to the inevitable smack-down. Michael Shannon's Zod is white-knuckle intense, and the action is certainly immense, but boy-oh-boy does it drag on. About twenty minutes of excess noisy destruction could have been trimmed and all of it is far, far too serious. "Man Of Steel" may be the most humourless superhero movie to date. There is but one (superb) visual gag at about the half-way mark, and by two-hours plus, my brain was aching for a wisecrack to leaven the tone.
Nonetheless, it's a mostly impressive and creditable whack at a surprisingly tough nut. Cavill acquits himself well and hopefully sets up a role to grow into. But a lighter touch next time would go a long way.
Rating: 3/5
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Solidly enjoyable fluff. A meaty middle act of top level banter with Robert Downey Jr. out in the cold doing the full sassy-grump and just about the most stunningly unexpected bad guy awesomeness from Sir Ben that I've seen in a comic book movie; bookended by two fairly forgettable CGI bloated animations of stuff blowing up and merchandise opportunities hitting each other. It's entirely possible that I'm missing the point here, but I think I'd truly love an Iron Man movie without any Iron Men in it. (nb: contains the second-best throwaway reference to Croydon in recent movie history).
Rating: 3/5
Rating: 3/5
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)
While Kick-Ass was busy gobbling up the lion’s share of the attention and Daily Mail outrage, there was another genre-bending alt-superhero comedy mash-up last summer that rather slid under the radar, which is a great shame as, while it may not be as in-your-face outrageous, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a more engaging, funny and sprightly movie that mysteriously failed to storm the summer box office in the face of bigger, badder, swearier competition.
A geek’s paradise, Scott Pilgrim is chock full of gamer references, 8-bit soundbites, and teen-rocking wannabee heroics, however what makes it more than the sum if its slacker culture nods and winks is a genuine warmth and affection for its inhabitants and their world. Brit helmer Edgar Wright, who showed he knows a thing or two about game-obsessed overgrown boys in Shaun Of The Dead, tackles his first transatlantic mega-budget project with a breezy lightness; blending together bitter-sweet moments of awkward teen romance, and heart embiggening scenes of rock & roll camaraderie along with the madcap fights, and surreal flights of fancy.
The young cast, headed by eternal dweeb plus ultra Michael Cera, are largely excellent, with quirky but likeable supporting roles given the same care and attention as our eponymous hero. As a teen ensemble comedy it recalls the films of John Hughes, such is the ease with which it takes its outlandishly fantastical premise and grounds it with deft, easygoing character work.
On the minor negative side, the film is rather undisciplined, being about twenty minutes longer than needed, with an occasional repetitious tendency brought on by its own multi-life, game-level structure, and somewhat lacks a solid dramatic shape as a result. But with so many charming, engaging characters and a sharp, witty script overflowing with quotable banter and inventive non-sequitur moments, the movie carries its excess baggage with a light touch and a giddy energy that is hard to resist.
Rating: 4/5
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